Sondra has a lot of cats ( which have four legs) and parakeets (which have two legs), but now other pets. Among her pets, Sondra counts 57 heads and 176 legs How many cats does she have?

Answer 1

Since each pet has one head,
If there are c cats, then the rest (57-c) are 'keets
So, counting the legs,
4c + 2(57-c) = 176

Answer 2

c = cats

p = parakeets

Sondra counts 57 heads means:

c + p = 57

Cat have four legs, parakeets have two legs.

Sondra counts 176 legs means:

4 c + 2 p = 176

Now you must solve system of two equations:

c + p = 57

4 c + 2 p = 176

The solution is:

c = 31 , p = 26

She have 31 cats

Answer 3

I suspect cats and birds have one head apiece
c + p = 57
4 c + 2 p = 176

4 c + 2( 57 - c) = 176
4 c + 114 - 2 c = 176
2 c = 62
c = 31 cats