Did You Find Out? Get the Answer to the Riddle of E-News Issue No. 3, September 2021
How heavy is each of the pumpkins?
Can you determine the weight?
Looking at his home garden, Marc is full of pride. The four giant pumpkins he has grown this year add up to a total weight of 14 kg. The second pumpkin weighs twice as much as the first one while the third pumpkin weighs as much as the first two pumpkins combined and three times as much as the fourth pumpkin.
How heavy is each of the pumpkins?
Solution
The weight of one pumpkin has to be determined as a reference for the other pumpkins' weights.
So, pumpkin 1 weighs x kg.
Pumpkin 2 then weighs 2x kg. Pumpkin 3 weighs 3x kg and pumpkin 4 has to be (3x : 3)kg heavy.
All pumpkins together add up to 14 kg. The equation is as follows:
x + 2x + 3x + (3 : 3)x = 14
x + 2x + 3x + x = 14
Hence, the first pumpkin weighs as much as the fourth pumpkin.
7x = 14
x = 2 kg
So, these are the pumpkins’ weights:
Pumpkin 1: 2 kg
Pumpkin 2: 4 kg
Pumpkin 3: 6 kg
Pumpkin 4: 2 kg
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