In one of my 10foot by 15foot garden beds i will plant two packets of basil each packet holds enough for seeds of one row 76feet long i plant marigolds around the border of my garden they attract bugs so i stat basil rows 1foot from the edge the seed packets say rows should be 1 foot apart after the seeds sprout and each the height of 2to3 inches they are to be thinned so there are 6 inches between plants. what is the maximum number of basil plants i might have after thinning?

Was this on a P.O.W?

This is a system of equations. You can solve it by substitution or elimination. I'm going to use substitution x - 2y = -4.5; add 2y to each side x - 2y + 2y = -4.5 + 2y; simplify x = 2y - 4.5 2(2y - 4.5) + 3y = 12 4y - 9 + 3y = 12 7y - 9 = 12 7y - 9 + 9 = 12 + 9 7y = 21 y = 3 <first answer x - 2y = -4.5 x - 2(3) = -4.5 x - 6 = -4.5 x -6 + 6 = -4.5 + 6 x = 1.5 <second answer Check: 2(1.5) + 3(3) = 12? 3 + 9 = 12? 12 = 12; It checks 1.5 - 2(3) = -4.5? 1.5 - 6 = -4.5? -4.5 = -4.5; It checks x = 1.5 and y = 3 <Final Answer