A collection of quarters and nickels is worth $14.80. There are 88 coins in all.

How many of each coin are there?

So the equaiton is

number of nickes=n

number of quarters=q

if you have 1 quarter then you have 25 cents so we will represent like this

25q

and nickles is 5n

14.50=1450 cents

so

25q+5n=1480

q+n=88

subtract q from both sides

n=88-q

subsitute into first equation

25q+5 (88-q) = 1480

25q+440-5q=1480

add like terms

20q+440=1480

subtract 440 from both sides

20q=1040

divide both sdies by 20

q=52

there were 52 quarters

25 (52) + 5n=1480

1300+5n=1480

subtract 1300 from both sides

5n=180

divide both sides by 5

n=36

there were 36 nickels

nickles=36

quarters=52