Caution: you need to use the same units of measurement throughout. If the spring stretches by 21 cm when a 135 newton object is attached, then you must ask for the mass (in newtons) of a fish that would stretch the spring by 62.1 cm.
We will need to assume that the spring is not stretched at all if and when no object is attached to the spring.
Write the ratio
21.0 cm 135 newtons ------------- = -------------------- 62.1 cm x
Solve this for x. This x value represents the mass of a fish that would stretch the spring by 62.1 cm. You can cancel "cm" in the equation above:
21.0 135 newtons ------ = -------------------- 62.1 x
Then 21.0x = (62.1)(135 newtons). Divide both sides of this equation by 21.0 to solve it for x.
In order to solve this you first have to do a rule of threes to calculate how much would the fish will weight compared with the stretching of the spring:
So the weight would be 399.21 newtons and it would have 40.73 kilograms in mass.
The y-coordinate of a function tells how many units the function value lies above the x-axis. Translating that value down 4 units is the same as subtracting 4 from the function value.
