Question

Jason is building birdhouses in shop class, and he has a total of 553 nails on hand. A small birdhouse requires 35 nails and a large birdhouse requires 42 nails.

Write the inequality in standard form that describes this situation. Use the given numbers and the following variables.
x = the number of small birdhouses
y = the number of large birdhouses

Answer 1

Answer: 35x + 42y <- 553

Explanation:

Since a small birdhouse requires 35 nails and a large birdhouse requires 42 nails, we can write the following equations:

Number of nails used for small birdhouses: 35x

Number of nails used for large birdhouses: 42y

Given that Jason has a total of 553 nails on hand, we can write the inequality:

35x + 42y ≤ 553

This inequality states that the sum of the nails used for the small birdhouses (35x) and the nails used for the large birdhouses (42y) should be less than or equal to 553, as Jason cannot use more nails than he has available.

Therefore, the inequality in standard form that describes this situation is 35x + 42y ≤ 553.