My question is: Elvis and Ralph are to make square shapes with matchsticks from a box containing 50 matchsticks. Elvis makes 4-matchstick squares and Ralph makes 8-matchstick squares. If Elvis makes 5 squares and Ralph makes 3, how many matchsticks will be left in the box? Your thoughts:
Elvis makes 5 squares with 4 matchsticks each for a total of 5 * 4 = 20 matchsticks. Ralph makes 3 squares with 8 matchsticks each for a total of 8 * 3 = 24 matchsticks. They used a total of 20 + 24 = 44 matchsticks. There will be 50 - 44 = 6 matchsticks left in the box. The final answer: 6.