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Libby needs to earn at least $120 per week as a writer. Libby earns $10 per poem and $15 for each short story she writes. Libby does not want to write more than 20 things per week.

A. Is it possible for Libby to write 10 poems and 4 short stories to meet her weekly budget and working conditions? Why or why not? Please explain yourself using mathematical concepts.
B. What is another possible set of values that will work for Libby's situation?

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Libby can meet her weekly budget goal by writing 10 poems and 4 short stories, earning a total of $160, which exceeds her $120 target. An alternative is writing 8 poems and 6 short stories for a total of $170, also exceeding the minimum requirement and staying within the 20-item limit.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine if Libby can meet her weekly budget goal, we need to calculate the total earnings from writing 10 poems and 4 short stories.

Earnings from poems: 10 poems × $10 per poem = $100

Earnings from short stories: 4 short stories × $15 per short story = $60

Total earnings: $100 (poems) + $60 (short stories) = $160

Since Libby needs to earn at least $120 per week and the total earnings from 10 poems and 4 short stories equal $160, she will meet her weekly budget and working conditions because $160 ≥ $120 and the total number of items written is 14, which is less than the 20-item limit.

Another Possible Set of Values

To provide another set of values that will work for Libby, we need to find a combination of poems and short stories that yield at least $120 and are within the 20-item limit.

If Libby writes 8 poems and 6 short stories, her earnings would be:

Earnings from 8 poems: 8 × $10 = $80

Earnings from 6 short stories: 6 × $15 = $90

Total earnings: $80 (poems) + $90 (short stories) = $170

This combination also meets her weekly budget since $170 ≥ $120 and the total number of items written is 14, again below the 20-item limit.

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