Farmer Fran has 38 barnyard animals consisting of only chickens and goats. If these animals have 116 legs, how many of each type of animal are there?

Farmer Fran has 38 barnyard animals consisting of only chickens and goats. If these animals have 116 legs, how many of each type of animal are there?

 

Let the number of chickens =C

The number of goats =38 - C

 

2C + 4[38 - C] =116

2C + 152 - 4C =116

-2C=-36 divide both sides by -2

C= -36/-2

C=18 the number of chickens

38 - 18 =20 the number of goats, so that:

[18 x 2] + [20 x 4] =116 legs