Question

the tail weighed 9 pounds. the hyead weighed as much as the tail plus 1/3 of the body combined, and the body weighed as much as the head and tail combined. what was the total weight of the fish?

Answer 1

t=9
h = t + b/3
b = h+t

knowing t=9, we have

h = 9 + b/3
b = h+9

so,

h = 9 + (h+9)/3
h = 9 + h/3 + 3
2h/3 = 12
h = 18
b = 27
t = 9
add 'em up for the total weight