Samantha wanted to fill her new fish tank with goldfish and guppies. she bought 26 total fish. each goldfish cost $3, and each guppy cost $4. she spent $86 total. how many guppies did she buy? 4 7 8 16

The total guppies Samantha buys are 8 and the total goldfish she buys are 18 and this can be determined by forming the linear equation.

Given :

Let the total number of goldfish be 'x' and the total number of guppies be 'y'. Then the linear equation that represents the total number of fish is given by:

x + y = 26  

x = 26 - y   (1)

The linear equation that represents the total spent $86 is given by:

3x + 4y = 86    --- (2)

Now, substitute the value of 'x' in equation (2).

3(26 - y) + 4y = 86

Simplify the above equation.

78 - 3y + 4y = 86

y = 86 - 78

y = 8

Now, substitute the value of 'y' in equation (1).

x = 26 - 8

x = 18

So, Samantha buys 8 guppies.

For more information, refer to the link given below:

link

8 guppies

Step-by-step explanation:

Let:

x = number of goldfishes

y = number of guppies

We can come up with two equations:

x + y = 26

3x +4y = 86

We use the first equation to come up with a solution for one of the unknowns:

x = 26 - y

We can use this to substitute the x on the second equation:

So she bought 8 guppies.

yes because there is exactly one y value for every x value

for function there can't be more than one value for every x value