For a school's annual budget, the total amount of money spent on supplies (s) and textbooks (t) cannot exceed $12,000. Which of the following inequalities represents this scenario?
A. s + t >= $12,000
B. s + t > $12,000
C. s + t < $12,000
D. s + t <= $12,000
We can interpret ‘cannot exceed” as less than ‘<’. Therefore, in our inequality, the symbol < must be included. Now let’s convert the word problem into a mathematical inequality.
Money spent on supplies=s
Money spent on textbooks=t
Total money spent=money spent on supplies + money spent on textbooks
Total money spent = s+t
But the money spent cannot exceed $12,000. Then,
s+t < $12,000.
However the money spent can still be equal to $12000, as it has not exceeded it.
Therefore, the required inequality is s + t <= $12,000.
Therefore, the Correct Answer is D.
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