Question

Medicine is packed in boxes, each weighing 4 kg 500 g. How many such boxes can be loaded in a van which cannot carry beyond 800 kg.

Answer 1

Hint: Convert both the weights of medicine box and van to grams using the following relation.
1 kg = 1000 g
Calculate the number of boxes that can be loaded in the van by dividing the total weight that can be loaded by the weight of one box of medicine.

Complete step-by-step answer:

Weight of one box of medicine = 4 kg 500 g
And weight that can be loaded in van = 800 kg
As, we have to calculate the total number of boxes in the van, so we need to divide the whole weight that can be loaded by the weight of one box because the total loading capacity of the van will be equal to the total weight occupied by the total number of boxes of medicines.
So, let us convert the weight of one box to gram only which is given as 4 kg 500 g. So, as we know there are 100 gm in 1 kg weight.
So, 4 kg will represent the same capacity in g as
$4kg=4\times 1000g=4000g$
Hence, the total capacity of a box in grams $=4000g+500g=4500g$
Now, we can divide the total weight of the van by the total weight of the box.
So, we get
$4500\overset{177.77}{\overline{\left){\begin{align}
  & 800000 \\
 & \underline{4500} \\
 & 35000 \\
 & \underline{31500} \\
 & 035000 \\
 & \underline{031500} \\
 & 035000 \\
 & \underline{031500} \\
 & \underline{003500} \\
\end{align}}\right.}}$

So, approximately $177.77\simeq 177$ boxes can be loaded to the van or in other words, 177 boxes at maximum.
Similarly, we can convert the total weight that can be loaded in the van in grams as well.
So, the total weight that can be loaded in a van in grams $=800\times 1000=800000g$ can be loaded in the van.
Hence, 177 is the answer.

Note: One may convert both the weights of van and box to kg as well and hence divide it. We need to use relation as
$1g=\dfrac{1}{1000}kg$
One may use the division by writing 4500 and 800,000 in fraction form as well, i.e. we can solve it without the actual division. It can be done as
Divide both the numerator and denominator by 100
$\dfrac{800,000}{4500}=\dfrac{8000}{45}$
Divide numerator and denominator by ‘5’ , we get
$\dfrac{8000}{45}=\dfrac{1600}{9}$
Now, divide the expression by ‘9’.
So, it can be more simpler than dividing the big number 800,000 by a big number i.e. 4500.