Question

For a summer job, Lucy is in charge of chickens and sheep. There are 16 animals total. The number of chickens, y, is 4 less than the number of sheep, x. Which ordered pair (x, y) represents the number of chickens and sheep?

(4, 12)
(6, 10)
(8, 8)
(10, 6)

Answer 1

Let x = number of sheep and y = number of chickens. We have
y = x − 4 and x + y = 16.
Substitute: x + (x − 4) = 16 → 2x − 4 = 16 → 2x = 20 → x = 10, so y = 6.
Answer: (10, 6).