Question

An animal shelter spends $5.50 per day to care for each bird and $8.50 per day to care for each cat. Nicole noticed that the shelter spent $283.00 caring for birds and cats on Wednesday. Nicole found a record showing that there were a total of 40 birds and cats on Wednesday. How many birds were at the shelter on Wednesday?

Answer 1

Answer: 19 birds were at the shelter on Wednesday.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the number of birds that were at the shelter on Wednesday.

Let y represent the number of birds that were at the shelter on Wednesday.

Nicole found a record showing that there were a total of 40 birds and cats on Wednesday. This means that

x + y = 40

The animal shelter spends $5.50 per day to care for each bird and $8.50 per day to care for each cat. Nicole noticed that the shelter spent $283.00 caring for birds and cats on Wednesday. This means that

5.5x + 8.5y = 283 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1

Substituting x = 40 - y into equation 1, it becomes

5.5(40 - y) + 8.5y = 283

220 - 5.5y + 8.5y = 283

- 5.5y + 8.5y = 283 - 220

3y = 63

y = 63/3 = 21

x = 40 - y = 40 - 21

x = 19