A rare whale fossil was uncovered under layers of sediment. When the excavator took measurements, she found the tail to be as long

By Maya

A rare whale fossil was uncovered under layers of sediment. When the excavator took measurements, she found the tail to be as long as its head plus a quarter of the length of the body. When the archaeologist came in, he measured the length of the body. He found it to be ¾ of the total length. They made arguments about how such a fish would swim in the water. To make proper predictions they measured the head size, and found it to be 4 inches long. What is the total length of this whale?

128

99

136

142

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2 thoughts on “A rare whale fossil was uncovered under layers of sediment. When the excavator took measurements, she found the tail to be as long”

  1. Answer :-

    Let us assume tail to be t, head to be h, length of body be x and the total length be L.

    Tail = Head + ¼ of length of body

    → t = h + ¼ x

    Length of body = ¾ of total length

    → x = ¾ L

    Also,

    Total length = Length of body + Head + tail

    → L = x + h + t

    Now, the question has given us the length of head. Substituting the value :-

    [tex]\implies\sf t = 4 + \dfrac{1}{4}x \: \: \: \: \: \: -i[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf x = \dfrac{3}{4} L \: \: \: \: \: \: -ii[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = x + 4 + t \: \: \: \: \: \: -iii[/tex]

    Substituting the value of t from equation i in equation iii :-

    [tex]\implies\sf L = x + 4 + t[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = x + 4 + 4 + \dfrac{1}{4}x[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 + x + \dfrac{1}{4}x\: \: \: \: \: \: -iv[/tex]

    Substituting the value of x from equation ii in equation iv :-

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 + \dfrac{3}{4} L + \dfrac{1}{4} \times \dfrac{3}{4} L[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 + \dfrac{3}{4} L + \dfrac{3}{16} L[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 + \dfrac{12}{16} L + \dfrac{3}{16} L[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 + \dfrac{15}{16} L[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L – \dfrac{15}{16} L = 8[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf \dfrac{1}{16} L = 8[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 8 \times 16[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf L = 128[/tex]

    Verification :-

    From equation ii :-

    [tex]\implies\sf x = \dfrac{3}{4}L[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf x = \dfrac{3}{4} \times 128[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf x = 96[/tex]

    Substituting the value in equation i :-

    [tex]\implies\sf t = h + \dfrac{1}{4} x[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf t = 4 + \dfrac{1}{4} \times 96[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf t = 4 + 24[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf t = 28[/tex]

    Substituting the value of t , x , h and L in equation iii :-

    [tex]\implies\sf L = t + x + h[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf LHS \longrightarrow L = 128[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf RHS \longrightarrow t + x + h [/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf RHS = 28 + 96 + 4[/tex]

    [tex]\implies\sf RHS = 128[/tex]

    LHS = RHS

    Hence verified.

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