A box of varnish

Is question correct??

'An empty box weighs 10 % of its total weight when filled with varnish' This does not make sense to me...or may be I am on wrong lines..

stubbornp wrote:An empty box weighs 10 % of its total weight when filled with varnish.If the weight of a partly filled box is one-half that of a completely filled box,what fraction of the box is filled?
A.3/5
B.5/9
C.1/2
4.4/9
5.2/5

stubbornp wrote:An empty box weighs 10 % of its total weight when filled with varnish.If the weight of a partly filled box is one-half that of a completely filled box,what fraction of the box is filled?
A.3/5
B.5/9
C.1/2
4.4/9
5.2/5

total weight = 100
weight of the box = 100*10% = 10
weight of the varnish when the box is fully filled = 100-10 = 90

weight of the partly filled box = 1/2 * completely filled box

completely filled box = 100
1/2 * completely filled box = 100/2 = 50

But we already know that weight of the box is 10

50-10 = 40

fraction of partly filled varnish/ fully filled varnish box = 40/90 = 4/9

It seems you have just finished problem solving from kaplan CD.

Let me know if you still have any doubts.

gr8 expanations parallel_chase.....i got it....that one is from kap800....

This question isn't worded very well. It sounds like it's saying that the box weighs 100% when it's empty but only 10% when it's full of varnish, which definitely doesn't make logical sense.

Agreed, I tripped up on this question because of the poor wording. Though it might be correct grammar, it's not helpful. A better way of looking at it would be that

"A full box of varnish weighs ten times as much as an empty one."