Earl is ordering supplies. Yellow paper costs $4.00 per ream while white paper costs $7.50 per ream. He would like to order 100 reams total, and has a budget of $484. How many reams of each color should he order?

Earl should order 76 yellow paper reams and 24 white paper reams.

Step-by-step explanation:

This problem can be computed as system of equations.

I will say that x is the number of yellow paper reams and that y is the number of white paper reams.

Earl will order 100 reams in total, so

x + y = 100

He has a budget of $484, so this is what he is going to spend. Each yellow paper ream (x) costs $4.00 and each white paper ream costs $7.50, so we know that

4x + 7.5y = 484

To know how many reams of each color should he order, we need to solve the following system of equations

1) x + y = 100

2) 4x + 7.5y = 484

I am going to write x as a function of y in equation 1), and then replace it in equation 2).

x = 100-y

Now replacing in equation 2)

4 (100-y) + 7.5y = 484

400 - 4y + 7.5y = 484

3.5y = 84

y = 24.

Returning to equation 1)

x = 100-y = 100-24 = 76

So, Earl should order 76 yellow paper reams and 24 white paper reams.