Question

Jacob is spending $20 on pens and pencils for back to school shopping. One pen costs $0.25 and one pencil costs $0.50. What are the varying quantities and what quantities are fixed?

Answer 1

Jacob can buy varying quantities of pens and pencils, depending on his preference. The quantities of pens and pencils are fixed whole numbers that satisfy the given equation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The varying quantities of pens and pencils that Jacob can buy depend on the number of pens and pencils he wants to purchase. Let's assume he buys x pens and y pencils.

The total cost of pens will be 0.25x dollars, and the total cost of pencils will be 0.50y dollars. Since Jacob is spending $20, we can set up the following equation: 0.25x + 0.50y = 20.

Since Jacob cannot buy a fraction of a pen or pencil, the quantities must be whole numbers. These quantities are considered fixed, and Jacob needs to find the values of x and y that satisfy the equation.