Question

Martin used some apples to make muffins. Omar used some apples to make applesauce. Omar used 5 fewer than half as many apple as Martin used.

A. Write an expression to show the number of apples that Martin & Omar used in all. What does your variable represent?



B. Could Martin have used 10 apples? Why or why no tv used the expression to help you decide. Show you work & solution


Please help

Answer 1

A. 1.5a - 5, where 'a' is the number of apples used by Martin

B. Martin could not have used 10 apples, because that would mean Omar used none.

Explanation:

Let 'a' represent the number of apples that Martin used. Since Omar used '5 fewer than half as many as Martin':

0.5a - 5 = the number of apples used by Omar

A. The total of all the apples:

a + 0.5a - 5 = 1.5a - 5

B. If Martin used 10 apples:

a = 10

0.5(10) - 5 = 0, which means Omar would have used no apples to make applesauce

Answer 2

A)An expression to show the number of apples that Martin & Omar used in all is
`(3)/(2)x-5`

B)Martin could not have 10 apples

Explanation:

Let x be the no. of apples used by Martin

We are given that Omar used 5 fewer than half as many apple as Martin used.

No. of apples used by Omar =
`(1)/(2)x-5`

Total apples used by both =
`x+(1)/(2)x-5=(3)/(2)x-5`

A ) So, an expression to show the number of apples that Martin & Omar used in all is
`(3)/(2)x-5`

B) Could Martin have used 10 apples

It Martin used 10 apples

So, x = 10

So, No. of apples used by Omar =
`(1)/(2)(10)-5=0`

So, No. of apples used by Omar is 0 which is not possible since we are given that Omar used apples to make sauce

So, Martin could not have 10 apples