container holds 1/3 water. 9 gallons is added: it becomes 5/6 full. How many gallons does it hold?

Question

The container that holds the water for the football team is
1/3 full. After pouring in 9
gallons of water, it is
5/6 full. How many gallons can the container hold?

Answer 1

Let X be the max number of gallons the container can hold.

 

1/3X + 9 = 5/6X

 

2x + 54 = 5X <--- multiplies everything by 6 to clear the fractions

 

54 = 5x - 2x

 

54 = 3x

 

54/3 = x

 

x=18

 

The container holds 18 gallons.

At the beginning there is 1/3*18 = 6 gallons.

9 gallons are added.

Then there is 15 gallons.

15/18 = 5/6

 

The container holds 18 gallons. This answer is checked, verified, and proven to be correct