Carlo and Helen spend the same amount of money on art supplies. Carlo buys 4 glue sticks and spends $3 on glitter. Helen buys 2 glue sticks, and she spends $3.75 on tape
and $2.75 on paint. What is the cost, x, of each glue stick?

Since we don't have a total cost we will write an equation that will allow us to find the cost of x. The equation is 4x= 2x + $3 + $3.75 + $2.75. Now that we have our equation we are going to start by adding 3, 3.75, and 2.75. When added together, they come out with a total of 9.5. Now the equation becomes 4x= 2x + $9.50. Since we have our new equation we are going to subtract 2x from both sides of the equation. We now have the equation 2x= $9.50. Finally, you will divide both sides by 2. This leaves us with the final outcome x= $4.75. This means that one glues stick cost $4.75. Let's check by substituting $4.75 as the value of x in the expressions 4x is Carlo's total and 2x + $3 + $3.75 + $2.75 is Helen's total. First we do 4x, 4 multiplied by 4.75 equals 19, so Carlo spent $19 on art supplies. Now we do 2x + $3 + $3.75 + $2.75, which is 9.5 added to 9.5 and equals 19. So Helen spent $19 on art supplies. This proves that the cost of one glue stick, x, is equal $4.75.

step-by-step explanation:

first, eliminate the parenthesis:

3

x

+

2

−

4

x

second, group like terms:

3

x

−

4

x

+

2

third, combine like terms:

(

3

−

4

)

x

+

2

→

−

1

x

+

2

→

−

x

+

2