Final answer:
By representing the number of oranges as 'O' and setting up an equation based on the given relationships between oranges, apples, and pears, we find that Carl uses 24 oranges in his fruit basket.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carl is making a fruit basket and must determine the number of oranges he uses based on the given conditions. To solve this problem, let's denote the number of oranges as O. According to the information provided, Carl uses twice as many apples as oranges, so the number of apples is 2O. He also uses eight more pears than apples, giving us the number of pears as 2O + 8. The total number of fruit pieces used is 128. Therefore, we can write the following equation to represent the situation:
O + 2O + (2O + 8) = 128
Combining like terms, we have:
5O + 8 = 128
Subtracting 8 from both sides gives us:
5O = 120
Dividing both sides by 5, we find:
O = 24
Therefore, Carl uses 24 oranges to make the fruit basket.