Acme inc. spent $810 less on postage than on supplies. the ratio of postage costs to supply costs was 2 to 5. how much did acme spend on postage? solve this problem using algebra.

$540

p = postage
s = supplies

You spend 810 less on postage, so

p = s - 810

The 2nd equation is a ratio

But with cross multiplication, that becomes

2s = 5p

You are then left with the system of equations:

2s = 5p

p = s - 810

You can change the second equation so it becomes

p + 810 = s

and substitute it in for s in the first equation, so you get

2(p + 810) = 5p

2p + 1620 = 5p

1620 = 3p

540 = p

To check it, you can get money spent on supplies by adding 810, which gets 1350, which is indeed makes a 2:5 ratio between postage money and supply money

80%

step-by-step explanation: