CUSTOMARY UNITS OF WEIGHT WORD PROBLEMS

Customary units of weight is a system of measurements commonly used for measuring weight in the united states. 

Word problems given in this section will be much useful for the students who would like to practice problems on customary units of weight like pound, ounce and ton. 

For measuring weight, the U.S. customary system uses the pound, ounce and ton which are the only three customary weight measurements in everyday use. 

The relationship among the measurements pound, ounce and ton are given below.

Problem 1 : 

David prepares 24 pounds of metal in 1 hour 36 minutes. At the same rate, How many ounces of metal will he prepare in one minute ? 

Solution :

1 hour 36 minutes  =  60 min + 36 min  =  96 minutes

1 pound  =  16 ounces

24 pounds  =  24 ⋅ 16 ounces  =  384 ounces

1 hour 36 min -----> 24 pounds

96 minutes ----> 384 pounds

So, no. of pounds prepared in 96 minutes is 

=  384 ounces

No. of ounces prepared in in one minute is 

=  384/96  

=  4

So, David will prepare, 4 ounces of metal in one minute. 

Problem 2 : 

Mark used 15840 ounces of metal to make an alloy in 45 minutes. Find the amount of metal used in one minute (in ounces).

Solution :

No. of ounces used in 45 minutes  =  15840

No. of ounces used in 1 minute  =  15840/45

No. of ounces used in 1 minute  =  352

So, the amount of metal used in 1 minute is 352. 

Problem 3 : 

Mrs. Moore handed out 4 ounces of almonds to each of her 22 students . How many pounds of almonds did Mrs. Moore hand out?

Solution :

Amount of almonds handed out to 1 student is 4 ounces.

Total no. of ounces of almonds handed out for 22 students is 

=  4 ⋅ 22

=  88 ounces 

Convert ounces into pounds.

=  88/16 pounds

=  5.5 pounds

So, Mrs. Moore handed out 5.5 pounds of almonds.

Problem 4 : 

Tommy uses 4 ounces of cheese in each pizza he makes. How many pounds of cheese does Tommy need to make 28 pizzas ?

Solution :

1 pizza -----> 4 ounces of cheese

28 pizzas -----> 28 ⋅ 4 ounces of cheese

28 pizzas ------> 112 ounces of cheese

Now, convert 112 ounces into pounds. 

112 ounces  =  (112 / 16) pounds

112 ounces  =  7 pounds

So, Tommy needs 7 pounds of cheese to make 28 pizzas. 

Problem 5 : 

A standard elevator in a mid rise building can hold a maximum weight of about 1.5 tons. Assuming an average adult weight of 150 pounds, what is the maximum number of adults who could safely ride the elevator ? 

Solution :

First let us convert 1.5 tons into pounds 

1.5 tons  =  1.5 ⋅ 2000  =  3000 pounds        

So, the elevator can hold 3000 pounds of weight.

If the average weight of an adult is 150 pounds,

Maximum no. of adults could safely ride the elevator is

=  3000/150

=  20

So, maximum number of adults who could safely ride the elevator is 20.

Problem 6 : 

Jose had 256 ounces of lemonade. He gave 3/4 of lemonade to his friend. How many pounds of lemonade does Jose have now ? 

Solution :

Amount of lemonade given to friend is

=  3/4 ⋅ 256 ounces

=  192 ounces

No. of ounces of lemonade that Jose has now : 

 =  256 - 192

=  64 ounces

We know that, 

1 pound  =  16 ounces

Therefore, No. of pounds of lemonade that Jose has now is

=  64/16

=  4

So, no. of pounds of lemonade that Jose has now is 4.  

Problem 7 : 

Robert had 12 tons of grains. He gave 25% of grains to his friend. How many pounds of grains does Robert have ?

Solution :

No. of tons of grains given to friend is

=  25% of 12 tons

=  0.25 ⋅ 12

=  3 tons

No. of tons of grains having had by Robert now : 

=  12 - 3

=  9 tons

We now that, 

1 ton  =  2000 pounds

Then, 

9 tons  =  9 ⋅ 2000 pounds

9 tons  =  18000 pounds

So, no. of pounds of grains that Robert  has now is 18000. 

Problem 8 : 

Lily uses 2 ounces of cheese in each cake he makes. If she has 3.5 pounds of cheese, how many cakes can she make ? 

Solution :

1 pound  =  16 ounces

3.5 pounds  =  3.5 ⋅ 16 ounces

3.5 pounds  =  56 ounces

Each cake needs 2 ounces of cheese.

Then, no. of cakes can be made with 56 ounces is

=  56/2

=  28

So, Lily can make 28 cakes with 3.5 pounds of cheese. 

Problem 9 :

Which is best deal,

18 ounces of cheese cost $ 3.60

or 

54 ounces cheese cost $ 11.34 ?

Solution :

To compare the given measures, convert them in to unit rates. 

From the above unit rates, we get the lower price per ounce $0.20 in "18 ounces of cheese cost $ 3.60"

Hence, "18 ounces of cheese cost $3.60" is the best deal.

Problem 10 :

The ratio of two metals A and B are in an alloy is 3:5. If the weight of the alloy is 16 pounds, find the weight of each metal in the alloy in ounces. 

Solution :

From the given ratio 3 : 5, we have

weight of metal A  =  3x

weight of metal B  =  5x 

Given : The total weight of the alloy is 16 pounds.

Then, we have

3x + 5x  =  16

8x  =  16

x  =  2

Therefore, weight of metal A is

  =  3(2) pounds

=  6 pounds 

=  6 ⋅ 16 ounces

=  96 ounces

Weight of metal B is

=  5(2) ponds

=  10 pounds

=  10 ⋅ 16 pounds

=  160 ounces

So, weight of metal A is 96 ounces and weight of metal B is 160 ounces. 

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