First, we should define our variable. Let represent the number of dishes that Raphael can afford. Next we should write a compound inequality that describes this situation. In this case, Raphael wants to spend between and and, since he’s buying dishes, the price that he will pay is All of this translates to a triple inequality
Now we have to solve this inequality in the usual way.
The interpretation of this inequality is a little tricky. Remember that represents the number of dishes Raphael can afford. Since you cannot buy dishes (manufacturers will typically only ship whole number amounts of tableware) his minimum purchase must be dishes. We have a similar problem with his maximum purchase: clearly he cannot buy dishes. So, should we round up or down? If we rounded up, that would be dishes and that would cost which is outside his price range. Therefore, we should actually round down in this case.
In conclusion, Raphael should buy somewhere between 6 and 10 dishes for his friend to stay within his budget.