Question

Cal bought several goldfish and other fish for his aquarium. One goldfish costs two dollars. He also got other fish, which cost a total of $17. If he spent more than $25 in total, write an inequality to determine how many goldfish Cal can buy, and represent it on a number line.

Answer 1

To determine how many goldfish Cal can buy, we form the inequality 2x + $17 > $25, which simplifies to x > 4. Cal can buy more than 4 goldfish. This can be represented by an open circle at 4 on a number line with a line extending to the right.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how many goldfish Cal can buy if he has already spent $17 on other fish and has spent more than $25 in total. To determine the number of goldfish Cal can buy, we need to write an inequality to represent this situation. Since one goldfish costs $2, if x is the number of goldfish, the total amount spent on goldfish would be $2x. Cal already spent $17 on other fish, so the inequality showing that he spent more than $25 in total is:

2x + $17 > $25

To find the number of goldfish Cal can buy, we will solve this inequality:

2x > $25 - $17

2x > $8

x > $4

Since x represents the number of goldfish and you can't have a fraction of a goldfish, Cal can buy more than 4 goldfish.

On a number line, we would represent this with an open circle at 4 and a shaded line extending to the right, indicating all numbers greater than 4.