A factory manager is packing engine components into wooden crates to be shipped on a small truck. The truck is designed to hold sixteen crates, and will safely carry a 1200 lb cargo. Each crate weighs 12 lbs empty. How many pounds should the manager instruct the workers to put in each crate in order to get the shipment weight as close as possible to 1200 lbs?

Question

Renee Holmes

Mathematics

31 March, 15:47

A factory manager is packing engine components into wooden crates to be shipped on a small truck. The truck is designed to hold sixteen crates, and will safely carry a 1200 lb cargo. Each crate weighs 12 lbs empty. How many pounds should the manager instruct the workers to put in each crate in order to get the shipment weight as close as possible to 1200 lbs?

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Answers (1)

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Jaslene Casey · Answer 1

Answer: 63lbs

Step-by-step explanation:

The truck can only hold 16crates and each crate weigh 12lbs, the total weight of the 16 crates will be 12*16 = 192lbs

This shows that the truck can only contain extra load of 1200lbs - 192lbs = 1008lbs (excluding weight of crates).

To get the shipment weigh close to the total of 1200lbs, the truck must be loaded with engine components not more than 1008lbs.

Since we have 16 crates to fill with engine components not more than 1008lb, each crates will therefore must not exceed 1008/16 pounds of engine components which is equivalent to 63lbs.

Therefore, the manager should instruct the workers to put 63lbs of machine components in "each crate" in order to get the shipment weight as close as possible to 1200 lbs.