Ms.Speedi has 40 pets, all birds and cats. One day she figured out that there was a total of 56 legs. How many of each animal does she have?
I did the equation x+y=40, 4x+2y=56. I did everything correctly and got (-12,52) but you can't have -12 cats. Is there a different answer? Please help!!!
your second equation:
4x + 2y = 56
2x + y = 28
2x+y = 28
x+y = 40
subtract:
x = -12
you are correct, the question is bogus!
each pet has at least two legs.
No way can 40 pets have only 56 legs!
Great effort on setting up the equations! However, there seems to be a mistake in your calculations or equation setup. Let's go through the correct method step by step:
Let's assume the number of birds is represented by 'x' and the number of cats is represented by 'y'. We can create two equations based on the given information:
1. The total number of pets is 40: x + y = 40
2. The total number of legs is 56: 2x + 4y = 56
Now, we have a system of two equations that we can solve simultaneously to find the values of 'x' and 'y'.
Method 1: Substitution
Let's solve the first equation for 'x':
x = 40 - y
By substituting this value of 'x' into the second equation:
2(40 - y) + 4y = 56
Simplify the equation:
80 - 2y + 4y = 56
Combine like terms:
2y = 24
Divide both sides by 2:
y = 12
Now substitute the value of 'y' back into the first equation:
x + 12 = 40
Subtract 12 from both sides:
x = 28
So, Ms. Speedi has 28 birds and 12 cats.
Method 2: Elimination
Multiply the first equation by 2 to make the coefficients of 'x' the same in both equations:
2x + 2y = 80
Now, subtract the second equation from the first:
(2x + 2y) - (2x + 4y) = 80 - 56
Simplify:
-2y = 24
Divide both sides by -2:
y = -12
Uh-oh! It seems we encountered a mistake or inconsistency in the problem. Having a negative number of cats is not possible in this context since Ms. Speedi cannot have -12 cats. Therefore, it appears that there might be an error or ambiguity in the given information or problem statement.
I suggest double-checking the problem or providing additional information to arrive at a valid solution.