When it comes to math challenges, sometimes you have to think outside the box, but for this week’s word problem challenge, we want you to think INSIDE the box! Read below to help Brianna figure out how much stuff she can put in the box she has. 

Challenge: Brianna has a box that can hold up to 50 pounds. She puts 3 books that each weigh 2 pounds inside the box. She also puts a lamp that weighs 20 pounds inside the box. What percent of the box’s maximum weight capacity does Brianna have left to fill?

How's it going? Are you ready to weigh in with your solution? Go ahead and check yours against ours, below.

Solution: Brianna puts 3 × 2 + 20 = 26 pounds of stuff into the box. That means the box can hold another 50 – 26 = 24 pounds. Since 50 is half of 100 and percents are out of 100, we can double 24 to find that there is still 48% of the box’s maximum weight capacity left to fill.