Nathan's boy scout troop is making M&M and peanut trail mix for a future hike. The M&M's cost $3 per pound and the peanuts cost $2 per pound. The boy scouts spend $74 to make 30 pounds of trail mix. How many pounds of M&M's did they buy?
x - pounds of the M&M`s; y - pounds of the peanuts x + y = 30 3 x + 2 y = 74 ---------------------- y = 30 - x 3 x + 2 ( 30 - x ) = 74 3 x + 60 - 2 x = 74 x = 74 - 60 x = 14 Answer: They bought 14 pounds of M&M`s.