Can anybody help us with the answer for the this question?

[yak]

Mary was expecting to lose 80%of the weight she gained whilst on holiday,within 6 months of her return.

She hoped to way 130 ounces by then.

How much would she have weighed just befor she went on holiday?

[aliportico]

I don't think you can tell from what you've written - have you copied the question exactly?

(Also, 130 ounces? Is Mary a cat?)

[hermanmunster]

agreed aliportico - I'm not sure that there is enough info here.

[999 mum]

I don't think you can tell from what you've written - have you copied the question exactly?

And if you have (written the question properly), can you please specify where the question came from? (so I can avoid getting those papers! )

[maddad]

There isn't enough info - you need another reading of weight e.g. how much she weighed after returning from holiday, to be able to solve this.

[yak]

Hi, yes the question is correct. It is from the 11+ mock test maths paper from wallington grammar school. Even we thought that the question was lacking information. Thanks anyways for replying.

[mystery]

Oh come off it Yak. And how did you come away with a copy of the paper? And if you did, what's this about ounces, and "way" instead of "weigh"?

Think everyone should steer clear of Wallington if this is the standard of their work!

Suddenly the whole of the maths section seems to be flooded with inane questions. What's happening?

[xyzzy]

Oh come off it Yak. And how did you come away with a copy of the paper? And if you did, what's this about ounces, and "way" instead of "weigh"?

Think everyone should steer clear of Wallington if this is the standard of their work!

Suddenly the whole of the maths section seems to be flooded with inane questions. What's happening?

130 ounces is 8.1lb, or 3.7kg. It's the weight of a healthy new-born baby. A six-month old who weighed that would be regarded as seriously ill, so even if said newborn immediately went on holiday, it's unlikely s/he would want to end up in an ICU six months later.

The question might have said "pounds". 130 pounds is 9st4lb, or 59kg: a small woman's weight. Except no-one in the UK would refer to their weight in pounds: it's an American thing, as they don't use stone.

And, as others point out, the question has an infinite number of answers. Say she gained 10 on holiday. She weighed 128 before she left. Say she gained 20 on holiday. She weighed 126 before she left. before = 130 - (0.2 x gain): two unknowns, and you only have one equation.

Like aaman1, we're either being fed homework, or mis-remembered questions.

[hermanmunster]

thanks xyzzy, you beat me to it!

[mystery]

It would make a good design your own question question though wouldn't it? The challenge could be to use the snippet of the question given to create the full question.

Mary was taken on holiday as a new born baby. It was a very long vacation lasting beyond an early adolescence brought on by a high fat US diet. Mary made many friends while on holiday in Florida. Her friends were weight obsessed and were always complaining that they put weight on while on holiday. So at the end of the holiday Mary asked her Mum what she weighed at the start of their holiday. Mary's Mum told her that her weight at the end of the holiday was 20 times her weight at the beginning of the holiday.

Mary had very little understanding of child development and it upset her greatly that she had put on so much weight while on holiday. She told her Mum that she wanted to lose it all like her other friends she had met on holiday. Her Mum explained that she would be hard-pushed to lose it all as she had been a baby when they first started the vacation. Mary had just covered percentages in the prep work for Wally School entrance exams which her Mum had brought along in their large suitcase. She decided that to lose 80% over 6 months sounded like a sensible goal, by which point she wished to weigh 130 ounces.

What did Mary weigh at the start and end of the holiday? Convert your answers from imperial to metric measures, and comment on the likelihood of Mary achieving her goal.