elimination word problems

[8makes1team]

mr.murphy is hosting a cookie decorating party to raise money for united way. ms, smith bought three plain cookies and decorated five cookies and she spent $21. mrs,thomas bought one plain cookie and decorated four cookies and she spent $14 . how much does a plain cookie cost ? how much does it cost to decorate a cookie ?

 

[blamocur]

From https://www.freemathhelp.com/forum/threads/read-before-posting.109846/: Show your beginning work, or ask a specific question about the exercise, or explain why you're stuck.

 

[Otis]

how much does a plain cookie cost ? how much does it cost to decorate a cookie ?

Hi. Are you a math student? This looks like a beginning algebra exercise involving a system of two linear equations. Two common solution methods are "Substitution" and "Elimination". If you don't have a textbook, let us know.

The first step is to assign a variable name for each of the two unknown amounts you've been asked to find. If you've already done that part, please share.