Question

Jack earns a salary of $229 per week plus $14 for every birdhouse he sells at his uncle’s store. He wants to earn at least $320 this week. How many birdhouses must Jack sell? Determine which is the best interpretation of the solution set.

Answer 1

Explanation:

This question can be turned into a simple algebraic equation. Since he earns $229 a week, we add that to how many birdhouses he sells. Since we're finding out how many he needs to sell, we'll put a letter next to the $14 he gets for each birdhouse. Lastly, he wants to earn $320 this week, so that will be on the other side of the equal sign.

You should come up with this equation:

229 + 14x = 320

Firstly, we subtract 229 from 320, since they're on opposite sides of the equal sign.

14x + 320-229

14x = 91

Next, we divide 91 by 14.

x = 91/14

x = 6.5

So, Jack needs to sell 6.5 birdhouses in order to get $320. Or, since he wants at least $320, he could sell 7.

Answer 2

He needs to sell at least 7 birdhouses.

Explanation:

Jack earns $229 every week and wants to earn $320. Since he is guaranteed to make $229 already, you can subtract that from $320 resulting in $91 he needs to make up.

Each birdhouse sells for $14. He needs to sell enough to make $91.

You can solve this by repeated addition or division.

14 + 14 + 14 + 14 + 14 + 14 + 7 = 91.

Or.

91/14 = 6.5

However, you cannot end up with half of a birdhouse. So, you need to sell at least 7 birdhouses so you can get at least $91.

Hope this helps.