For a summer job, Lucy is in charge of chickens and sheep. There are 16 animals total. The number of chickens, y, is 4 less than the number of sheep, x. Which ordered pair (x, y) represents the number of chickens and sheep?

Respuesta :

Answer:

(10,6)

There are 10 sheep and 6 chickens.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let y represent the number of chickens.

Let x represent the number of sheep.

1) Form a system of equations

"There are 16 animals in total"

⇒ [tex]x+y=16[/tex]

"The number of chickens is 4 less than the number of sheep"

⇒ [tex]y=x-4[/tex]

2) Substitute equation 2 into equation 1

[tex]x+(x-4)=16[/tex]

Solve for x

[tex]x+x-4=16\\2x-4=16\\2x=16+4\\2x=20\\x=10[/tex]

Therefore, there are 10 sheep.

3) Solve for y

[tex]x+y=16\\10+y=16\\y=16-10\\y=6[/tex]

Therefore, there are 6 chickens.

The ordered pair (10,6) represents the number of chickens and sheep.

I hope this helps!