Up in a forest fire lookout tower in California’s Sierra Nevada, Calvina and Carmela, the two watchers, need supplies. Three mules, led by ranch hand Jerry Milsaps, can carry supplies up to them. The mules are named Geranium, Delphinium, and Ammonium. Geranium can carry 200 pounds, Delphinium can carry 190 pounds, and Ammonium can carry 180 pounds. What supplies should each mule carry so that everything fits?
| Drinking water | 28 lb | Batteries | 61 lb | |
| Ice | 35 lb | Detective novels | 63 lb | |
| Kitty litter | 42 lb | Window glass cleaner | 77 lb | |
| Camera equipment | 44 lb | Ping pong table | 84 lb | |
| Back-up telescope | 48 lb | Mountain Dew | 88 lb |
Make many guesses (maybe put the numbers on small slips of paper). Eventually:
| Geranium | Delphinium | Ammonium | |||
| water | 28 | ice | 35 | kitty litter | 42 |
| ping pong | 84 | cam. eq. | 44 | glass cleaner | 77 |
| Mt. Dew | 88 | telescope | 48 | batteries | 61 |
| 200 | novels | 63 | 180 | ||
| 190 | |||||