Question

Patty has $20$ coins consisting of nickels and dimes. If her nickels were dimes and her dimes were nickels, she would have $70$ cents more. How much are her coins worth?

$\$1.15$

$\$1.20$

$\$1.25$

$\$1.30$

$\$1.35$

Answer: A

Concepts:system of equations money

Difficulty rating: 1240

Solution:

Swapping increases the value, so Patty has more nickels than dimes. Each swapped coin changes the total by $5$ cents, so she has $70 / 5 = 14$ more nickels than dimes.

With $n + d = 20$ and $n - d = 14,$ she has $17$ nickels and $3$ dimes.

Her coins are worth $17 \cdot 5 + 3 \cdot 10 = 115$ cents, or $\$1.15.$

Thus, the correct answer is A.

2004 AMC 10B Problem 15

Answer: A

Difficulty rating: 1240

Solution:

Problem 15 in Other Years