Question

While visiting a pet store, you notice that there are only birds and cats in the cages. You can't help but wonder how many of each animal there is in the yard. But when you ask the store manager how many of each animal he has, he refuses to give you a direct answer. He says there are 16 animal heads and 42 animal feet. How many birds and cats are there in the pet store?

Answer 1

4 because the vodbgv I’d bog

Answer 2

Answer: there are 11 birds and 5 cats

Explanation:

Let x represent the number of birds in the pet store.

Let y represent the number of cats in the pet store.

A bird has one head and a cat also has one head. The store manager says that there are 16 animal heads in the store. It means that

x + y = 16

A bird has 2 feet and a cat has 4 feet. The store manager says that there are 42 animal feet in the store. It means that

2x + 4y = 42 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

Substituting x = 16 - y into equation 1, it becomes

2(16 - y) + 4y = 42

32 - 2y + 4y = 42

- 2y + 4y = 42 - 32

2y = 10

y = 10/2 = 5

x = 16 - y = 16 - 5

x = 11