Question

you place a 3 3/8 pound weight on the left side of a balance scale and a 1 1/5 pound weight on the right side of a balance. How much weight do you need to add right side to balance the scale?

Answer 1

Answer:

$2\frac{7}{40}$ pounds

Step-by-step explanation:

Given information:

Weight on the left side = $3\frac{3}{8}$ pounds

Weight on the right side = $1\frac{1}{5}$ pounds

We need to balance both sides.

Let x be the weight which is added to the right side to balance the scale.

$3\frac{3}{8}=1\frac{1}{5}+x$

$\frac{24+3}{8}=\frac{5+1}{5}+x$

$\frac{27}{8}=\frac{6}{5}+x$

Subtract 6/5 from both sides.

$\frac{27}{8}-\frac{6}{5}=x$

$\frac{135-48}{40}=x$

$\frac{87}{40}=x$

$2\frac{7}{40}=x$

Therefore, $2\frac{7}{40}$ pounds weight is added to the right side to balance the scale.

Answer 2

3 3/8 - 1 1/5 = 3-1 + 3/8 - 1/5                   = 2 +   (15-8)/40                   = 2 + 7/40                   = 2 7/40