Answer to September 21, 1998 Problem

Money Matters

A dollar and sixty-two cents is made up from pennies, dimes, and nickels; half of the coins are nickels.

Find the number of ways that the division can be done, giving the number of pennies, dimes, and nickels for each solution.

Solution to Problem:

From p + 5n + 10d = 162 and n = (p+n+d)/2
we get p = (54 - 5d) / 2.
Substituting in values, we get six solutions: 

   Dimes  Pennies  Nickels
   -----  -------  -------
     0       27      27
     2       22      24
     4       17      21
     6       12      18
     8        7      15
    10        2      12

Correctly solved by:

1. Christi Cunsolo Minneapolis, MN
2. Chad McDaniel Winchester, VA
3. Rachel Rasmussen Winchester, VA
4. Anna Hauger Winchester, VA
5. Andrew Crosby Winchester, VA
6. Ryan Dutton Winchester, VA
7. Barrett Waybright Winchester, VA
8. John Beavers Winchester, VA