Student Council held a bake sale to raise money for the local food pantry. They sold a total of 40 items which included pies and cakes. Pies were $10 each and cakes were $8 each. They raised $356. How many pies and how many cakes did they sell?

18 pies, 22 cakes

Step-by-step explanation:

Let the number of pies sold be represented by p.

Let the number of cakes be represented by c.

The information in the question can then be represented in an equation as:

p + c = 40 i

10p + 8c = 356 ii

Multiply equation i by 10

Multiply equation ii by 1

10p + 10c = 400 iii

10p + 8c = 356 iv

Subtract iv from iii

2c = 44

c = 44/2

c = 22

22 cakes were sold

Since 40 items were sold, the number of pies sold will be:

= 40 - 22

= 18 pies