Question

The weight of 3 identical containers holding a total of 9 gallons of fertilizer is 70.8 pounds. The weight of 5 of the containers holding a total of 15 gallons of fertilizer is 118.0 pounds. Can you determine the weight of each container?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Let's call the weight of each container "w". We can set up two equations based on the information given:

Equation 1: 3w = 70.8 (the weight of 3 containers holding 9 gallons)

Equation 2: 5w = 118.0 (the weight of 5 containers holding 15 gallons)

To solve for "w", we can first solve Equation 1 for "w":

3w = 70.8

w = 70.8/3

w = 23.6

Now we can substitute this value of "w" into Equation 2 and solve for the total weight of 5 containers:

5w = 118.0

5(23.6) = 118.0

So each container weighs 23.6 pounds.