Question

The maximum weight for a truck on the New York State Thruway is 40 tons. How many pounds is this?

Answer 1

First, you would need to determine how many pounds are equivalent to 1 ton.
1 ton = 2,000 pounds

Now, all you would have to do is multiply both sides of the equal sign by the number of tons. 
1 × 40 = 2,000 × 40
40 tons = 80,000 pounds

40 tons is equivalent to 80,000 pounds.

I hope this helps!