Discrete "Working Backwards" math problem

Question

The family (Mama, Papa, and the three kids, Ed, Lisa, and Judy) were about to go on a camping vacation. They decided to take their five dogs with them, and they needed to know how many cans of dog food to take. The cans of the sample brand of dog food were $1.24 and the packaging said that three cans of dog food would feed two dogs for one day. The family was planning on going camping for eight days. How much would the dog food cost them for the eight days?

Answer 1

hi Elise--

 

here's one way: 5 dogs x 8 days is 40 "feeds."

 

3 cans give you 2 "feeds." So you need to figure:

 

3 is to 2 as ______ is to 40. That missing number will be the number of cans you need.

 

Then, to answer the question, you'll need to multiply the number of cans by the price per can, which is given as $1.24.

 

Can you take it from here? Let me know what answer you get!

 

Good luck,

 

Matt