Question

At a wildlife preserve, 1/3 of the total number of reptiles and birds are reptiles. There are 14 reptiles. Write and solve an equation to find the total number of reptiles and birds. The find the number of birds.

Answer 1

Let's call the number of reptiles $r$ and the number of birds $b$. Given this, we can say the following:

$\dfrac{1}{3} (r + b)  = r$

Additionally, the problem said that $r  = 14$. We can substitute this value in for $r$ and solve the equation.

$\dfrac{1}{3} (14 + b) = 14$

• Set up
• This is also the equation the problem is asking for in the directions

$14 + b  =42$

• Multiply both sides of the equation by 3

$b = 28$

• Subtract 14 from both sides

We find that the number of birds is 28.