Question

Jim bought some potted plants:

Petunias cost $11 per pot and Begonias cost $15 per pot.

Jim bought 19 potted plants in all and spent a total of $225 on the plants.

Which would be a correct statement?

(1 point)
Responses

Jim bought 15 petunias.
Jim bought 15 petunias.

Jim bought 4 petunias.
Jim bought 4 petunias.

Jim bought 15 begonias.
Jim bought 15 begonias.

Jim bought 18 begonias.

Answer 1

Let's define the number of petunias Jim bought as \( p \) and the number of begonias as \( b \).

We have two equations based on the problem:

1. The total number of plants:
\[
p + b = 19
\]

2. The total cost of the plants:
\[
11p + 15b = 225
\]

We can solve this system step by step.

First, from the first equation, we can express \( b \) in terms of \( p \):
\[
b = 19 - p
\]

Now, we can substitute this expression for \( b \) into the second equation:
\[
11p + 15(19 - p) = 225
\]
Expanding this gives:
\[
11p + 285 - 15p = 225
\]
Combining like terms results in:
\[
-4p + 285 = 225
\]
Subtracting 285 from both sides:
\[
-4p = 225 - 285
\]
\[
-4p = -60
\]
Dividing both sides by -4 gives:
\[
p = 15
\]

Now, substituting \( p = 15 \) back into the equation \( b = 19 - p \) to find \( b \):
\[
b = 19 - 15 = 4
\]

So, Jim bought 15 petunias and 4 begonias.

Based on the options provided, the correct statement is:
**Jim bought 15 petunias.**