Question

Melissa is budgeting for her trip to the mall. She does not want to spend more than $170. She wants to buy a dress that costs $32.50 and some shirts that cost $18.25 each. Melissa uses the following inequality to determine the maximum number of shirts she can buy.

Based on the above information, what is the maximum number of shirts Melissa can buy?
A.
6
B.
7
C.
8
D.
9

Answer 1

To find the maximum number of shirts Melissa can buy, we can set up the following inequality based on her budget.

Let \( x \) be the number of shirts she buys. The total cost will consist of the cost of the dress and the cost of the shirts. The inequality based on her budget is:

\[
32.50 + 18.25x \leq 170
\]

Now, we will solve for \( x \):

1. Subtract the cost of the dress from both sides:
\[
18.25x \leq 170 - 32.50
\]
\[
18.25x \leq 137.50
\]

2. Now, divide both sides by 18.25 to solve for \( x \):
\[
x \leq \frac{137.50}{18.25}
\]

Calculating the right side:
\[
\frac{137.50}{18.25} \approx 7.526
\]

Since \( x \) must be a whole number (as you can't buy a fraction of a shirt), we take the maximum whole number less than or equal to 7.526, which is 7.

Thus, the maximum number of shirts Melissa can buy is:

**B. 7**