MHB Finding the Cost of a Gift: Solving a Fractional Payment Dilemma

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Devi, Sam, and Nora contributed to a gift, with Devi paying $5.85 and Nora paying $13.80 more than Devi, totaling $19.65. The equations derived from their contributions indicate that Devi and Sam together paid 3/10 of the total cost, while Sam and Nora paid 7/10. Calculations show that if Sam paid $4.50, the total cost would be $30, but this does not align with the fractions given in the problem. The inconsistencies in the equations suggest that the problem may contain errors, as the derived totals do not match the stated fractions. Ultimately, the calculations reveal that the problem is flawed, leading to incorrect conclusions about the amounts paid.
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Devi, Sam and Nora shared the cost of a gift for their friend. The amount Devi and Sam paid was 3/10 of the cost and the amount Sam and Nora paid was 7/10 of the cost. Devi paid 5.85 dollars and Nora paid 13.80 dollars more than Devi. How much did sam pay?

My work:

How much Devi paid = D
How much Sam paid = S
How much Nora paid = N
Total money the spent = C

We Know D + S = 3/10C

We Know S + N = 7/10C

We know D spent 5.85. So, D = 5.85

We know N spend 13.80 more than D. So N = D + 13.80Then I did elimination:

19.65 + S = 7/10C
- 5.85 + S = 3/10C
------------------------------
= 13.80 = 4/10C

So, C =34.50.We are looking for how much sam paid, so then I did this below.

5.85 + Sam = 3/10(34.5)

Sam = 4.50
 
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Do you have a question?! If you are asking if this is correct, it is not that hard to check:

You have arrived at the solution that Devi paid 5.85, Sam paid 4.50, Nora paid 19.65, and the total paid was 5.85+ 4.50+ 19.65= 30.

"The amount Devi and Sam paid was 3/10 of the cost"
Devi and Sam together paid 5.85+ 4.50= 10.35. That is NOT 3/10 of 30.

"the amount Sam and Nora paid was 7/10 of the cost."
Sam and Nora together paid 4.50+ 19.65= 24.15. That is NOT 7/10 of 30.

Here is how I would do it, letting D, S, and N be the amount each paid:

"The amount Devi and Sam paid was 3/10 of the cost" so D+ S= (3/10)(D+ S+ N). We can write that as 10(D+ S)= 3(D+ S+ N), 10D+ 10S= 3D+ 3S+ 3N, 7D+ 7S- 3N= 0.

"The amount Sam and Nora paid was 7/10 of the cost" so S+ N= (7/10)(D+ S+ N). We can write that as 10(S+ N)= 7(D+ S+ N), 10S+ 10N= 7D+ 7S+ 7N, 3S+3N- 7D= 0.

"Devi paid 5.85 dollars and Nora paid 13.80 dollars more than Devi." Well this makes the previous two equations almost trivial! (If this is consistent- we have effectively four equations in three unknowns. Solutions to three of the equations might not work in the fourth.)
D= 5.85 and N= 5.85+ 13.80= 19.65 so the previous two equations become:
7D+ 7S- 3N= 40.95+ 7S- 58.95= 0 so 7S= 18. S= 18/7= 2.57... (that is a repeating decimal.)
3S+ 3N- 7D= 3S+ 58.95- 40.95= 3S+ 18= 0. S= -6 which not only does not match the previous value, it makes no sense as an amount paid. This is a bad problem- the given informarion is not consistent!
 
Country Boy said:
Do you have a question?! If you are asking if this is correct, it is not that hard to check:

You have arrived at the solution that Devi paid 5.85, Sam paid 4.50, Nora paid 19.65, and the total paid was 5.85+ 4.50+ 19.65= 30.

My mistake, I should have asked in the question if I was heading the right path with the algebraic expression I created? :-)

In the book, Sam answer was $4.50.

Thank you for clearing up the problem.
 
The problem says that "Devi paid 5.85 dollars and Nora paid 13.80 dollars more than Devi." So Nora paid 13.80+ 5.85= 19.65. If Sam paid 4.50 then the total cost was 5.85+ 19.65+ 4.50= 30. 7/10 of 30 is 21 but Sam and Nora paid 19.65+ 4.50= 24.19, NOT 21! That is incorrect.
 
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