Question

Mr. Mendel grew one hundred flowering plants from black seeds and white seeds, each seed giving rise to one plant. A plant gives flowers of only one colour. From a black seed comes a plant giving red or blue flowers. From a white seed comes a plant giving red or white flowers. How many black seeds were used by Mr. Mendel?
Statement A
A. The number of plants with white flowers was 10.
Statement B
B. The number of plants with red flowers was 70.

• A. The question can be answered by one of the statements alone but not by the other.
• B. The question can be answered by using either statement alone.
• C. The question can be answered by using both the statements together, but cannot be answered by using either statement alone.
• D. The question cannot be answered even by using both statements together.

Hint:

When solving for quantities in word problems, use the provided numbers to link variables and find the unknowns.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

From Statement A: Knowing that 10 plants have white flowers helps us identify how many white seeds were used. However, this information alone does not provide enough to determine the number of black seeds.
From Statement B: Knowing that 70 plants have red flowers helps us determine how many red and blue flowers there are, which are tied to black seeds. Combining both statements, we can deduce the number of black seeds. Therefore, the Correct Answer is (3).