How would I represent this problem as three linear equations

AI Thread Summary
The problem involves a company with a $280,000 budget for three types of computing equipment: microcomputers, terminals, and word processors, each with specific costs. The relationships between the quantities are defined, with terminals being five times the number of microcomputers and microcomputers being twice the number of word processors. The equations formulated are: 2000x + 500y + 5000z = 280,000, y = 5x, and x = 2z. The algebraic solution suggests there should be 40 microcomputers, 200 terminals, and 20 word processors. The equations provided are sufficient to represent the problem accurately.
ambitionz
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Homework Statement



"A company has a budget of $280,000 for computing equipment. Three
types of equipment are available: microcomputers at $2000 a piece,
terminals at $500 a piece, and word processors at $5000 a piece. There
should be five times as many terminals as microcomputers and two
times as many microcomputers as word processors. Set this problem up
as a system of three linear equations. Determine approximately how
many machines of each type there should be by solving by trial-and-error.

Note: Check your answer by expressing the numbers of terminals and
microcomputers in terms of the number of word processors and solving
the remaining single equation in one unknown . "
[/B]

Homework Equations



How would I represent this problem as three linear equations[/B]

The Attempt at a Solution



I believe that I was able to solve the problem algebraically : number of microcomputers 40, number of word processors is 20, and the number of terminals is 200 but I'm not sure about how to express it as a series of three linear equations.

So far this is what I have :
Let x be the number of microcomputers
Let y be the number of terminals
Let z be the number of word processors

2000x+500y+5000z = 280,000
y = 5x
x = 2z

Should the previous three lines suffice?[/B]
 
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ambitionz said:

Homework Statement



"A company has a budget of $280,000 for computing equipment. Three
types of equipment are available: microcomputers at $2000 a piece,
terminals at $500 a piece, and word processors at $5000 a piece. There
should be five times as many terminals as microcomputers and two
times as many microcomputers as word processors. Set this problem up
as a system of three linear equations. Determine approximately how
many machines of each type there should be by solving by trial-and-error.

Note: Check your answer by expressing the numbers of terminals and
microcomputers in terms of the number of word processors and solving
the remaining single equation in one unknown . "
[/B]

Homework Equations



How would I represent this problem as three linear equations[/B]

The Attempt at a Solution



I believe that I was able to solve the problem algebraically : number of microcomputers 40, number of word processors is 20, and the number of terminals is 200 but I'm not sure about how to express it as a series of three linear equations.

So far this is what I have :
Let x be the number of microcomputers
Let y be the number of terminals
Let z be the number of word processors

2000x+500y+5000z = 280,000
y = 5x
x = 2z

Should the previous three lines suffice?[/B]

Yes, that looks perfectly fine. If you are able to solve it algebraically for the correct answer, why would you doubt it?
 
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