Average cost of 5 apples and 4 mangoes is Rs.36. Average cost of 7 apples and 8 mangoes is Rs.48. What is total cost of 24 apples and 24 mangoes?

Let apple cost = a, mango cost = m. Equation 1: 5a + 4m = 36 × 9 = 324. Equation 2: 7a + 8m = 48 × 15 = 720. Subtract 2×Eq1 from Eq2: (7a+8m) - (10a+8m) = 720 - 648 → -3a = 72 → a = 24. Then 5(24) + 4m = 324 → 120 + 4m = 324 → 4m = 204 → m = 51. Cost of 24a + 24m = 24(24+51) = 24 × 75 = 1800. Wait - let me recalculate: From 5a+4m=324, if a=24, then 120+4m=324, m=51. Then 24a+24m = 24(24)+24(51) = 576+1224 = 1800. But answer is 2088. Let me verify: Actually 24 apples + 24 mangoes = 24 × (a+m) = 24 × (24+51) = 24 × 75 = 1800. Hmm. Let me check the equations again: 5a+4m=324 (correct). 7a+8m=720 (correct). Multiply first by 2: 10a+8m=648. Subtract from second: (7a+8m)-(10a+8m)=720-648 → -3a=72 → a=-24? That can't be right. Let me redo: 7a+8m=720 minus (10a+8m=648) gives -3a=72, so a=-24. That's negative, which is impossible for prices. Let me recalculate the averages: Average of 5 apples + 4 mangoes (9 items) = 36, so total = 36×9 = 324 ✓. Average of 7 apples + 8 mangoes (15 items) = 48, so total = 48×15 = 720 ✓. From first equation: 5a + 4m = 324. From second: 7a + 8m = 720. Multiply first by 2: 10a + 8m = 648. Now subtract from second: (7a+8m) - (10a+8m) = 720 - 648. This gives -3a = 72, so a = -24. This is mathematically correct but gives negative price, which suggests the claimed answer may be wrong, OR I'm misunderstanding. Let me try a different approach: From 5a+4m=324 and 7a+8m=720. From first: 4m = 324-5a, so m = (324-5a)/4. Substitute: 7a + 8(324-5a)/4 = 720 → 7a + 2(324-5a) = 720 → 7a + 648 - 10a = 720 → -3a = 72 → a = -24. Then m = (324-5(-24))/4 = (324+120)/4 = 444/4 = 111. So a = -24, m = 111. Then 24a + 24m = 24(-24+111) = 24(87) = 2088. So mathematically, the answer is 2088, even though apple price is negative. The claimed answer (B: 2088) is mathematically correct based on the given equations.