Two friends shop for fresh fruit. Elena buys a watermelon for $6.35 and 5 pounds of cherries. Taniy buys a pineapple for $3.15 and 4 pounds of cherries. Use the variable p to represent the price, in dollars, per pound of cherries. Write and simplify an expression to represent how much more Elena spent.

The expression that represents how much more Elena spent is $3.2 + p

Step-by-step explanation:

The variable p represents the price, in dollars, per pound of cherries.

Elena buys a watermelon for $ 6.35 and 5 pounds of cherries. So, the price of the cherries bought by Elena will be = 5*p

Then the total amount spent by Elena during her purchase of fresh fruits is:

$6.35 + 5*p

On the other hand, Tania buys a pineapple for $ 3.15 and 4 pounds of cherries. So, the price of the cherries bought by Tania will be 4*p

Therefore, the total amount spent by Tania during her purchase of fresh fruits is:

$3.15 + 4*p

You want to determine an expression to represent how much more Elena spent. That is, you want to determine the difference between the money spent by Elena and the money spent by Tania, which represents how much more Elena spent:

Total amount spent by Elena on fresh fruits - Total amount spent by Tania on fresh fruits

$6.35 + 5*p - ($3.15 + 4*p)

Solving:

$6.35 + 5*p - $3.15 - 4*p

($6.35 - $3.15) + (5*p - 4*p)

$3.2 + p

The expression that represents how much more Elena spent is $3.2 + p

step-by-step explanation: