Simple Elementary Word Problem

Simple Elementary Word Problem
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I'm trying to help my little sister out but I can't seem to figure it out.

Here is the question:

John fish weight 8 times as much as her parakeet. Together the pet's weight 63 ounces. How much does the fish weight?

The only answer I can think of is 7.875.

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1 Answer

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Let the weight of the parakeet be $x$. Then John's fish is eight times that weight: $8x.$

Then the weight of both of them together is $x+8x=63$.

Simplifying the left side, we get $9x=63\implies x=7$

We can even check that this is right. Since we said that $x=7$, this means the weight of the parakeet is 7 ounces. The fish weighs eight times more, so $8\times 7=56$. Then together, they weigh $7+56=63$ ounces.

So, the fish weighs $8x=8\times 7=56$ ounces.

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David Miller
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David Miller

David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.