Joanie is making blueberry muffins. The table below shows b, the number of blueberries she used to make m muffins.

Number of Muffins,
m Number of Blueberries,
b
16 144
20 180
24 216
28 252
32 288

If Joanie keeps following this pattern, which of the following equations can she use to find b, the number of blueberries it will take to make m muffins?
A.
b = m + 144
B.
b = 9m
C.
m = 9b
D.
m = b + 144

1 answer

To find the relationship between the number of muffins (m) and the number of blueberries (b), we can look at the table provided and identify a pattern.

From the data:

  • For 16 muffins, there are 144 blueberries.
  • For 20 muffins, there are 180 blueberries.
  • For 24 muffins, there are 216 blueberries.
  • For 28 muffins, there are 252 blueberries.
  • For 32 muffins, there are 288 blueberries.

Now, let's compute the ratio of blueberries to muffins for each case:

  • For 16 muffins: \( \frac{144}{16} = 9 \)
  • For 20 muffins: \( \frac{180}{20} = 9 \)
  • For 24 muffins: \( \frac{216}{24} = 9 \)
  • For 28 muffins: \( \frac{252}{28} = 9 \)
  • For 32 muffins: \( \frac{288}{32} = 9 \)

We can see that the number of blueberries per muffin (b/m) is consistently 9. Therefore, the relationship between b and m can be expressed as:

\[ b = 9m \]

Thus, the correct equation Joanie can use to find b in relation to m is option B:

B. b = 9m