Alex won a gift card worth $96.00 for winning a design competition. She decided to spend her winnings on sketchbooks and paint sets. Each sketchbook (x) costs $12.00, while each paint set (y) costs $15.00.

Which of the following combinations of sketchbooks and paint sets can Alex purchase, assuming she spends her entire gift card?

(1 point)

4 sketchbooks and 3 paint sets

1 sketchbook and 4 paint sets

2 sketchbooks and 5 paint sets

3 sketchbooks and 4 paint sets

1 answer

To determine which combinations of sketchbooks and paint sets Alex can purchase with her $96.00 gift card, we can set up an equation based on the costs:

Let \( x \) be the number of sketchbooks and \( y \) be the number of paint sets. The costs are:

  • Each sketchbook costs $12.00
  • Each paint set costs $15.00

The equation representing the total cost is:

\[ 12x + 15y = 96 \]

Now, we can evaluate each option:

  1. 4 sketchbooks and 3 paint sets:

    \[ 12(4) + 15(3) = 48 + 45 = 93 \quad (\text{not valid}) \]

  2. 1 sketchbook and 4 paint sets:

    \[ 12(1) + 15(4) = 12 + 60 = 72 \quad (\text{not valid}) \]

  3. 2 sketchbooks and 5 paint sets:

    \[ 12(2) + 15(5) = 24 + 75 = 99 \quad (\text{not valid}) \]

  4. 3 sketchbooks and 4 paint sets:

    \[ 12(3) + 15(4) = 36 + 60 = 96 \quad (\text{valid}) \]

Therefore, the only valid combination that Alex can purchase with her gift card is 3 sketchbooks and 4 paint sets.