word problem

Question

A farmer notes that in a field full of horses and geese there are 36 heads and 106 feet. How many of each animal are there?

Answer 1

Since each animal has one head,

 

Total # of animal equation...

H + G = 36

Total # of feet equation

Since horses have 4 "feet" (hooves), and geese have 2, our total "feet" equation is

4*H + 2*G = 106

 

Solving for H in first equation,

 

H = 36- G

 

Plug "36- G" in to H in the second equation and solve for G..  

 

Start off like this...    

 

4*H + 2*G = 106

4*(36-G) + 2*G = 106

 

When you solve for G, you will know how many geese there are.  If you know the total # of geese, and the total # of animals, you should be able to figure how many horses there are.