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1. Bodo weighs 120 pounds more than his sister Barbara. Their combined weight is 160 pounds. How many pounds does Bodo weigh?
Answer:Answer:140
Solution:
"Bodo weighs 140 pounds" is the correct answer. His sister weighs 20 pounds. Thus, Bodo weighs 120 pounds more than his sister and their combined weight is 160 as per the problem requirements.
The common mistake is to quickly jump to the conclusion that "Bodo weighs 120 pounds and his sister weighs 40 pounds." But, Bodo would then erroneously weigh 80 pounds more than his sister.
Alternative Solution through Equations:
Let b be Bodo's weight and s be his sister's weight. Then,