Can you help me form the equation?

Question

The contents of a box weigh a certain amount. If you remove fifteen pounds from the box its contents will weigh five pounds more than if you had halved their weight. How much did the box's contents originally weigh?

 

Answer 1

You can set up an equation! Let x represent the original weight:

 

x - 15 = (1/2)x + 5

 

2x - 30 = x + 10

 

x = 40 pounds