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Linear inequalities in one or two variables SAT question

Math · Algebra · Hard · Answer it here, explanation included.

A small business owner budgets  to purchase candles. The owner must purchase a minimum of candles to maintain the discounted pricing. If the owner pays per candle to purchase small candles and per candle to purchase large candles, what is the maximum number of large candles the owner can purchase to stay within the budget and maintain the discounted pricing?

Enter a number or fraction (like 3/17 or 0.176). Press Enter to check.

ExplanationShow

The correct answer is . Let represent the number of small candles the owner can purchase, and let represent the number of large candles the owner can purchase. It’s given that the owner pays per candle to purchase small candles and  per candle to purchase large candles. Therefore, the owner pays dollars for small candles and  dollars for  large candles, which means the owner pays a total of dollars to purchase candles. It’s given that the owner budgets to purchase candles. Therefore, . It’s also given that the owner must purchase a minimum of candles. Therefore, . The inequalities and can be combined into one compound inequality by rewriting the second inequality so that its left-hand side is equivalent to the left-hand side of the first inequality. Subtracting from both sides of the inequality  yields . Multiplying both sides of this inequality by yields , or . Adding  to both sides of this inequality yields , or . This inequality can be combined with the inequality , which yields the compound inequality . It follows that . Subtracting from both sides of this inequality yields . Dividing both sides of this inequality by  yields approximately . Since the number of large candles the owner purchases must be a whole number, the maximum number of large candles the owner can purchase is the largest whole number less than , which is .

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