Question

A bucket of honey weighs 50 pounds. The same bucket with kerosene in it weighs 35 pounds. If honey is twice as heavy as kerosene, how much does the empty bucket weigh?

a) 10 pounds
b) 15 pounds
c) 20 pounds
d) 25 pounds

Answer 1

To solve the problem, equations based on the weights of the bucket filled with honey and kerosene are formulated, revealing that the weight of the empty bucket is 20 pounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

The problem is to find out how much the empty bucket weighs given the weight of the bucket filled with honey and the weight of the same bucket filled with kerosene. We know that honey is twice as heavy as kerosene. If the bucket with kerosene weighs 35 pounds, and honey is twice as heavy, this means that the weight of the honey itself would be (50 pounds - weight of the bucket) and the weight of the kerosene would be (35 pounds - weight of the bucket). If we set the weight of the empty bucket as B, then the weight of the honey is twice that of kerosene:

• (50 - B) = 2 * (35 - B)
• 50 - B = 70 - 2B
• B = 70 - 50
• B = 20 pounds

Therefore, the weight of the empty bucket is 20 pounds, which corresponds to option (c).