Farmer Brown has cows and ducks. There is a total of 148 "feet." Figure out how many of each Farmer Brown has. Could someone help me with this question. I do not understand this some please help me
cows have four feet , ducks have two
4 c + 2 d = 148
you need more information ... like the number of heads
Here is the problem. Farmer Brown has cows and ducks. There is a total of 148 "feet". Figure out how many of each Farmer Brown has.
This what I have to work with
he could have 2 ducks and 36 cows , or 2 cows and 70 ducks
... or any combination in between
there is not enough information for a unique solution
Ashley, Ashley, you have been flogging this problem since this afternoon when I first answered it for you.
None of the replies since then have been any different, why can you not see that there is not enough information ?
It all started here ....
https://www.jiskha.com/questions/1803455/Farmer-Brown-has-cows-and-ducks-There-is-a-total-of-148-feet-Figure-out-how-many
Sure, I can help explain the process of solving this problem.
Let's assume that the number of cows is represented by "x", and the number of ducks is represented by "y". Since each cow has 4 feet and each duck has 2 feet, we can set up two equations to represent the number of feet:
1. The number of cow feet: 4x
2. The number of duck feet: 2y
The problem gives us the information that there is a total of 148 feet. So, we can set up another equation:
3. The total number of feet: 4x + 2y = 148
Now we have a system of two equations with two variables:
Equation 1: 4x + 2y = 148
Equation 2: ...
To solve this system, there are several methods you can use. One common method is the substitution method:
1. Solve Equation 1 for one of the variables (let's solve for x):
4x = 148 - 2y
x = (148 - 2y) / 4
x = 37 - (y / 2)
2. Substitute the expression for x into Equation 2:
...
Sorry, there seems to be an error when explaining the substitution method. Let's try using a different approach: the elimination method.
1. Rearrange Equation 1:
4x + 2y = 148
2. Multiply Equation 2 by 2 to make the coefficients of y in both equations equal:
2x + 2y = 296
3. Subtract Equation 2 from Equation 1:
(4x + 2y) - (2x + 2y) = 148 - 296
2x = -148
4. Solve for x:
x = -148 / 2
x = -74
5. Substitute the value of x back into Equation 1:
4(-74) + 2y = 148
-296 + 2y = 148
2y = 148 + 296
2y = 444
6. Solve for y:
y = 444 / 2
y = 222
Therefore, Farmer Brown has -74 cows and 222 ducks. However, since the total number of animals cannot be negative, it seems there may be an error or missing information in the problem. Please double-check the information provided.