Let x be the number of animals with 4 legs
and y be the number of animals with 2 legs
So, 4 legs on x animals
plus 2 legs on y animals expressed as 4x + 2y = 44
total number of animals expressed as x + y = 15
y = 15 – x so sub into 1st equation 4(x) + 2(15 – x) = 44
4x + 30 – 2x = 44
2x = 14
x = 7 animals with 4 legs, i.e., horses
sub 7 for x 7 + y = 15
y = 8 animals with 2 legs, i.e., chickens
Check
7 horses have 28 legs
8 chickens have 16 legs
total legs 44 legs