Final answer:
Rochelle can purchase a maximum of 6 candy items with her $26 budget and coupon.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rochelle will spend at most $26 on candy. Each item costs $3, and she has a coupon for an $8 discount.
To find out the maximum number of items Rochelle can purchase, we need to subtract the coupon discount from her total budget and then divide by the cost of each item. Therefore, the equation would be:
(Total budget - Coupon discount) / Cost per item = Maximum number of items
Substituting the given values into the equation, we get:
(26 - 8) / 3 = 6
So, Rochelle can purchase a maximum of 6 items with her budget and coupon.