Question

Renna pushes the elevator button, but the elevator does not move. The mass limit for the elevator is
\[450\] kilograms (
\[\text{kg}\]), but Renna and her load of identical packages mass a total of
\[620\,\text{kg}\]. Each package has a mass of
\[37.4\,\text{kg}\].
Write an inequality to determine the number of packages,
\[p\], Renna could remove from the elevator to meet the mass requirement.
What is the minimum whole number of packages Renna needs to remove from the elevator to meet the mass requirement?
packages

Answer 1

Let p be the number of packages removed. After removing p packages the mass is 620 − 37.4p, which must be at most 450, so
620 − 37.4p ≤ 450.

Solving: 37.4p ≥ 170 ⇒ p ≥ 170/37.4 ≈ 4.55, so Renna must remove at least 5 packages.