Puzzle

[Varley]

I have a puzzle book "Mindbending classic logic puzzles" I have run into a complication with the one on Page 8 which goes as follows:

A man died leaving nearly GBP 8000 to be divided between his widow, four daughters and three sons. He stipulated that each daughter should receive twice as much as their mother and each son receive twice as much as their mother. If the exact amount left was GBP 7936, how much should the widow receive?

So X [the widows's portion] + (4 x 2)X [the daughters'] + (3 x 2)X [the sons'] = 7936

X=7936/15

The widow gets GBP 529-06. But the answer is given as GBP 256.

After much head and paper scratching the question put should clearly (?) have been "....each daughter should receive twice as much as their brothers.."

I found it very difficult to work out the question from what should have been a very simple answer. I will have to lay off the Port.

[Tmac1720]

It's no wonder you get headaches

P.S. the answer to all life's questions is 42..... simples

[Malcolm G]

I think that I may have found the original question, using Dollars.
It therefore lost something in translation, maybe.

A man died leaving all of his money to be divided among his widow, four daughters, and three sons. He stipulated that each daughter should receive three times as much as each son, and each son should receive twice as much as their mother. If the amount left was $7936, how much did the widow receive?

Best method of solving seems to be algebra...

[Malcolm G]

Let X be the amount that the Mother gets.

Then each son gets 2x and each daughter gets 6x.
Mother + sons + daughters = 7936
X + (2x * 3) + (6x * 4) = 7936
X + 6x + 24x = 7936
31x = 7936
X = 256
Mother gets $256

[Dartskipper]

Hardly seems fair, somehow. Are you sure this wasn't in "Mathematical Pie?" That little publication used to be famous for mathematical riddles and conundrums.

One I recall was a question investigating how to drop an egg 6 feet without breaking it.


The answer was; "Stand on a chair."

[Varley]

Originally Posted by Malcolm G

Let X be the amount that the Mother gets.

Then each son gets 2x and each daughter gets 6x.
Mother + sons + daughters = 7936
X + (2x * 3) + (6x * 4) = 7936
X + 6x + 24x = 7936
31x = 7936
X = 256
Mother gets $256

I thought that didn't 'flow' well. Clunky prose. Daughters' 6xMother's once is the same as 3 times their Brothers' twice. But as you have found an original source that works I'll give it to you.

[Engine Serang]

If you use only prime numbers and transpose the siblings into a Laplace Transformation you will end up with the correct answer. But the youngest sister will never speak to her brothers again and the eldest brother will punch his next brother on the nose. In the meantime the family Solicitor will have submitted a bill of more than the initial 7619 Guineas.
Alas no money for anyone.
On a Sunday never touch the Port until you have read all the sections in the Sunday Times.

[Malcolm G]

Ah, The calculation uses lower case x where it should have used upper X, never mind you get the drift I am sure.
For the avoidance of confusion an asterisk is used for multiplication.
If I had written it by hand I would have use lower case x for the unknown and an upper case X for multiplication. Thus are the problems with computers.

[Engine Serang]

You can't beat a quill pen and an abacus.

[Malcolm G]

And having achieved the solution, how do you suppose that my runner with cleft stick reaches Fingal's sod to deliver same?

[Varley]

All true, perhaps, but I don't want to beat an abacus at X (or x) with a cleft quill in Fingal's cave.

[Farmer John]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

You can't beat a quill pen and an abacus.

What do you do, write on the beads?

[DeniseDArteaga]

I get sick when math is the topic hahaha