A store is having a sale today jim's first purchase he bought 5 pounds of almonds and then he bought 3 pounds of jelly beans the total cost is $17 what is the price of the almonds and the jelly beans separately

The price of the almonds is $1 per pound

The price of the jelly beans is $4 per pound

Step-by-step explanation:

Indeterminate Equations

It's an equation where each variable cannot be uniquely determined since more data is needed. If more than one variable is present in a single equation, then it may have infinitely many solutions. But if we set additional conditions, we may reach determined solutions.

We are told that Jim paid $17 for almonds and jelly beans, but we are not told the total quantity of pounds or any other useful data to find the price of the pound of almonds and jelly beans separately. The equation to solve is

5x+3y=17

Where x is the number of pounds of almonds and y is the number of pounds of jelly beans Jim purchased. With no more information, we should conclude there are infinitely many solutions, for example, if x=2.8, y=1, the equation holds. Another solution could be x=2.08, y=2.2.

If we set the specific restriction that the price of each product must be an integer number, then we'll find only one solution by iterating.

If x=1, then y=4

If x=2, y=7/3

If x=3, y=2/3

For x>3, then y would be negative. So our only solution, given the specified restriction if

The price of the almonds is $1 per pound

The price of the jelly beans is $4 per pound