Ann spent $7.74 on oranges. if each orange costs $0.36 per pound, how many pounds of oranges did ann buy?

Set variables for the quantities we want to find. Let x = number of applesLet y = number of oranges  Next, we use these variables to write equations that describes the whole story. Since the total price is $7.75 and each type of fruit has their own price, we can say 0.40x + 0.35y = 7.55  The other equation will represent the total number of fruits bought all together, as Mark mentioned.  Once you have those equations, you solve the system using substitution and elimination methods to solve for the variables x and y.