Final answer:
To determine the total weight of candy purchased, one would need to know the individual weights of the candy packages and then add them together. If weights are uniform, multiply the package weight by the quantity. If weights vary, use statistical methods to estimate the total when given a mean and standard deviation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Candy Weight in Mathematics
When considering how many pounds of candy Mitchell and his friends bought altogether, this becomes a question of adding weight measures. To solve a problem like this, each candy's weight must be known. However, as the student's question lacks specific weights, a general procedure can be explained. Suppose you know that each package of candy weighs the same and the weight of one package is given, then you would multiply the number of packages by the weight of one package to find the total weight. If the individual weights vary, you would need to add the weight of each individual package to get the total weight.
For example, in a similar scenario where one has bought three small packages of multicolored chocolates and five small packages of peanut butter candies, and each package weighs the same, you would sum the weights of all packages. If the packages differ in weights in another similar example where large bags of multicolored candies have different weights with given mean and standard deviation, you might have to use statistical methods to estimate the total weight.
In a real-world context, if you were at a farmer's market and bought 1.5 kilograms of oranges, 150 grams of grapes, and 15,000 centigrams of apples, you would convert all quantities to the same unit (grams in this case) and then add them all together to find the total weight of the fruit purchased.