Question 79203
My son and I can't find the solution to this question. 148 people attend a 5 day camp. The chef needs 9 lbs of food for each child and 12 lbs for each adult.He needs a total of 1410 lbs of food. How many children and how many adults attend camp? We figured that there are 26 adults and 122 children but we can't set it up using two variables.:
:
Let a = number of adults; c = number children
:
Write and equation for each statement
" 148 people attend a 5 day camp."
a + c = 148
a = (148-c); to use for substitution
:
"The chef needs 9 lbs of food for each child and 12 lbs for each adult.He needs a total of 1410 lbs":
12a + 9c = 1410
:
"How many children and adults attend the camp"
Substitute (148-c) for a in the 2nd equation:
12(148-c) + 9c = 1410
1776 - 12c + 9c = 1410 
-3c = 1410 - 1776 
-3c = -366
c = -366/-3
c = +122
:
Easy enough to find a: 148-122 = 26