Barley Bandit: How Much Did The Pig Eat?

The Tale of the Shared Supper

Hey guys! Let's dive into a fun math problem that involves a horse, a goat, and a rather cheeky pig. Picture this: a horse and a goat are getting ready for their dinner. They have a shared meal of 2 kg of barley. Now, here's the twist – the horse gets a bigger portion, specifically 850 grams more than the goat. We need to figure out how much barley each of them was supposed to get before a certain someone (or rather, somepig) decided to intervene. This is a classic algebraic problem where we need to use our math skills to break down the information and solve for the unknowns. So, grab your thinking caps, and let's get started! To really understand this, let's break it down step by step. First, we know the total amount of barley is 2 kg. But wait! We have grams in the mix too (that 850 grams extra for the horse). To keep things simple, let’s convert everything to grams. We know that 1 kg equals 1000 grams, so 2 kg is 2000 grams. This is our total. Now, let’s think about how to represent the unknowns. We don't know how much barley the goat gets, so let's call that 'x' grams. The horse gets 850 grams more than the goat, so the horse's portion would be 'x + 850' grams. The combined amount they get should equal the total amount of barley, which is 2000 grams. This gives us our equation: x (goat’s share) + (x + 850) (horse’s share) = 2000 (total barley). See? We’re already turning this story into a solvable math problem! Now, let's simplify the equation. We have two 'x' terms, so we can combine them: 2x + 850 = 2000. Next, we want to isolate the 'x' term. To do this, we subtract 850 from both sides of the equation: 2x = 2000 – 850. Calculating that gives us 2x = 1150. Almost there! Now, to find out what 'x' is (the goat's share), we need to divide both sides of the equation by 2: x = 1150 / 2. This means x = 575 grams. So, the goat was supposed to get 575 grams of barley. Now that we know the goat's share, we can easily figure out the horse's share. Remember, the horse gets 850 grams more than the goat, so we add 850 to the goat’s share: Horse’s share = 575 + 850 = 1425 grams. Awesome! We've figured out that the goat was supposed to get 575 grams and the horse was supposed to get 1425 grams. But our story doesn't end here because that pesky pig makes an appearance! But before we get to the pig’s snack attack, let’s take a moment to appreciate what we’ve done. We’ve taken a word problem, identified the key information, and translated it into an algebraic equation. We've then solved that equation to find the individual shares of the barley for the goat and the horse. This is a fundamental skill in mathematics, and it's something you'll use in many different situations, not just in math class but also in everyday life. Whether you're splitting a bill with friends, figuring out how much ingredients you need for a recipe, or even calculating discounts while shopping, the ability to break down a problem and solve for unknowns is incredibly valuable. So, give yourselves a pat on the back for tackling this first part so well! We've successfully determined how the barley was supposed to be divided. But now, the real drama begins with the arrival of our hungry, barley-loving pig. Let’s see how this unexpected guest changes the dinner plans!

The Pig's Unexpected Feast

Okay, guys, so we've established that the horse was all set to enjoy 1425 grams of barley. But here comes the twist in our tale: a pig, with a serious craving for barley, swoops in and eats 40% of the horse's portion before the horse even gets a chance to dig in. Can you believe it? That's one bold pig! Our mission now is to calculate exactly how much barley that pig managed to gobble up. This involves working with percentages, which is another super useful math skill. Think of percentages as parts of a whole. In this case, the