Three pencils and a jumbo eraser cost $\$1.24$. Five pencils and a jumbo eraser cost $\$1.82$. No prices include tax. In cents, what is the cost of a pencil?
I notice that the only difference between the two scenarios is the number of pencils, so I can use this information to find the cost of a pencil. If I subtract the first equation from the second equation, I will eliminate the cost of the jumbo eraser and get an equation that relates the number of pencils to the total cost. Let p be the cost of a pencil in cents, then the equations are:

3p + e = 124
5p + e = 182 Subtracting the first from the second, I get:

2p = 58 Solving for p, I get:

p = 29

