Algebra Investment Problem

[Gadriele]

Hi,

Can you help me understand the story problem?

Rhonda invested $34,000 in federal bonds that pay 8% annual interest and city bonds that pay 9% interest. The yearly income on each of the investments is the same. How much did Rhonda invest in each type of bond?

 

[wjm11]

Rhonda invested $34,000 in federal bonds that pay 8% annual interest and city bonds that pay 9% interest. The yearly income on each of the investments is the same. How much did Rhonda invest in each type of bond?

Start by naming variables:
Let x be the amount invested at 8% interest.

Therefore, the amount left over to invest at 9% interest must be $34,000 – x.
Make sense?

Now, we’re told that both investments made the same amount of interest, so we can set them equal to each other:

(x)(.08) = (34,000 – x)(.09)