Peter and Catherine are selling cookies for a school fundraiser. They start selling on the same day.

• Peters starts with 300 boxes of cookies and sells them at an average of 15 boxes per day.

• The number of boxes of cookies, y, Catherine has left after x days is represented in the table shown.

x 0 1 2 3
y 300 250 200 150

1 answer

To analyze the sales of cookies by Peter and Catherine, let's start by calculating the remaining boxes of cookies for Peter after a certain number of days, and then we can compare it to Catherine's sales.

Peter's Sales

  • Initial Boxes: 300
  • Sales Rate: 15 boxes per day

The number of boxes Peter has left after \( x \) days can be represented by the equation: \[ \text{Boxes left} = 300 - 15x \]

Catherine's Sales

From the table, we have the following information regarding Catherine's boxes of cookies left after \( x \) days:

| \( x \) (Days) | \( y \) (Boxes left) | |----------------|-----------------------| | 0 | 300 | | 1 | 250 | | 2 | 200 | | 3 | 150 |

Analyzing Catherine's Sales

To find the selling rate for Catherine, we can observe the changes in boxes over the days:

  • From Day 0 to Day 1: \( 300 - 250 = 50 \) boxes sold
  • From Day 1 to Day 2: \( 250 - 200 = 50 \) boxes sold
  • From Day 2 to Day 3: \( 200 - 150 = 50 \) boxes sold

So, Catherine sells 50 boxes of cookies per day.

Comparing Peter and Catherine's Sales

Now, we can create a table for Peter's remaining boxes after the same number of days:

| \( x \) (Days) | Peter's boxes left | Catherine's boxes left | |----------------|---------------------|-----------------------| | 0 | \( 300 - 15(0) = 300 \) | 300 | | 1 | \( 300 - 15(1) = 285 \) | 250 | | 2 | \( 300 - 15(2) = 270 \) | 200 | | 3 | \( 300 - 15(3) = 255 \) | 150 |

Summary

  • Peter starts with 300 boxes and sells 15 boxes a day.
  • Catherine starts with 300 boxes and sells 50 boxes a day.

After three days, Peter will have 255 boxes left, while Catherine will have 150 boxes left. This means Catherine is selling her cookies at a faster rate than Peter, and her inventory is depleting much quicker.