SOLUTION: Lewis Carroll was a mathmematician and an author who used mathmatical logic when writing his stories. In his book, Through the Looking Glass, there is a conversation between Tweedl

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Misc -> SOLUTION: Lewis Carroll was a mathmematician and an author who used mathmatical logic when writing his stories. In his book, Through the Looking Glass, there is a conversation between Tweedl      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


   



Question 177557: Lewis Carroll was a mathmematician and an author who used mathmatical logic when writing his stories. In his book, Through the Looking Glass, there is a conversation between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Tweeledum says, "The sum of your weight and twice mine is 361 pounds.' Tweedledee answers, "Contrariwise, the sum of your weight and twice mine is 362 pounds." What are the weights of Tweedledum and Tweedledee?
Answer by Mathtut(3670) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
let the weight of tweedledee and tweedledum be a and be respectively
:
a+2b=361.....eq 1
b+2a=362.....eq 2
:
multiply eq 1 by -2 and add equations together.
:
-2a-4b=-722.....revised eq 1
b+2a=362........eq 2
:
The a terms will be eliminated because -2a+2a=0. We are left with -4b+b=-722+362
:
-3b=-360
:
highlight%28b=120%29tweedledum's weight
:
take b's found value and plug it back into any equation and solve for a
:
I choose eq 1. a+2(120)=361--->a=361-240=121
:
highlight%28a=121%29tweedledee's weight
: