Mary Jo spends $1,450 to buy stock in two companies. She pays $11 a share to one of the companies and $17 a share to the other. If she ends up with a total of 110 shares, how many shares did she buy at $11 a share and how many did she buy at $17 a share?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Let the number of shares bought at $11 be x and the number of shares bought at $17 be y. We have two equations: x + y = 110 (total shares) and 11x + 17y = 1450 (total cost). Solving these equations simultaneously, we find x = 70 and y = 40.

Mary Jo Spends $1,450 to Buy Stock in Two Companies