Mele is feeding some of the many exotic fish that live in the coral reefs off the island of Tonga. This is the largest of a chain of islands in the south Pacific. Mele has brought a cooked banana from home to give to the fish. As the fish nibble on the banana, Mele counts 24 fish, some with 5 large green spots and some with 6 blue spots. Altogether she counts 139 spots on the fish that eat her banana. How many of the fish had five spots?

Need help please for my question starting with Mele....

Thanks in advance.

X=5 y=19

To find the number of fish that had five spots, we can use algebra. Let's assume that x represents the number of fish with five spots.

Since Mele counted a total of 24 fish, we know that the number of fish with six spots can be represented as 24 - x.

Next, we need to consider the number of spots on each type of fish. The fish with five spots each have 5 spots, while the fish with six spots each have 6 spots.

Since Mele counted a total of 139 spots, we can write the equation:

5x + 6(24 - x) = 139

Now, let's solve for x:

5x + 144 - 6x = 139

Combine like terms:

-x + 144 = 139

Subtract 144 from both sides:

-x = -5

Multiply both sides by -1 to simplify:

x = 5

Therefore, there were 5 fish that had five spots.

Let x = 5 spot fish and Y = 6 spot fish.

x + y = 24

Therefore

x = 24 - y

Also

5x + 6y = 139

Substitute 24 - y for x in the second equation and solve for y. Put value for y in the first equation and solve for x. Check by putting both values into the second equation.

I hope this helps.