Question

In order for Joe and Marty to compete against each other during the wrestling season next year they need to be in the same weight category. Joe weighs 180 pounds and plans to gain 2 pounds per week. Marty weighs 246 pounds and plans to lose 1 pound per week. In how many weeks will they weigh the same? (*HINT – Write two equations. Set them equal to each other. The solution is the r-value of the system.)PLEASE HELP FAST AND ILL MARK YOU BRAIN LIST

Answer 1

We first write the functions that are being described in the problem, as follows:

For Joe:

2w + 180

Here w is the number of weeks that will pass and 180 is the number of pounds he originally had.

For Marty:

-w + 240

Here w is the number of weeks that will pass and 240 is the amount of pounds he originally had.

Now, we equal both functions:

`2w+180=-w+240`

And now, we solve for w:

`\Rightarrow2w+w=240-180\Rightarrow3w=60\Rightarrow w=20`

From this, we have that the number of weeks that would have to pass is 20.