Question

An object that weighs 24 pounds on Mercury weighs approximately 80 pounds on Earth. A rock weighs 240 pounds on Mercury. What is the approximate weight of the rock, in pounds, on Earth?

Answer 1

800 pounds.

Explanation:

We have been given that an object that weighs 24 pounds on Mercury weighs approximately 80 pounds on Earth. A rock weighs 240 pounds on Mercury. We are asked to find the weight of rock on Earth.

We will use proportions to solve our given problem as proportions state that the ratio between two proportional quantities is equal.

`\frac{\text{Weight on Earth}}{\text{Weight on Mercury}}=(80)/(24)`

Upon substituting our given value, we will get:

`\frac{\text{Weight on Earth}}{240}=(80)/(24)`

`\frac{\text{Weight on Earth}}{240}\cdot 240=(80)/(24)\cdot 240`

`\text{Weight on Earth}}=(80)/(1)\cdot 10`

`\text{Weight on Earth}=800`

Therefore, the weight of rock on Earth would be approximately 800 pounds.