Question

The elevator at Glen Allen High School has a maximum weight capacity of 2,000 pounds. There are already 3 people on the elevator that have a combined weight of 460 pounds. If 15 people need to get on the elevator, write an inequality expressing the average weight of each additional person.

Answer 1

Therefore, the average weight of each additional person must be less than or equal to 102.67 pounds in order to safely accommodate 15 people on the elevator without exceeding the maximum weight capacity.

Explanation:

Let's start by finding the remaining weight capacity of the elevator. Since there are already 3 people on the elevator with a combined weight of 460 pounds, the remaining weight capacity is:

2000 - 460 = 1540 pounds

Now, let x be the average weight of each additional person. To find the maximum number of additional people that can safely get on the elevator, we need to divide the remaining weight capacity by the average weight of each additional person. This gives us the inequality:

x ≤ 1540/15

Simplifying the right-hand side of the inequality, we get:

x ≤ 102.67

Therefore, the average weight of each additional person must be less than or equal to 102.67 pounds in order to safely accommodate 15 people on the elevator without exceeding the maximum weight capacity.