Step-by-step explanation:
Wyzant
ASK
ALGEBRA 1
Christina B. asked • 11/16/20
please help me i've been stuck on this question forever
Write a system of equations to describe the situation below, solve, and write as an ordered pair (with number of months as x). Two friends, Ann and Malia, are growing out their hair. They plan to cut it off at a certain point and donate it to a charity that makes wigs for people with cancer. Ann's hair is already 23 centimeters long and grows at a constant rate of 3 centimeters per month. Malia's hair is 27 centimeters and growing at a speed of 1 centimeter per month. If the girls get their hair cut on a certain day, they will have exactly the same length to donate. How long will their hair be? How long will that take?
Follow1
Add comment
More
4 Answers By Expert Tutors
By:
Best
Allen E. answered • 11/17/20
TUTOR 5.0 (131)
Patient and knowledgeble mathematics tutor
ABOUT THIS TUTOR ›
Ann's hair length: y = 23 + 3x
Malia's hair length: y = 27 + x
Thus: 23 + 3x = 27 + x
23 + 2x = 27
2x = 4
x = 2
Ann's hair length: y = 23 + 2(3) = 29
Malia's Hair length: y = 27 + 2 = 29
Solution: (x, y) = (2, 29)
In 2 months both Ann's and Malia's hair will be 29 centimeters long.
Upvote0
Downvote
Add comment
More
Erykah H. answered • 11/16/20
TUTOR 3.7 (3)
Senior at the University of Illinois looking to help how I can!
SEE TUTORS LIKE THIS
Upvote0
Downvote
Add comment
More
Lauren W. answered • 11/16/20
TUTOR 5 (2)
All ages English/Writing tutor, Kindergarten through University
SEE TUTORS LIKE THIS
Let's start with Ann's hair: 23 centimeters + 3 centimeters per month
Malia's hair: 27 centimeters + 1 centimeter per month
Now we can substitute the number of months for "x"
Ann's hair length = 23 + 3x
Malia's hair length = 27 +1x
We know that we want both girls to have the same hair length at the end so we can set these two equations as equal to each other:
23 + 3x = 27 + 1x Subtract 23 from both sides
3x = 4 + 1x Subtract 1x from both sides
2x = 4 Divide by 2
x=2 Now we know it will take 2 months for their hair to be the same length!
Let's plug that in to our original equations:
Ann's hair length = 23 + 3(2) = 29 centimeters
Malia's hair = 27 + 1(2) = 29 centimeters
It will take 2 months for the girls to grow their hair to the same length of 29 centimeters.
As ordered pairs, with x as the number of months, we can use the length of the girls hair as the y value.
At 0 months, Ann's hair is 23 cm and Malia's is 27 cm so the first ordered pairs are (0, 23) and (0, 27).
At 1 month, Ann's hair grows 3 cm and Malia's grows 1 cm so the second pairs are (1, 26) and (1, 28).
Finally, at 2 months Ann's hair is at 29 cm and so is Malia's so the final ordered pair is (2, 29) for both girls.
If you were to draw these equations on a graph, (2, 29) is where the lines would intersect.
