I'm not sure how to solve these word problems, and thought maybe some of you could be of assistance.

1) A recipe calls for 7 pounds of cooked carrots. How many pounds of raw carrots must be purchased if the yield of carrots is 82%?

2) The cooking loss of a prime rib is 28%. We require 225 pounds of cooked prime rib for service. How many pounds of prime rib must be ordered?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and please show your work on how you figured out the word problem(s).

This had better not be a homework assignment...

1. The mention of carrots is a red herring. The important facts are that 7 pounds are needed and the yield is 82%. However, whatever the yield of carrots might be, I happen to know that the yield of red herring is 73%. Since we want to end up with 7 pounds, we need to start with 7 divided by 73%, which is 9.59 pounds. Of course, red herring are only sold intact, and each weighs half a pound, so you'll actually need to buy twenty of them.

2. Likewise, if we want to end up with 225 pounds, we must start with 308.2 pounds of red herring, which means ordering 617 herring.

Red herring? I don't know. Sounds like it has food coloring, and I don't eat anything with food coloring - I've got terrible food sensitivities. I'd just throw it all out.

Originally posted by xelA
Word Problems - Way Off TopicNothing's off topic here. Even Chicken posted a question about some music of questionable pedigree.

Oh, and please show your work on how you figured out the word problem(s). Sheesh, you sound like my teacher - and I haven't had a teacher since '74 (yeah, I'm an old fart). I also did my own homework, and I would recommend for you to do the same :-) Good luck.

LOL @ Abu. Actually, I'm trying to help someone out with these word problems, but can't seem to figure them out. :confused:

cperciva: Thanks for trying to help. I'll see if those are the answers to the problems.

Any help from others, please?

Originally posted by xelA
Actually, I'm trying to help someone out with these word problems, but can't seem to figure them out. Then don't tell your friend that you got help from cperciva, make him/her think you toiled over these problems for hours. Hey, this is the year 2002 - extract a price!

Originally posted by Abu Mami
Red herring? I don't know. Sounds like it has food coloring, ...

Food colouring? No, I don't think so. Although I'd agree if you didn't want to eat it on the grounds that it seemed a bit fishy.

Originally posted by xelA
2) The cooking loss of a prime rib is 28%. We require 225 pounds of cooked prime rib for service. How many pounds of prime rib must be ordered?I'm not sure if it's the case for carrots, but prime rib is always sold and served by the weight before cooking. As are red herrings.

Originally posted by JayC
I'm not sure if it's the case for carrots, but prime rib is always sold and served by the weight before cooking. As are red herrings. I don't think red herrings are sold, they're just bought.

Carrots is 8.533 before
You need 310.5 lbs of prime rib

Thats a lot of prime rib, if you need help eating it.. Give me a call.

Originally posted by xelA
I'm not sure how to solve these word problems, and thought maybe some of you could be of assistance.

1) A recipe calls for 7 pounds of cooked carrots. How many pounds of raw carrots must be purchased if the yield of carrots is 82%?

2) The cooking loss of a prime rib is 28%. We require 225 pounds of cooked prime rib for service. How many pounds of prime rib must be ordered?


Is this grade six?

1) 82%=0.82.
0.82x=7
x=7/0.82
x=8.54 pounds

2) 28%=0.28
x-0.28x=225
|-0.72x|=225
x=225/0.72
x=312.5 pounds

Originally posted by energy
Is this grade six?

Dear God, I certainly hope not. I mean, I know that mathematics curricula are becoming a joke (lead largely by the "it's not a wrong answer, it is a different right answer" movement) but it wasn't all that long ago when such questions were grade 3 material.

I'm starting to really worry about whom major decisions will be made by fifty years from now.