SOLUTION: A water tank is currently 33.3% full. If 3 more gallons are added the tank will be 50% full. Find the capacity of the tank.

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Question 912650: A water tank is currently 33.3% full. If 3 more gallons are added the tank will be 50% full. Find the capacity of the tank.
Found 2 solutions by jim_thompson5910, josgarithmetic:
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x = full capacity of the tank (in gallons)

The tank is currently 33.3% full, so it is 0.333x gallons full.

Add 3 more gallons to get 0.333x + 3

Set this equal to 0.5x because this represents 50% full capacity

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0.333x + 3 = 0.5x

3 = 0.5x - 0.333x

3 = 0.167x

0.167x = 3

x = 3/0.167

x = 17.9640718562874

If we round to the nearest gallon, we get 18 gallons. So the tank is roughly 18 gallons. This is an overestimate if you use 33.3% but an exact measurement if you use 33 1/3%

Either way, I'd say the full capacity of the tank is 18 gallons.

Let me know if you need more help or if you need me to explain a step in more detail.
Feel free to email me at jim_thompson5910@hotmail.com
or you can visit my website here: http://www.freewebs.com/jimthompson5910/home.html

Thanks,

Jim

Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
50.0-33.3=16.7

16.7% of the tank capacity is 3 gallons.

Think about those two statements and continue when you understand them.

...

Let C = the tank capacity.

C=18.0 gallons