jmc

Question

Three friends are driving to New York City and splitting the gas cost equally. At the last minute, 2 more friends joined the trip. The cost of gas was then evenly redistributed among all of the friends. The cost for each of the original 3 decreased by $11.00. What was the total cost of the gas, in dollars?

Accepted Answer

Suppose the total cost is x dollars. Then we have that the cost for each the original 3 friends was x3, while after the 2 extra friends joined, the cost was x5 per person. So the given information translates into x3 - 11.00 = x5. Solving for x, find: align* x3-11&=x5 x3-x5&=11 5x-3x15&=11 x&=15211=82.50 align*