Final answer:
The inequality to represent the maximum amount of money a student can spend on clothes is C <= $17, which ensures $8 is saved for food from a $25 budget.
Step-by-step explanation:
To represent the maximum amount of money a student can spend on clothes at the mall with a budget of $25 while saving $8 for food, we can write an inequality. If C represents the amount of money spent on clothes, the inequality would be:
C ≤ $25 - $8
This means that the amount C spent on clothes plus $8 for food should not exceed $25. Simplifying the inequality, we get:
C ≤ $17
This inequality shows that the student can spend at most $17 on clothes to ensure there's enough money ($8) reserved for food.