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Old 02-07-2007   #4 (permalink)
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zepperdude View Post
Guys actually paid

$3.00 - .20 cents to fourth guy = $2.80

$2.80 /3 = .93 1/3 cents

So each guy paid 93 and 1/3 cents.
If each guy paid 93 and 1/3 cents to the total cause (bread and transaction), then how come each one has 10 cents left? (Each started with 10 dimes, and each now has 1 dime to their name)


Here is my explanation:
Each paid 8.33 for the bread. 83.3 cents x 3 = 2.50
Each paid .66 for the transaction. 6.6 cents x 3 = .20

So $2.70 was the price for the ENTIRE transaction - not for the bread. The riddle says that $2.70 was paid for the bread and that $0.20 was paid to the 4th guy. This is mis-direction. $2.50 went to the bread, and $0.20 went to the 4th guy. Add those together, you get $2.70. The .20 is ALREADY factored into the equation.

So, in the end, each paid $0.90 for the ENTIRE transaction. This is not a mathematical anomoly. This is mis-direction in the wording of the riddle.

Last edited by liquidsense : 02-07-2007 at 08:30 PM.
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