A metal alloy is 27% copper. Another metal alloy is 52% copper. How much of each should be used to make 22 g of an alloy that is 36.09% copper?

14.0008 grams of 27% and 7.9992 grams of 52%

Step-by-step explanation:

We know that in the end we want 22 grams of 36.09% copper, meaning in the end we want 36.09% of the 22 grams to be copper. This means we can multiply 36.09% by 22 to see how much copper we want in the end.

To find out how much of each alloy to use, we can multiply the percentage of copper in the alloy be a variable x, which will be how much of that alloy we use. For the other alloy, we can multiply the percentage by (22-x) grams as we know in the end we want 22 grams and if x+y=22, than y would equal 22-x, and in this case this simplifies it to only use a single variable.

Now finally, making the equation we get 27x+52(22-x)=36.09(22). We can solve this and get 27x+1144-52x=793.98, then combine like terms and get -25x+1144=793.98. Next you have to subtract 1144 from both sides to get -25x=-350.02. Dividing both sides by -25 we get x=14.0008. This is how many grams of 27% copper was used. Now we can subtract this from 22 to get how much 52% copper was used, and we get 22-14.0008=7.9992 grams of 52% copper.

the correct answer is $7.38

step-by-step explanation: