Step-by-step explanation:
Let 'x' be the number of paint colors Maddie can buy.
She buys 4 paintbrushes that cost $3 each. This means that she already spent 4x3=$12 in paintbrushes. This amount plus the amount of money she'll spend in the paint colors must be at most $40:
Solving for x:
Since x must be a whole number (is the amount of paint colors) and it has to be less than 4.666... then Maddie can afford 4 paint colors
Answer:
Maddie can afford 4 paint colors