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1. Bodo weighs 120 pounds more than his sister Janet. Their combined weight is 140 pounds. How many pounds does Bodo weigh?
Answer:Answer:130
Solution:
"Bodo weighs 130 pounds" is the correct answer. His sister weighs 10 pounds. Thus, Bodo weighs 120 pounds more than his sister and their combined weight is 140 as per the problem requirements.
The common mistake is to quickly jump to the conclusion that "Bodo weighs 120 pounds and his sister weighs 20 pounds." But, Bodo would then erroneously weigh 100 pounds more than his sister.
Alternative Solution through Equations:
Let b be Bodo's weight and s be his sister's weight. Then,