Final answer:
In order to find out how many small and large candles were sold at the craft fair, we can set up a system of equations and use the substitution method to solve for the variables. The number of small candles sold is 12, and the number of large candles sold is 16.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this problem, we can set up a system of equations. Let's represent the number of small candles as 's', and the number of large candles as 'l'. We know that the total number of candles sold is 28, so we can write the equation s + l = 28. We also know that the total amount of money collected is $144, so we can write the equation 4s + 6l = 144. To solve this system of equations, we can use the substitution method. From the first equation, we can express l in terms of s as l = 28 - s. Substituting this into the second equation, we get 4s + 6(28 - s) = 144. Simplifying the equation, we have 4s + 168 - 6s = 144. Combining like terms, we get -2s + 168 = 144. Subtracting 168 from both sides, we have -2s = -24. Dividing both sides by -2, we get s = 12. Now that we know the number of small candles sold, we can substitute this into the first equation to find the number of large candles. Plugging in s = 12, we have 12 + l = 28. Solving for l, we get l = 28 - 12 = 16. Therefore, you sold 12 small candles and 16 large candles at the craft fair.