Question

1. tricia has 40 cookies in her cookie jar. her 4 children each eat a cookie every day.

14a write an expression for the number of cookies left in the jar after m days.
number of cookies = 40 - 4m
well on track!
14b which statement is correct?
a the number of cookies will keep decreasing forever.
b the number of cookies is decreasing by a smaller amount each day.
c the number of cookies is halving each day.
d the number of cookies is decreasing by the same amount each day.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the cookie consumption

Tricia has 4 children, each eating 1 cookie per day. So total cookies eaten per day is \(4\times1 = 4\) cookies. After \(m\) days, total cookies eaten is \(4m\). The initial number of cookies is 40, so the number of cookies left is \(40 - 4m\).

Step2: Evaluate each statement

• Statement A: The number of cookies can't keep decreasing forever because once there are 0 cookies left, it can't go negative (assuming we can't have negative cookies). So A is incorrect.
• Statement B: The number of cookies eaten each day is constant (4 cookies per day), so the amount by which cookies decrease each day is constant (4), not a smaller amount. So B is incorrect.
• Statement C: The number of cookies is not halving each day. For example, on day 1, cookies left are \(40 - 4=36\), which is not half of 40 (20). So C is incorrect.
• Statement D: Since 4 cookies are eaten each day, the number of cookies decreases by 4 (the same amount) each day. So D is correct.

Answer:

D. The number of cookies is decreasing by the same amount each day.