Worded problem..

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Pimptatay

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An iron ore contains 58% iron oxide. Iron constitutes 70% of iron oxide. How much iron is there in 10,000kg of this ore?
 
Pimptatay said:
An iron ore contains 58% iron oxide. Iron constitutes 70% of iron oxide. How much iron is there in 10,000kg of this ore?
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Please follow the rules of posting in this forum, as enunciated at:

READ BEFORE POSTING

Please share your work/thoughts about this assignment.

start with:

How many kg of iron oxide in 100 kg ore?

How many kg of iron oxide in 10,000 kg ore?
 
Pimptatay said:
It’s basically write a formula and solve it? To two decimal places.
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Do not need any formula to solve this problem!

You could derive a formula first - then evaluate it. That will be unnecessary "double" and unwanted work.

Good for building character though!
 
Pimptatay said:
An iron ore contains 58% iron oxide.

Iron constitutes 70% of iron oxide. How much iron is there in 10,000kg of this ore?
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Do the following first [JeffM (response #5) and I (response #2)] suggested this

That statement should tell you that there are 58 kg of Iron oxide in 100 kg ore.

Then how many kgs of Iron oxide is present in 10000 kg of ore? Remember 10,000 = 100 * 100
 
Pimptatay said:
I’m thinking:
70%(x) = 58%(10000)
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That actually may be correct, but nobody would now because you did not define what x means. Defining your variable is a way of communicating to people. In the future please define your variables.
 
Pimptatay said:
The formula was apparently:

70%/x=58%(10000)
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That means the same as \(\displaystyle x=\frac{70\%}{58\%*1000}=\frac{70}{58*1000}=.0012\)
I can only assume, since you will not define your x, that x is how much iron is there in 10,000kg of this ore. Doesn't it seem that is a small amount.

If you answered the questions ask of you then you would have had your answer by now.
 
Pimptatay said:
I’m thinking:
70%(x) = 58%(10000)
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If I suppose that your x is the amount of iron, then you are saying that 70% of the iron is iron oxide. That's wrong.
Pimptatay said:
So 58% is pure iron, and 70% of what's left is pure iron
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I can't imagine what this means. 70% of what's left after removing the pure iron is pure iron?
Pimptatay said:
The formula was apparently:

70%/x=58%(10000)
Click to expand...
This is also wrong.
Pimptatay said:
An iron ore contains 58% iron oxide. Iron constitutes 70% of iron oxide. How much iron is there in 10,000kg of this ore?
Click to expand...
I think you may be misunderstanding this statement. It does not say "Iron contains 70% iron oxide", or "Iron consists of 70% iron oxide", but is sort of the opposite. "Constitutes" means "is" or "makes up": 70% of iron oxide is iron. That is, just as 58% of the iron ore is iron oxide, 70% of iron oxide is iron.

Does that help you solve the problem? I think the wording here is harder than the math, and a large part of the work is figuring out the English. That's one reason everyone has been warning you not to look primarily for a formula.

My first step would be to restate the information more clearly, and then check what I wrote against what it says. My paraphrase might be:
  • 58% of the iron ore is iron oxide.
  • 70% of iron oxide is iron.
  • How much iron is there in 10,000 kg of this ore?
Once you've done that, you just have a couple simple calculations to do.
 
Dr.Peterson said:
If I suppose that your x is the amount of iron, then you are saying that 70% of the iron is iron oxide. That's wrong.

I can't imagine what this means. 70% of what's left after removing the pure iron is pure iron?

This is also wrong.

I think you may be misunderstanding this statement. It does not say "Iron contains 70% iron oxide", or "Iron consists of 70% iron oxide", but is sort of the opposite. "Constitutes" means "is" or "makes up": 70% of iron oxide is iron. That is, just as 58% of the iron ore is iron oxide, 70% of iron oxide is iron.

Does that help you solve the problem? I think the wording here is harder than the math, and a large part of the work is figuring out the English. That's one reason everyone has been warning you not to look primarily for a formula.

My first step would be to restate the information more clearly, and then check what I wrote against what it says. My paraphrase might be:
  • 58% of the iron ore is iron oxide.
  • 70% of iron oxide is iron.
  • How much iron is there in 10,000 kg of this ore?
Once you've done that, you just have a couple simple calculations to do.
Click to expand...

This was only part of my assignment that I needed to solve. And you’re right the wording aren’t always accurate. So it can be misleading to understand..

but with your paraphrase, how would you solve that then?
 
I think that you are missing the point here. You, the poster, must solve the problem with our help. When we ask a question it is best for you to answer it instead of waiting for someone to give you the answer.
So let's start over again from the start. You were given a better interpretation of the problem. Do you understand it now? If no, can you tell us what you do not understand? If you understand the interpretation can you please try to solve the problem or tell us where you are stuck?
 
I’m confused by how to convert ore into iron ore.
it’s almost like it’s stating:
58%/70% = iron
So iron x 10000 = iron ore
Now iron ore x 58% x 70% = iron of this ore
 
Pimptatay said:
This was only part of my assignment that I needed to solve. And you’re right the wording aren’t always accurate. So it can be misleading to understand..

but with your paraphrase, how would you solve that then?
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I didn't say the wording was inaccurate. I said people often misread problems, so the solving process begins with understanding it.

I did that because I get the impression that you know enough about percentages to solve this problem once you understand what it means. Our goal here is to help you solve your problem; that's how you learn best. So give it a try, and tell us where you are still stuck, if you are.

As I was writing this, you responded:
Pimptatay said:
I’m confused by how to convert ore into iron ore.
it’s almost like it’s stating:
58%/70% = iron
So iron x 10000 = iron ore
Now iron ore x 58% x 70% = iron of this ore
Click to expand...
The last line is more or less right, though the previous lines makes no sense; there is no difference between "ore" and "iron ore" in this problem. (Possibly you are not fully understanding the basic idea of what iron ore is; that could be a major problem in solving the problem. Iron ore is rock; iron oxide is one mineral in the rock; and iron is one element in the mineral.)

Do you see the idea now?

Imagine a big rectangle representing the ore.

Now lightly shade in 58% of it; that is the iron oxide that is part of the ore.

Then shade in 70% of the part you shaded; that is the iron in the iron oxide.

That is the amount you are asked for; and it is indeed 70% of 58% of the 10,000 kg of ore.
 
Pimptatay said:
I’m confused by how to convert ore into iron ore.
it’s almost like it’s stating:
58%/70% = iron
So iron x 10000 = iron ore
Now iron ore x 58% x 70% = iron of this ore
Click to expand...
Almost.
58% of the iron ore is iron oxide and 70% of iron oxide is iron.
What would you get if 58% and 70% were replaced with 50%? Hoe did you get your answer. Can you do the same thing with 58% and 70%
 
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