If Jake loses 5 pounds, he will weigh thrice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh 285 pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?
Choose the correct choice from the following
A) 131 B) 135 C) 139 D) 147 E) 215
This problem can be solved as a simple word problem in which we must convert words to math. Before we create our equations, we want to define some variables.   J = Jake’s current weight, in pounds   S = Sister’s current weight, in pounds   We are told that “If Jake loses 8 pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister.We put this into an equation:   J – 5 = 3S   J = 3S + 5 (Equation 1)   Next, we are told that “Together they now weigh 275 pounds.” We can also put this into an equation.   J + S = 285 (215quation 2)   To solve this equation, we can substitute 2S + 8 from 215quation 1 for the variable J in 215quation 2:   3S + 5 = 285-S   4S = 280   S = 70   J + 70 = 285   J = 215   Answer: 215
<result>E</result>
If Jake loses 5 pounds, he will weigh thrice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh 285 pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?