Container A was completely filled with water and then emptied into containers B and C. The volume of water in container B was 62.5% less than the total capacity of container A. When 148 liters of water was moved from container C to container B, both containers ended up holding the same amount of water. What was the original volume of water in container A?

Explanation

Since the water in container B is 62.5% less than container A's capacity, B holds 37.5% (or 3/8) of A's volume. Let the total volume in A be 8k liters. Then, B contains 3k liters and C contains the remaining 5k liters. After transferring 148 liters from C to B, their volumes become equal: 5k - 148 = 3k + 148. Solving this gives 2k = 296, so k = 148. Therefore, the initial volume in container A is 8k = 8 × 148 = 1184 liters.