ophisticated
solvers
will not be put off by an elementary 'word
problem,' for they have discovered that algebra is
a language with
exceptional power.
Let B represent the price of the
bottle, C the price of
the cork. We have that...
-
B + C = 1.10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ from the first sentence,
and
-
B = C + 1.00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from the second sentence,
thus
-
2 B + C = C + 2.10 ~~~~ by the
principle of 'equals added
to equals,' and
-
2 B = 2.10 ~~~ by the principle of
'equals subtracted from
equals,' thus
-
B = 1.05 ~~~~ by the principle of
'equals divided by equals,'
so then
-
C = 0.05 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ that's a
nickel, folks -- not a
dime.
Here's a new challenge:
Try making up a problem which relates
the prices of all these
various liquids. (See Bottle
Royal).
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