A box of nails weighs 130 pounds when it is 2/3 full. It weighs 74 pounds when it is 3/8 full. What is the weight of the box?

Question

A box of nails weighs 130 pounds when it is 2/3 full. It weighs 74 pounds when it is 3/8 full. What is the weight of the box?

Answer 1

Not sure how to explain this in words, so here is the equation.

 

w = weight full box of the nails

 

130 - 74 = w(2/3 - 3/8)

56 = w(16/24 - 9/24)

56 = w(7/24)

1344 = 7w

192 = w

 

The full box of nails weighs 192 pounds.

2/3 of a box would weigh 128 pounds

 

The problem says that a 2/3 full box weighs 130 pounds so the box weighs 2 pounds.