Question

Jill's fish weighs 8 times as much as her parakeet. Together, the pets weigh 63 ounces. How much does the fish weigh?

Answer 1

Let $x$ be the weight of her parakeet. From this, we know that her fish weighs $8x$.

$8x + x = 63$
$9x = 63$
$x = 7$

Her fish weighs 7 x 8 ounces = 56 ounces.

Answer 2

Let x =the weight of the parakeet. 8x=weight of the fish. x+8x=63 <-weight of fish and parakeet together equals 63 ounces. SOLVE FOR X. 9x=63. /9 /9 x=7 <-- parakeet weighs 7 ounces. 8x= 8(7). 8x7= 56. the fish weighs 56 ounces.