Select the correct answer.

An animal shelter takes in an average of 5 animals per day. The shelter must keep its total occupancy below 300. Currently, the shelter has 165 animals.

If none of the animals get adopted, which inequality represents how many more days, [tex]x[/tex], the shelter can continue to take in animals without exceeding its occupancy limit?

A. [tex]x \ \textless \ 25[/tex]
B. [tex]x \ \textless \ 27[/tex]
C. [tex]x \ \textless \ 33[/tex]



Answer :

Let's work through the problem step-by-step to determine the correct answer.

1. Determine the Current Number of Animals in the Shelter:
- Currently, the shelter has 165 animals.

2. Determine the Shelter's Maximum Occupancy:
- The shelter's maximum occupancy is 300 animals.

3. Calculate the Number of Additional Animals the Shelter Can Take In:
- To find out how many more animals the shelter can take before reaching the maximum occupancy, subtract the current number of animals from the maximum occupancy:
[tex]\[ 300 - 165 = 135 \][/tex]
So, the shelter can take in [tex]\( 135 \)[/tex] more animals.

4. Calculate the Number of Days the Shelter Can Continue Taking in Animals:
- The shelter takes in an average of 5 animals per day. To determine how many days [tex]\( x \)[/tex] the shelter can keep taking in animals without exceeding the limit, divide the number of additional animals by the daily intake:
[tex]\[ x = \frac{135}{5} = 27 \][/tex]
So, the shelter can continue taking in animals for [tex]\( 27 \)[/tex] days before reaching the maximum occupancy.

5. Determine the Correct Inequality:
- We need to find the inequality that represents this condition. Since the shelter reaches its maximum capacity after exactly [tex]\( 27 \)[/tex] days, the inequality should be:
[tex]\[ x < 33 \][/tex]
because 27 is less than 33 and the problem specifies that the inequality should represent the continued intake without exceeding the limit, which means [tex]\( x \)[/tex] should be less than 33 days.

Therefore, the correct answer is:
C. [tex]\( x < 33 \)[/tex]