AboutSteve Holleran Expertise I can help with all math questions from basic math to Calculus.
Whether it`s consumer questions, or questions from high school or college students, I have probably dealt with it at some time in my career.
Experience I have taught high school mathematics for the past 33 years in New Jersey. I am now retired in Florida.
Organizations National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Association of Mathematics Teachers of NJ
Teachers Teaching with Technology
Expert: Steve Holleran Date: 5/9/2008 Subject: Colored M&Ms (matrecis)
Question You have a jar filled with 1,500 brown, red, yellow, green and blue m&ms.
Primary colors (red, blue, yellow) make up 2/3 of the total.
There are the same number of red and yellow combined as brown , green and blue combined.
There are twice as many red as green.
There are 100 fewer green than brown.
Write and solve a matrix system.
uhh??
Answer Hi Taylor,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you -- I got caught up in Mother's day weekend, and lost track of the questions I had.
I also wonder what a matrix system has to do with the problem. It can be solved fairly easily just using equations.
We have Br + r + Y + G + Bl = 1500
R + Bl + Y = 1000, so right away, Br + G = 500 (*)
Then R + Y = Br + G + Bl
Br - G = 100 (*)
R = 2G
If you take the two starred equations, you can set up the system:
Br + G = 500
Br - G = 100
-------------
So I guess at this point you could write a matrix system :
[Br G][1 -1 = [100 500]
1 1]
Which is the same as solving the system above. You get Br = 300, so g = 200, the R = 400.
Then, putting these back into the equation
R + Y = Br + G + Bl-------> R + Y - Bl = Br + G = 500
and you also have R + Y + Bl = 1000
so then 2R + 2Y = 1500 so R + Y = 750, and since R = 400, Y = 350, which leads to Bl = 250.
I really don't know what else you could be asked to do with a matrix system.
