A science teacher is preparing the 5 stations of a science laboratory. Each station will have either Experiment A materials or Experiment B materials, but not both. Experiment A requires 6 teaspoons of salt, and Experiment B requires 4 teaspoons of salt. If x is the number of stations that will be set up for Experiment A and the remaining stations will be set up for Experiment B, which of the following expressions represents the total number of teaspoons of salt required?
Choice C is correct. It is given that x represents the number of stations that will be set up for Experiment A and that there will be 5 stations total, so it follows that 5 – x is the number of stations that will be set up for Experiment B. It is also given that Experiment A requires 6 teaspoons of salt and that Experiment B requires 4 teaspoons of salt, so the total number of teaspoons of salt required is 6x + 4(5 – x), which simplifies to 2x + 20.
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may be the result of not understanding the description of the context.