College

Choose the mathematical sentence that most accurately expresses the information in the problem, and would be most helpful in solving it.

In a certain herd of 24 elephants, there are 13 males. How many females are there?

A. [tex]f - 24 = 13[/tex]
B. [tex]f + 13 = 24[/tex]
C. [tex]f - 13 = 24[/tex]
D. [tex]f + 13 + 24[/tex]
E. [tex]f = 24 + 13[/tex]
F. [tex]f + 24 = 13[/tex]

Answer :

To solve the problem of determining how many female elephants are in the herd, follow these steps:

1. Understand the Problem: You are given that there is a herd of 24 elephants in total, and among them, 13 are males. You need to find out how many females are in the herd.

2. Set Up the Equation: You have two known quantities:
- Total elephants, which is 24.
- Male elephants, which is 13.

The remaining elephants in the herd will be females. To find the number of female elephants, you can set up the equation using the information provided:

[tex]\[
\text{{females}} + \text{{males}} = \text{{total elephants}}
\][/tex]

Let [tex]\( f \)[/tex] represent the number of female elephants. The equation becomes:

[tex]\[
f + 13 = 24
\][/tex]

3. Solve the Equation: To find [tex]\( f \)[/tex], which represents the number of female elephants, you need to solve for [tex]\( f \)[/tex]:

[tex]\[
f + 13 = 24
\][/tex]

Subtract 13 from both sides of the equation:

[tex]\[
f = 24 - 13
\][/tex]

4. Calculate the Result: Perform the subtraction:

[tex]\[
f = 11
\][/tex]

So, there are 11 female elephants in the herd.

Therefore, the mathematical sentence that most accurately expresses this information is option B: [tex]\( f + 13 = 24 \)[/tex].