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Brad
Lv 6
Brad asked in Science & MathematicsMathematics · 8 years ago

Need help with this math problem?

Together a baseball and a football weighs 1.25 pounds, the baseball and a soccer ball weigh 1.35 pounds, and the football and the soccer ball weigh 1.6 pounds. How much does each of the balls weigh? Explain your reasoning.

I am totally confused and don't know where to start.

1 Answer

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  • ?
    Lv 6
    8 years ago
    Favourite answer

    let's turn this into equations, to see more clearly.

    let's represent the different weights by lettersL B (baseball), F (football) and S (soccer ball)

    you know that:

    B + F = 1.25

    B + S = 1.35

    F + S = 1.6

    add the last two equations together:

    B + F + 2 S = 2.95

    replace (B + F) by the value given in the first equation:

    1.25 + 2S = 2.95

    subtract 1.25 from each side: 2 S = 1.70

    now divide by 2 : S = 0.85

    now you can replace S by this value in the last 2 equations to find B and F.

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