Farmer Deanna looks out her window and counts a total of 64 legs on a total of 20 animals. If she has only sheep and chickens, how many of each does she have? (Hint: Sheep have 4 legs each and chickens 2 legs each.
Hey!
Let's start by setting two variables,
\(S = \text{sheep}\)
\(C = \text{chicken}\)
Once we have our variables we can go ahead and make our equations:
1.) The easiest equation that we can make with these two variables is with the total # of animals.
The number of sheep + The number of chickens = The total # of animals,
So we get the equation: \(S + C = 20\).
2.) Now, we are given that sheep have \(4\) legs and chickens have \(2\) legs.
(The number of sheep x The number of legs each sheep has) + (The number of chickens x The number of legs each chicken has) = The total # of legs.
So we get the equation \(4S + 2C = 64\)
Now that we have our two equations,
\(4S + 2C = 64\)
\(S + C = 20\),
You can use the two equations to either substitute the variables or eliminate them to find your answer.
Hey!
Let's start by setting two variables,
\(S = \text{sheep}\)
\(C = \text{chicken}\)
Once we have our variables we can go ahead and make our equations:
1.) The easiest equation that we can make with these two variables is with the total # of animals.
The number of sheep + The number of chickens = The total # of animals,
So we get the equation: \(S + C = 20\).
2.) Now, we are given that sheep have \(4\) legs and chickens have \(2\) legs.
(The number of sheep x The number of legs each sheep has) + (The number of chickens x The number of legs each chicken has) = The total # of legs.
So we get the equation \(4S + 2C = 64\)
Now that we have our two equations,
\(4S + 2C = 64\)
\(S + C = 20\),
You can use the two equations to either substitute the variables or eliminate them to find your answer.