Q1. Flip counts numbers that are in the sequence ...
777 - 8n . . . . . for some positive integer n
This expression can be factored as ...
8(97 -n) +1
which is to say that the numbers in Flip's sequence are 1 more than a multiple of 8. The number among the answer choices that matches that description is ...
129 = 16·8 +1 . . . . . corresponding to 97-n = 16, or n = 81
Flip counted the number 129.
___
Q2. Let a and p represent the costs of an apple and a pear, respectively. Then we have ...
Substituting the expression for "a" in the second equation into the first equation, we get
5(p +0.15) = 6p
5p + 0.75 = 6p
0.75 = p
Then 12p = 12·$0.75 = $9.00 is the cost of 6 pears and 5 apples (since 5 apples cost the same as 6 pears).
The cost of interest is $9.00.