The Washington Post, September 7th, 2002
Charles R.L. Power wrote, "I don't know who could solve such an equation without algebra" [Free for All, Aug. 24]. The question was: "Eva bought 5 pairs of identical socks and a $6.50 hairbrush. The total cost for the items was less than $29. Which of these inequalities best describes the cost (c) of each pair of socks?" I would solve this as an arithmetic problem: Suppose that the total cost is exactly $29. Then the five pairs of socks cost $29 - $6.50 = $22.50. So one pair of socks costs $22.50 / 5 = $4.50. Because the total cost is less than $29, the cost of a pair of socks is less than $4....
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