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Callie has a new kitten. They can weigh 3 pounds less than half the weight of Callie‘s cat. Together the cat and kitten weigh 18 pounds. Find a system of equations that can be used to find the weight of each animal

User Pat Newell
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1 Answer

6 votes

Answer:

The weight of cat is 14 pounds and the weight of kitten is 4 pounds.

Explanation:

Given:

Callie has a new kitten. It can weigh 3 pounds less than half the weight of Callie‘s cat. Together the cat and kitten weigh 18 pounds.

Now, to find the weight of each animal:

Let the cat's weight be
x.

And the kitten weight =
(x)/(2) -3

Total weight of cat and kitten = 18 pounds.

Now, to set an equation to get the weight of each animal:


(x)+((x)/(2)-3)=18


x+(x)/(2) -3=18


(2x+x-6)/(2) =18


(3x-6)/(2) =18

Multiplying both sides by 2 we get:


3x-6=36

Adding both sides by 6 we get:


3x=42

Dividing both sides by 3 we get:


x=14\ pounds.

The weight of cat = 14 pounds.

Substituting the value of
x to get the kitten's weight:


(x)/(2) -3\\\\=(14)/(2)-3\\\\=7-3\\\\=4.

The kitten's weight = 4 pounds.

Therefore, the weight of cat is 14 pounds and the weight of kitten is 4 pounds.

User Ting Yi Shih
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