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        riddles >> easy >> Math riddle that I can't solve...
        
(Message started by: TyrantSlaughter on Jul 30^th, 2007, 8:22pm)

Title: Math riddle that I can't solve...
Post by TyrantSlaughter on Jul 30^th, 2007, 8:22pm

Hey guys, I'm new, and I'm sorry if this was posted before.

3 men stay at a motel and the manager charges them $10 each (a total of $30). After a while the manager calls the bell boy over and says he overcharged the men saying they should have paid only $25. So he gives the bell boy $5 to take back to them.

Along the way, the bell boy decides to keep $2 for himself, so he gives them $3 back ($1 each). So that means each man paid $9.

Now, we have $9 for each man, giving us $27, and the bell boy kept $2, giving us $29. Where did the last dollar go?"

Title: Re: Math riddle that I can't solve...
Post by towr on Jul 30^th, 2007, 11:47pm

You could just write it out

step 0:
man 1: 10$
man 2: 10$
man 3: 10$
manager: 0$
bell boy: 0$

step 1:
man 1: 10$-10$ = 0$
man 2: 10$-10$ = 0$
man 3: 10$-10$ = 0$
manager: +30$
bell boy: 0$

step 2:
man 1: 0$
man 2: 0$
man 3: 0$
manager: +30$ -5$ = 25$
bell boy: 0$ + 5$ = 5$

step 3:
man 1: 0$ + 1$ = 1$
man 2: 0$ + 1$ = 1$
man 3: 0$ + 1$ = 1$
manager: 25$
bell boy: 5$ -3$ = 2$

Also consider the alternate question: Each man paid 9$, the manager kept 25$, so that's a total of 52$, where did that 22$ extra come from?

Title: Re: Math riddle that I can't solve...
Post by jollytall on Jul 31^st, 2007, 12:50am

It was posted many times.

Title: Re: Math riddle that I can't solve...
Post by srn347 on Aug 26^th, 2007, 9:26pm

In the initial equation you don't add the 2. You subtract it. They paid 25.