A total of 215 toothpicks of equal length were used to construct two …

Question

Prompt

A total of 215 toothpicks of equal length were used to construct two types of figures: triangles and squares. The triangles and squares were constructed so that no two figures had a common side. The equation

3 x + 4 y = 215

represents this situation, where

x

is the number of triangles constructed and

y

is the number of squares constructed. What is the best interpretation of

(x, y) = (25, 35)

in this context?

If 25 triangles were constructed, then 35 squares were constructed.

If 25 triangles were constructed, then 35 toothpicks were used

If 35 triangles were constructed, then 25 squares were constructed.

If 35 triangles were constructed, then 25 toothpicks were used.