Answer:
Sample response: Choose a variable to represent the average speech length. If x is the variable, then the inequality would be (2+3)x < 30,="" or="">x < 30. The 2 + 3, or 5, represents the total number of people making speeches. Each one would last an average of x minutes, so we want the product of x and (2+3) to be less than 30, the time limit set by the principal.
For those who wanted the sample response.