Question

The weight of Keiko's kitten is 1/6 the weight of her puppy. If each animal gains 3 pounds, the kitten will weigh 1/3 as much as the puppy. The equation 1/6 w + 3 = 1/3 (w + 3) describes this situation, where w is the weight of the puppy now. How much does the puppy weigh now?

6(1/6 w + 3) = 6 · 1/3(w + 3)
6 (1/6 w + 3) = 2(w + 3)
w + 18 = 2w + 6
w - w + 18 = 2w – w + 6
18 = w + 6
12 = w
The puppy weighs 12 pounds now.
In the Example, how much will the kitten weigh if it gains 3 pounds? Show your work.

Answer 1

The kitten's current weight is 1/6 the weight of the puppy, which is 2 pounds. After gaining 3 pounds, the kitten will weigh 5 pounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has provided an equation describing the relationship between the weights of a kitten and a puppy. To find out how much the kitten will weigh after gaining 3 pounds, we use the information that the puppy weighs 12 pounds now. Since the kitten's weight is 1/6 the weight of the puppy, we can calculate the kitten's current weight, and then add the weight gain to find the final weight.

First, we find the current weight of the kitten:
1/6 × 12 pounds = 2 pounds.

Next, after the kitten gains 3 pounds, its weight will be:
2 pounds + 3 pounds = 5 pounds.

Therefore, once the kitten gains 3 pounds, it will weigh 5 pounds in total.