Question

A lion needs to eat at least 15 pounds of food each day. The zoo feeds the lion using canisters that each contain 3 pounds of food. The lion has already consumed 9 pounds of food. How many more canisters x of food does the lion need to eat? Write your answer as an inequality.

Answer 1

Your inequality will be x≥2.

15-9=6. The canisters hold 3 pounds each, so 6/3=2. He will need 2 canisters. BUT the problem says he needs to eat AT LEAST 15 pounds, so that's were the ">" part of "≥"comes in.

Answer 2

`x\geq 2`

Explanation:

"A lion needs to eat at least 15 pounds of food each day". This statement can be expressed

`L\geq 15`

Where
`\geq` expresses "at least".

We know that each canister is 3 pounds. So, if the lion already consumed 9 pounds of food that means

`3x=9\\x=(9)/(3)=3`

Where
`x` represents canisters. So, the lion already ate 3 canisters.

This means the Lion still needs 6 more pounds, so

`3x=6\\x=(6)/(3)=2`

Which means that the Lion needs at least 2 more canisters to be eat at least 15 pounds, that is

`x\geq 2`

Where
`x` represents canisters. So, this inequality states that the Lion has to eat at least 2 more canisters to get all 15 pounds of the day.