The cost of 17 pencils is ₹ $59\dfrac{1}{2}$. Find the cost of each pencil.

Given:

Total cost = ₹ $59\dfrac{1}{2}$ = ₹ $\dfrac{119}{2}$

Total pencils = 17

Cost of 1 pencil = ?

Cost of 1 pencil = Total cost ÷ Total pencils

Substituting the values in above, we get:

Cost of 1 pencil = ₹ $\dfrac{119}{2} ÷ 17$

$= ₹ \dfrac{119}{2} \div \dfrac{17}{1} \\[1em] = ₹ \dfrac{119}{2} \times \dfrac{1}{17} \quad \left[\text{Reciprocal of } \dfrac{17}{1} \text{ is } \dfrac{1}{17}\right] \\[1em] = ₹ \dfrac{7}{2} \times \dfrac{1}{1} \quad \text{[Dividing 119 by 17]} \\[1em] = ₹ \dfrac{7 \times 1}{2 \times 1} \\[1em] = ₹ \dfrac{7}{2} = ₹ 3\dfrac{1}{2}$  

The cost of each pencil is ₹ $3\dfrac{1}{2}$.