a farm raises a total of 220 chickens and pigs. The number of legs of the stock in the farm totals 520. How many chickens and pigs are at the farm? Define the variables and write two equations to solve the answer.
Let P = pigs and C = chickens
P + C = 220 or
P = 220 - C
4P + 2C = 520
Substitute 220-C for P in second equation and solve for C. Insert that value into the first equation and solve for P. Check by inserting both values into the second equation.
To solve this problem, let's define the variables:
Let C be the number of chickens on the farm.
Let P be the number of pigs on the farm.
According to the problem, the total number of animals on the farm is 220, so we can write the first equation as:
C + P = 220 --> Equation 1
Secondly, we are given that the total number of animal legs on the farm is 520. Chickens have 2 legs, and pigs have 4 legs. Therefore, the total number of chicken legs (2C) plus the total number of pig legs (4P) should equal 520. We can write the second equation as:
2C + 4P = 520 --> Equation 2
We now have a system of equations:
Equation 1: C + P = 220
Equation 2: 2C + 4P = 520
Next, we can solve the system of equations to find the values of C and P.