Question

A bag of 8 baseballs and 2 basketballs weighed 80 ounces. A bag of 5 baseballs and 3 basketballs weighed 85 ounces. How much does each type of ball weigh? HELP ASAP

Answer 1

• baseball: 5 ounces
• basketball: 20 ounces

Explanation:

Let "e" represent the weight of a baseball, and "k" represent the weight of a basketball, all weights being in ounces. Then the given information can be summarized as ...

8e +2k = 80

5e +3k = 85

We can divide the first equation by 2 and subtract 4e to get ...

k = 40 -4e

This can be substituted into the second equation to give ...

5e +3(40 -4e) = 85

-7e +120 = 85 . . . . . . . simplify

35 = 7e . . . . . . . . . . . . add 7e-85

5 = e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . divide by 7

k = 40 -4·5 = 20 . . . . . find k using the above equation

The weight of a baseball is 5 ounces; a basketball, 20 ounces.