I need help on a word problem because it doesn't have enough numbers to work with. So here it is: There are 19 animals in the barn. Some are geese and some are oxen. There are 56 legs in all. How many of each animal are there?

So, for the first equation, I got x + y = 19. The second equation I can't make because there are no numbers that I can pair with the x and y variables, so no coefficients, but I'm thinking maybe 4x + 4y = 56 for the legs.

Please help me!!! I'm not sure what the steps involve in making the equation. Just the equations, I'm sure I can handle solving it.

5 answers

Since geese only have 2 legs, how about 2x + 4y?

OOPS I OVERLOOKED THAT MY BAD. Thanks, so I'm assuming that my first equation was right?

Yes.

Thank you Ms. Sue!

You're welcome.