Middle School

A freight elevator can safely hold no more than 2000 pounds. An elevator operator must take 55-pound boxes to a storage area. If he weighs 165 pounds, how many boxes can he safely move at one time?

Answer :

The elevator operator can safely move 33 boxes at one time in the freight elevator, after accounting for his own weight.

The question involves determining how many 55-pound boxes an elevator operator can safely move at one time in a freight elevator that can hold up to 2000 pounds, given that the operator weighs 165 pounds. To solve this, we need to calculate the total weight that can be carried in addition to the operator's weight.

First, we subtract the operator's weight from the maximum weight the elevator can hold:

  1. 2000 pounds (elevator capacity) - 165 pounds (operator's weight) = 1835 pounds.

Next, we calculate how many boxes can be carried by dividing the remaining weight by the weight of one box:

  1. 1835 pounds (remaining weight)
    / 55 pounds (weight per box) = 33.36.

Since we can't have a fraction of a box, we round down to the nearest whole number:

  1. Maximum number of boxes = 33.

Therefore, the elevator operator can safely move 33 boxes at one time.

Answer:

33 boxes.

Step-by-step explanation:

We have been given that a freight elevator can safely hold no more than 2000 pound. Weight of elevator operator is 165 pound. Weight of each box is 55 pound.

Let n be number of boxes. We will write an inequality as weight of elevator operator and weight of all boxes should be no more than 2000 pound.

[tex]55*n+165\leq 2000[/tex]

Now we will solve our inequality to find number of boxes that could be moved safely at one time.

[tex]55*n\leq 2000-165[/tex]

[tex]55*n\leq 1835[/tex]

[tex]n\leq \frac{1835}{55}[/tex]

[tex]n\leq 33.363636[/tex]

Therefore, 33 boxes can be moved safely at one time.