Question

Susan saw birds and mice eating seeds on the ground. She counted 14 heads and 40 legs in total. How many birds and mice are on the ground?

Answer 1

Number of mice = 6

Number of birds = 8

Explanation:

Given:

Total number of heads = 14

Total number of legs = 40

Find:

Number of birds

Number of mice

Computation:

Assume,

Number of birds = x

Number of mice = y

So,

x + y = 14

x = 14 - y.............Eq1

We know that mice have 4 legs and birds have 2

So,

2x + 4y = 40

x + 2y = 20............Eq2

From Eq1 and Eq2

14 - y + 2y = 20

y = 6

Number of mice = 6

x = 14 - y

x = 8

Number of birds = 8