Question

sam goes to paw - fect pets to buy his dog a toy and some food. if he buys a chew toy for $16, hell have exactly enough money left over to buy 7 cans of dog food. alternatively, if he buys a ball for $3.50, hell have exactly enough left over to buy 12 cans of dog food. which equation can you use to find p, the price of a can of dog food? 16 - 7p = 3.5 - 12p 16 + 7p = 3.5 + 12p what is the price of a can of dog food? $

Explanation:

Step1: Set up equations based on total money

Let the total money Sam has be a fixed - amount. When he buys a chew - toy for $16 and 7 cans of dog food, the total money $M = 16 + 7p$. When he buys a ball for $3.50 and 12 cans of dog food, the total money $M=3.5 + 12p$. Since the total money $M$ is the same in both cases, we can set up the equation $16 + 7p=3.5 + 12p$.

Step2: Solve the equation for $p$

First, subtract $7p$ from both sides of the equation:
$16+7p - 7p=3.5 + 12p-7p$
$16 = 3.5+5p$
Then subtract 3.5 from both sides:
$16 - 3.5=3.5 - 3.5+5p$
$12.5 = 5p$
Finally, divide both sides by 5:
$p=\frac{12.5}{5}=2.5$

Answer:

The equation is $16 + 7p = 3.5 + 12p$. The price of a can of dog food is $2.5$.