two pails of different sizes contain 34.5 litres of water altogether When 0.68 litre of water is poured from the bigger pail into the smaller pail the amount of water in the bigger pail is 9 times that in the smaller pail. How much water was in the smaller pail at first?

We know that the total amount of water in both pails is 34.5 liters, so we can write the equation: S + L = 34.5 We're also given that when 0.68 liters of water is poured from the larger pail (L) into the smaller pail (S), the amount of water in the larger pail is 9 times that in the smaller pail. We can express this as: L - 0.68 = 9(S + 0.68) Now, we have a system of two equations: S + L = 34.5 L - 0.68 = 9(S + 0.68) We can solve this system of equations simultaneously to find the values of S and L. Start by solving equation (1) for L: L = 34.5 - S Now, substitute this expression for L into equation (2): (34.5 - S) - 0.68 = 9(S + 0.68) Now, solve for S: 33.82 - S = 9S + 6.12 Combine like terms: 10S = 27.7 Now, solve for S: S = 27.7 / 10 S = 2.77 So, there were approximately 2.77 liters of water in the smaller pail at first.