Questions: Jordan has 5.37, which he is using to buy ingredients to make salsa. He is buying one red pepper for 1.29 and three pounds of tomatoes. If Jordan has exactly the right amount of money he needs, what is the price per pound of the tomatoes? Choose the correct equation to represent this real-world problem. Solve the equation and verify the reasonableness of your answer. A pound of tomatoes costs

Solution Steps

Jordan has \$5.37 in total. He spends \$1.29 on one red pepper and buys three pounds of tomatoes. The total cost of the red pepper and tomatoes equals \$5.37. We need to find the price per pound of the tomatoes.

Let \( x \) be the price per pound of tomatoes. The total cost of the tomatoes is \( 3x \). The total cost of the red pepper and tomatoes is: \[ 1.29 + 3x = 5.37 \]

Subtract \$1.29 from both sides to isolate the term with \( x \): \[ 3x = 5.37 - 1.29 \] \[ 3x = 4.08 \] Now, divide both sides by 3 to solve for \( x \): \[ x = \frac{4.08}{3} \] \[ x = 1.36 \]

The price per pound of tomatoes is \$1.36. This is reasonable because:

• The total cost of the tomatoes is \( 3 \times 1.36 = 4.08 \).
• Adding the cost of the red pepper (\$1.29) gives \( 1.29 + 4.08 = 5.37 \), which matches Jordan's total amount.

Final Answer