The flower peddler has red flowers with five petals each and white flowers with eight petals each. He has a total of 11 flowers with a total of 70 petals. How many re fowers are there and how many white flowers? A. 6 red flowers and 5 white flowers B. 7 red flowers and 4 white flowers C. 5 red flowers and 6 white flowers D. 8 red flowers and 3 white flowers

Let \( r \) be the number of red flowers and \( w \) be the number of white flowers. 1. The total number of flowers is given by: \[ r + w = 11 \] 2. The total number of petals is given by: \[ 5r + 8w = 70 \] 3. Solve the first equation for \( r \): \[ r = 11 - w \] 4. Substitute \( r = 11 - w \) into the second equation: \[ 5(11 - w) + 8w = 70 \] Simplify: \[ 55 - 5w + 8w = 70 \] \[ 55 + 3w = 70 \] 5. Solve for \( w \): \[ 3w = 70 - 55 \] \[ 3w = 15 \] \[ w = 5 \] 6. Substitute \( w = 5 \) back into the equation \( r = 11 - w \): \[ r = 11 - 5 = 6 \] Thus, there are \( 6 \) red flowers and \( 5 \) white flowers. The correct answer is: A. 6 red flowers and 5 white flowers.