Question

An ant and its cargo weigh 76 milligrams. The cargo is 18 times heavier than the ant. Find the weight of the ant and of the cargo (You must also show the system of equations you used to get your answer).

Answer 1

Let A be the weight of the ant and C be the weight of the cargo, then since "An ant and its cargo weigh 76 milligrams" then we have the following equation

A+C=76

And from "The cargo is 18 times heavier than the ant. " we have this other equation:

C=18A

then we can replace the second equation in the first one

`A+18A=76`
`19A=76\text{ }`
`A=(76)/(19)=4`

Now, replacing A by 4 in the secon equation, we obtain

`C=18(4)=72`

Therefore, the answer will be that the Ant weights 4 miligrams and the cargo Weights 72 miligrams.