Question

Last month, a dwarf lemon tree grew half as much as a semi-dwarf lemon tree. A full-size lemon tree grew three times as much as the semi-dwarf lemon. Together, the three trees grew 27 inches. Write and solve an equation to determine how much each tree grew. Make sure you define your variable.

Answer 1

Answer: the dwarf tree grew by 3 inches.

the semi dwarf tree grew by 6 inches.

the full size tree grew by 18 inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent how much the semi-dwarf lemon tree grew.

Last month, a dwarf lemon tree grew half as much as a semi-dwarf lemon tree. This means that the amount by which the dwarf lemon tree grew is expressed as x/2

A full-size lemon tree grew three times as much as the semi-dwarf lemon. This means that the amount by which the full-size lemon tree grew is expressed as 3x

Together, the three trees grew 27 inches. This means that

x/2 + x + 3x = 27

Cross multiplying by 2, it becomes

x + 2x + 6x = 54

9x = 54

x = 54/9

x = 6 inches

The dwarf tree grew by 6/2 = 3 inches.

The full-size lemon tree grew by 3 × 6 = 18 inches