Question

There are 13 animals in the barn. Some are chickens, and some are pigs. There are 36 legs in all. Write a system of equations to find how many of each type of animal is in the barn.

Answer 1

To find the number of chickens and pigs in the barn, we set up two equations: c + p = 13 for the total number of animals, and 2c + 4p = 36 for the total number of legs. This system of equations can be solved by substitution or elimination to find the values of c (chickens) and p (pigs).

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks to write a system of equations to determine how many chickens and pigs are in a barn based on the total number of animals and legs.

Let's define two variables:

• c for the number of chickens.
• p for the number of pigs.

We know that:

1. There are 13 animals in total, which gives us the equation c + p = 13.
2. Chickens have 2 legs and pigs have 4 legs. From the total of 36 legs, we have the equation 2c + 4p = 36.

Now, we have a system of equations:

• c + p = 13 (Equation 1)
• 2c + 4p = 36 (Equation 2)

This system can be solved using methods such as substitution or elimination to find the values of c (chickens) and p (pigs).