Question

otto used 5.5 cups of whole wheat flour and x cups of white flour in the recipe. what is the equation that can be used to find the value of y, the total amount of flour that otto used in the recipe, and what are the constraints on the values of x and y?
○ y=5.5x; x is any integer greater than or equal to 0, and y is an integer greater than or equal to 5.
○ y=5.5x; x is any real number greater than or equal to 0, and y is any real number greater than or equal to 5.5.
○ y=x+5.5; x is any integer greater than or equal to 0, and y is an integer greater than or equal to 5.
○ y=x+5.5; x is any real number greater than or equal to 0, and y is any real number greater than or equal to 5.5.

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the equation for total flour

The total amount of flour \( y \) is the sum of whole wheat flour (5.5 cups) and white flour (\( x \) cups). So the equation should be \( y = x + 5.5 \), not \( y = 5.5x \) (which would be a multiplication, not a sum).

Step2: Analyze constraints on \( x \) and \( y \)

The amount of white flour \( x \) can be any non - negative real number (you can use a fraction of a cup, not just integers). Then, substituting \( x\geq0 \) into \( y=x + 5.5 \), we get \( y\geq0 + 5.5=5.5 \), and \( y \) is also a real number.

Answer:

\( y = x + 5.5 \); \( x \) is any real number greater than or equal to 0, and \( y \) is any real number greater than or equal to 5.5. (The fourth option)