My Math Forum How much water did each tank contain originally?

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 May 4th, 2013, 11:52 AM #1 Senior Member     Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 745 Thanks: 7 How much water did each tank contain originally? A water tank A contains 3 times as much water as another water tank B. When 25 liters are poured from tank A into B, there is now twice as much water in B as in tank A. How much water did each tank contain originally? A water tank A contains 3 times as much water as another water tank B. Let the water be in tank A 3w and that in tank B be w. > When 25 liters are poured from tank A into B, there is now twice as much water in B as in tank A. 3w - 25 = 2w How much water did each tank contain originally? I can solve the problem if only I understand the English or words of the problem correctly. Please can any one explain it to me?
May 4th, 2013, 01:38 PM   #2
Math Team

Joined: Dec 2006
From: Lexington, MA

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Re: How much water did each tank contain originally?

Hello, Chikis!

Quote:
 Water tank A contains 3 times as much water as another water tank B. When 25 liters are poured from tank A into B, there is now twice as much water in B as in tank A. How much water did each tank contain originally?

$\text{At the start, tank }B\text{ has }b\text{ liters of water.}
\;\;\;\text{And tank }A\text{ has }3b\text{ liters of water.}$

Code:
|       |     |       |
|-------|     |       |
|       |     |       |
|       |     |       |
|  3b   |     |       |
|       |     |-------|
|       |     |   b   |
*-------*     *-------*
A             B
$\text{Then 25 liters are transferred from tank }A\text{ to tank }B.
\;\;\;\text{Tank }A\text{ has 25 liters }less\text{ water}
\;\;\;\text{and tank }B\text{ has 25 liters }more\text{ water.}$

Code:
|       |     |       |
|       |     |-------|
|       |     |       |
|       |     |       |
|-------|     | b+25  |
|       |     |       |
| 3b-25 |     |       |
*-------*     *-------*
A             B
$\text{At this time, tank }B\text{ has twice as much water as tank }A.$

$\text{There is our equation! \; . . . }\;\;b\,+\,25 \:=\:2(3b\,-\,25)$

 May 12th, 2013, 02:44 PM #3 Senior Member     Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 745 Thanks: 7 Re: How much water did each tank contain originally? I think I have no problem in obtaining 3b and b as amount of water in tank A and B respectively. So that the equation can be set like this 3b - 25 = b + 25. Where the problem is now, is how to translate the statement, "there is now twice as much water in B as in tank A." From my understanding, since the amount of water in tank A is now 3b - 25 and the amount of water in tank B is b + 25. Please break the words for me so that I can understand. Does twice as much water in B means 2(b + 25)? Does as in tank A, means equal to tank A i.e = 3b - 25 so that you can have the equation as 2(b + 25) = 3b - 25? I don't understand how you got your equation as 2(3b - 25) = b + 25, instead of the way am thinking. Or could the equations 2(b + 25) = 3b - 25 and 2(3b - 25) = b + 25 mean the same thing? Thank you.

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a water tank contains five times as much as another water tank.com When 20 litres of water are poured from the first tank into the second the first contains three times as much as the second. How much water did each tank originally contain

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