Multi step equation

Question

Farmer Dennis had some chickens on his farm. The number of cows on the farm is one-eighth of the number of chickens. His friend, farmer Walt, brought by 8 sheep for Dennis' sheep pen but stole 2 bags of chicken feed and forgot his dog there. Sneaky ol' Walt. If there are 27 animals left on the farm, how many are cows?

Answer 1

I think this needs a little algebra:

We have C cows.

And 8C chickens. (number of cows on the farm is one-eighth of the number of chickens)

+ 8 (Walt brought by 8 sheep)

+ 1 (and forgot his dog)

= 27 (there are 27 animals left on the farm)

Hence we have an equation C + 8C + 8 + 1 = 27

=> 9C = 27 - 9 = 18

=> C = 2

So we have 2 cows.

(To check: 2 cows and 16 chickens, and 8 sheep, and 1 dog. 2 + 16 + 8 + 1 = 27)