Kris has a lot of reindeer and snowbirds,but no other pets . Among his pets kris counted 42 heads and 134 legs .How many reindeer and snowbirds did he have?

Answer 1

Let \( r \) represent the number of reindeer and \( s \) represent the number of snowbirds. We can set up the following equations based on the information provided:

1. The total number of heads (which is the total number of animals) is given by: \[ r + s = 42 \]

2. The total number of legs is given by: \[ 4r + 2s = 134 \] (since each reindeer has 4 legs and each snowbird has 2 legs).

Now, we can solve this system of equations.

First, we can solve the first equation for \( s \): \[ s = 42 - r \]

Next, we substitute this expression for \( s \) into the second equation: \[ 4r + 2(42 - r) = 134 \] Distributing the 2 gives: \[ 4r + 84 - 2r = 134 \] Combining like terms: \[ 2r + 84 = 134 \] Now, subtract 84 from both sides: \[ 2r = 134 - 84 \] \[ 2r = 50 \] Dividing both sides by 2: \[ r = 25 \]

Now that we have \( r \), we can find \( s \): \[ s = 42 - r = 42 - 25 = 17 \]

Thus, Kris has 25 reindeer and 17 snowbirds.

Final answer:

• Reindeer: 25
• Snowbirds: 17