Question

Jeri has a total of 40 pets with a total of 160 legs. If

she owns only cats and dogs, how many of each does
she have? Write a system of equations to represent
this situation. Solve it using any method.

Answer 1

let x be the number of cats and y be the number of dogs:

x + y = 40

4x + 4y = 160

If you divide both sides of the second equation by 4, you will be left with:

x + y = 40

Then, subtract both equations:

x + y =40

- (x + y = 40)

0 = 0

Since you have a number = a number, there are infinite solutions.