Final answer:
Wade can buy at most 10 sweaters and still have at least $55 left.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how many sweaters Wade can buy and still have at least $55, we can set up an inequality.
Let's assume Wade can buy 'x' sweaters.
The cost of each sweater is $12, so the total cost of 'x' sweaters would be 12x.
Wade starts with $175 and wants to have at least $55 remaining. So, we can set up the inequality: 175 - 12x ≥ 55.
To solve this inequality, we can subtract 175 from both sides: -12x ≥ 55 - 175.
Simplifying the equation, we have: -12x ≥ -120.
To isolate 'x', we divide both sides by -12. But remember, when we divide by a negative number, we need to reverse the inequality sign. So, the inequality becomes: x ≤ -120 ÷ -12.
When we divide -120 by -12, we get x ≤ 10.
Therefore, Wade can buy at most 10 sweaters and still have at least $55 left.