In an assembly, there are x rows and x + 3 chairs in each row. There are 154 chairs in total. What is the number of rows?

11

Let x represent the number of rows. Since each row contains x + 3 chairs, the total number of chairs is x(x + 3). The given total therefore produces x(x + 3) = 154, or x² + 3x − 154 = 0. Factoring gives (x + 14)(x − 11) = 0, so x = 11 or x = −14. A number of rows must be positive, so x = 11. The check is 11 rows × (11 + 3) chairs per row = 11 × 14 = 154 chairs. Thus option B is correct. Option C is the number of chairs in each row after finding x, not the number of rows; the other options fail the total or positivity condition.

This is a Class 10 Mathematics question. Chapter: Quadratic Equations. Topic: Word Problems and Applications.