A 2-column table with 4 rows. Column 1 is labeled Time (minutes), x with entries 4, 5, 6, 7. Column 2 is labeled Bags Remaining, y with entries 36, 32, 28, 24.

Razi is filling bags with party favors for his birthday party. The table to the right shows the number of bags he still needs to fill after 4, 5, 6, and 7 minutes. If he is working at a constant rate, what was the initial number of party favor bags Razi had to fill?
36
48
52
56

1 answer

To determine the initial number of party favor bags Razi had to fill, we can analyze the pattern in the data provided.

From the table:

\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline \text{Time (minutes), x} & \text{Bags Remaining, y} \ \hline 4 & 36 \ 5 & 32 \ 6 & 28 \ 7 & 24 \ \hline \end{array} \]

We can observe that for every minute that passes, the bags remaining decrease by 4:

  • From 4 minutes to 5 minutes: 36 - 32 = 4
  • From 5 minutes to 6 minutes: 32 - 28 = 4
  • From 6 minutes to 7 minutes: 28 - 24 = 4

This indicates that Razi is filling bags at a rate of 4 bags per minute.

Next, we can use the information at any time to find the initial number of bags. Let's take the first row (4 minutes):

If there are 36 bags remaining after 4 minutes, we can calculate how many bags were filled in those 4 minutes:

\[ \text{Bags Filled in 4 minutes} = 4 \text{ bags/minute} \times 4 \text{ minutes} = 16 \text{ bags} \]

So, to find the total initial number of bags, we add the bags filled and the bags remaining at the 4-minute mark:

\[ \text{Initial Number of Bags} = \text{Bags Remaining} + \text{Bags Filled in 4 minutes} = 36 + 16 = 52 \]

Thus, the initial number of party favor bags Razi had to fill is 52.