Maths puzzle help please?

Usually it helps if you show your work and ask us to check it. That way we don't just assume you are cheating and just want the answer handed to you.

I'm going to solve the problem for you, but I already see a problem with the question.

We assume:

Dromedary camels have 1 hump (and 4 legs)

Bactrian camels have 2 humps (and 4 legs)

Given there are 160 legs, we have 40 camels. But we only have 37 humps... something seems fishy!

Let's solve it anyway.

Let D be the number of Dromedary camels

Let B be the number of Bactrian camels.

Write an equation for the number of legs:

4D + 4B = 160

Divide both sides by 4:

D + B = 40

Now write an equation for humps:

D + 2B = 37

At this point it is easiest to solve using elimination. Subtract the first equation from the second:

D + 2B = 37

D + B = 40

B = -3

D = 43

Answer:

-3 Bactrian camels and 43 Dromedary camels. :)

160 camel legs means 40 camels

Each camel has at least 1 hump, so there must be at least 40 humps.