Question

you place a 3 3/8 pound weight on the left side of a balance scale and a 1 1/5 pound weight on the right side of a balance. How much weight do you need to add right side to balance the scale?

Answer 1

3 3/8 - 1 1/5 = 3-1 + 3/8 - 1/5 = 2 + (15-8)/40 = 2 + 7/40 = 2 7/40

Answer 2

`2(7)/(40)` pounds

Explanation:

Given information:

Weight on the left side =
`3(3)/(8)` pounds

Weight on the right side =
`1(1)/(5)` pounds

We need to balance both sides.

Let x be the weight which is added to the right side to balance the scale.

`3(3)/(8)=1(1)/(5)+x`

`(24+3)/(8)=(5+1)/(5)+x`

`(27)/(8)=(6)/(5)+x`

Subtract 6/5 from both sides.

`(27)/(8)-(6)/(5)=x`

`(135-48)/(40)=x`

`(87)/(40)=x`

`2(7)/(40)=x`

Therefore,
`2(7)/(40)` pounds weight is added to the right side to balance the scale.