Gideon has $30 to buy fish for his aquarium. He is considering buying angel fish, which cost $2 each, and puffer fish, which cost $3 each. Let x represent the number of angel fish and let y represent the number of puffer fish.

Complete the equation that represents this situation. Make sure that you write the coefficient first, then the variable. For example 8 times x should be entered 8x and 5 times y should be entered 5y.


_= 30

PART B
If Gideon only buys angel fish, then how many fish can he purchase?

angel fish

PART C
If Gideon only buys puffer fish, then how many fish can he purchase?

puffer fish

1 answer

To represent the situation where Gideon is buying angel fish (x) and puffer fish (y) with a total budget of $30, we can write the equation as follows:

PART A

The cost of the angel fish is $2 each, so the total cost for x angel fish is \(2x\). The cost of the puffer fish is $3 each, so the total cost for y puffer fish is \(3y\). The combined costs should equal $30, giving us the equation:

\[ 2x + 3y = 30 \]


PART B

If Gideon only buys angel fish, we can find how many he can purchase by dividing his total budget by the cost of each angel fish:

\[ \text{Number of angel fish} = \frac{30}{2} = 15 \]

So, Gideon can purchase 15 angel fish.


PART C

If Gideon only buys puffer fish, we can find how many he can purchase by dividing his total budget by the cost of each puffer fish:

\[ \text{Number of puffer fish} = \frac{30}{3} = 10 \]

So, Gideon can purchase 10 puffer fish.