Search: ralph's clothing company has an order for 20 skirts to be made from a bolt of fabric that has 28 1/4 yd of fabric. the customer wants as many flared skirts as possible, and the rest can be straight skirts. a straight skirt uses 1 1/4 yd of fabric, and a flared skirt uses 1 1/2 yd of fabric. how many of each kind of skirt can ralph make to complete the order?

Answer 1

Using algebra:
Let x=number of flared skirts,
then 20-x = number of straight skirts
1.5x+1.25(20-x) ≤ 28.25
0.25x ≤ 28.25-20*1.25
x ≤ 3.25/0.25
x ≤ 13
There he can make 13 flared skirts and 7 straight skirts.

Using arithmetic:
If he made all flared skirts, he would need 20*1.5=30 yards.
For every switch he makes, he saves (1.5-1.25)=0.25 yd
Therefore he has to switch (30-28.25)/0.25=7 skirts.
He needs to make 13 flared skirts and 7 straight skirts.