Final answer:
A total of 14 bulbs of garlic will be planted when separating 42 bulbs with a planting-to-cooking ratio of 1:2.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how many bulbs of garlic will be planted if 1 bulb is planted for every 2 bulbs used for cooking, given a total of 42 bulbs. To solve this, let's designate the number of bulbs for planting as P and the number for cooking as C. We have P + C = 42 (total number of bulbs) and P = 1/3 of C, because for every 3 bulbs (1 for planting, 2 for cooking), 1 bulb is planted. This makes 2P = C. By substituting, we have P + 2P = 42, which results in 3P = 42. Dividing both sides by 3, we get P = 42 / 3, which equals 14. So, 14 bulbs will be planted.