Final answer:
To find the number of towels that can be bought with $960 when no face cloths are bought, set y to 0 in the equation 12x + 10y = 960, and solve for x, yielding 80 towels.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks about solving a linear equation to determine the quantity of towels that can be bought with a budget of $960 when no face cloths are being purchased. This equation is in the context of a budget constraint similar to examples provided in an economics scenario. The equation 12x + 10y = 960 represents the total cost when x towels and y face cloths are bought.
To find out how many towels can be bought without purchasing any face cloths, we set y to 0 and solve for x. The equation reduces to 12x = 960. Dividing both sides by 12, we get x = 80. Therefore, 80 towels can be bought with $960 if no face cloths are purchased.