An animal shelter spends $2.00 per day to care for each bird and $6.00 per day to care for each cat. Maya noticed that the shelter spent $70.00 caring for birds and cats on Thursday. Maya found a record showing that there were a total of 27 birds and cats on Thursday. How many birds were at the shelter on Thursday ?

there were 23 birds and 4 cats

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the number of birds at the shelter on Thursday.

Let y represent the number of cats at the shelter on Thursday.

Maya found a record showing that there were a total of 27 birds and cats on Thursday. This means that

x + y = 27

An animal shelter spends $2.00 per day to care for each bird and $6.00 per day to care for each cat. Maya noticed that the shelter spent $70.00 caring for birds and cats on Thursday. This means that

2x + 6y = 70 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

Substituting x = 27 - y into equation 1, it becomes

2(27 - y) + 6y = 70

54 - 2y + 6y = 70

- 2y + 6y = 70 - 54

4y = 16

y = 16/4

y = 4

x = 27 - y = 27 - 4

x = 23