High School

A box containing a total of 179 copies of two different paperback books was shipped to Marci's school. The total weight of the books was 128 pounds. If the weight of each of the first paperbacks was [tex]\frac{2}{3}[/tex] of a pound and the weight of each of the second paperbacks was [tex]\frac{3}{4}[/tex] of a pound, which statements are true? Check all that apply.

- The system of equations is [tex]x + y = 179[/tex] and [tex]\frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 128[/tex].
- The system of equations is [tex]x + y = 128[/tex] and [tex]\frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 179[/tex].
- To eliminate the [tex]x[/tex]-variable from the equations, you can multiply the equation with the fractions by 3 and leave the other equation as it is.
- To eliminate the [tex]y[/tex]-variable from the equations, you can multiply the equation with the fractions by -4 and multiply the other equation by 3.
- There are 104 copies of one book and 24 copies of the other.

Answer :

Let the number of copies of the first paperback be [tex]$x$[/tex] and the number of copies of the second paperback be [tex]$y$[/tex]. Then we have:

[tex]$$
x + y = 179 \quad \text{(total number of books)}
$$[/tex]

and

[tex]$$
\frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 128 \quad \text{(total weight in pounds)}.
$$[/tex]

Below is a step-by-step explanation addressing the statements:

1. The system of equations is
[tex]$$
x + y = 179 \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 128.
$$[/tex]
This setup correctly represents that there are 179 books in total and their combined weight is 128 pounds. Therefore, this statement is true.

2. The alternative system given as
[tex]$$
x + y = 128 \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 179
$$[/tex]
incorrectly assigns the total weight as 179 and the total number as 128. Thus, this statement is false.

3. One idea for eliminating the [tex]$x$[/tex]-variable is to multiply the equation with the fractions by 3. Multiplying
[tex]$$
\frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 128 \quad \text{by } 3 \text{ gives } 2x + \frac{9}{4}y = 384.
$$[/tex]
However, the other equation, [tex]$x + y = 179$[/tex], would remain unchanged (i.e., [tex]$x$[/tex] has coefficient 1) and the coefficients of [tex]$x$[/tex] would not match for cancellation. Hence, this approach does not eliminate [tex]$x$[/tex], so this statement is false.

4. To eliminate the [tex]$y$[/tex]-variable, one effective method is to use multipliers. Multiply the equation
[tex]$$
x + y = 179
$$[/tex]
by 3 to obtain:

[tex]$$
3x + 3y = 537.
$$[/tex]

Then, multiply the weight equation
[tex]$$
\frac{2}{3}x + \frac{3}{4}y = 128
$$[/tex]
by [tex]$-4$[/tex] to get:

[tex]$$
-\frac{8}{3}x - 3y = -512.
$$[/tex]

Adding these two equations results in:

[tex]$$
\left(3x - \frac{8}{3}x\right) + (3y - 3y) = 537 - 512.
$$[/tex]

Notice that in the first term, [tex]$3x = \frac{9}{3}x$[/tex] so:

[tex]$$
\left(\frac{9}{3}x - \frac{8}{3}x\right) = \frac{1}{3}x.
$$[/tex]

This gives:

[tex]$$
\frac{1}{3}x = 25,
$$[/tex]

so

[tex]$$
x = 75.
$$[/tex]

Since the [tex]$y$[/tex]-terms cancel out exactly, this method correctly eliminates [tex]$y$[/tex], and the statement is true.

5. Now, using the first equation [tex]$x + y = 179$[/tex] and substituting [tex]$x = 75$[/tex], we have:

[tex]$$
75 + y = 179 \quad \Longrightarrow \quad y = 179 - 75 = 104.
$$[/tex]

The numbers of copies of the two books are [tex]$75$[/tex] and [tex]$104$[/tex]. The statement claiming "There are 104 copies of one book and 24 copies of the other" is incorrect since [tex]$24$[/tex] is not one of the computed values.

In summary, the true statements are:

- The system of equations is
[tex]$$
x+y=179 \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{2}{3}x+\frac{3}{4}y=128.
$$[/tex]
- To eliminate the [tex]$y$[/tex]-variable, you can multiply the equation with the fractions by [tex]$-4$[/tex] and multiply the other equation by [tex]$3$[/tex].

The final answer is that statements 1 and 4 are true, the elimination multipliers are [tex]$3$[/tex] and [tex]$-4$[/tex], and the number of copies for the two books are [tex]$75$[/tex] and [tex]$104$[/tex], respectively.