Math Is Fun Forum

helloying

Member

Registered: 2008-02-16

Posts: 4

Where is the remainding $1

3 frens went to cafe.the bill was $75
Each gave $25
Waiter took it to counter.
The cashier decided to give them a dicount of $5 & asked waiter to return them $5
Now the waiter was confused, how to distribute $5 among 3 people?
He kept $2 in his pocket and gave $1 to each person.
So now each person actually paid $24 as they had taken one dollar back.
so $24 × 3=$72 and $2 in waiter pocket
It adds up to $74 but they had paid $75
Where is the remainding $1?

JohnnyReinB

Member

Registered: 2007-10-08

Posts: 453

Re: Where is the remainding $1

This is actually due to addition of the wrong figures. By discounting 5$, they actually pay approximately $23.33 each, for a total of $70. They get $3 back, making the total $73. Add the amount the waiter took, the total would be $75. Yey!!!!

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"There is not a difference between an in-law and an outlaw, except maybe that an outlaw is wanted"

Nisi Quam Primum, Nequequam

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,711

Re: Where is the remainding $1

See: Where Did the Dollar Go ?

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"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Where is the remainding $1

Elsewhere, the waiter's much greedier brother was working in a different restaurant.
By a remarkable coincidence, three friends went out to eat and their bill also came to $75. Each gave $25, as before.
The cashier had a crush on one of the people, and decided to refund $50 of their bill.
The waiter was confused - how to split $50 among 3 people?
He decided to give them $1 each and keep $47 for himself.

Now, each person paid $24, as they got $1 back, making $72 in total. The waiter has $47 in his pocket, so that adds up to $119.

So where did the extra $44 come from???

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Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Re: Where is the remainding $1

So where on earth does anyone get the idea of $119 from???

mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Where is the remainding $1

That's exactly the point.
I was stating the original puzzle with different numbers to make the discrepancy a lot bigger, to show why that way of thinking is clearly nonsense. The original one confuses people because there's only one missing dollar.

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Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Re: Where is the remainding $1

Sometimes it’s better to expose the absurdity of a piece of choplogic reasoning by lucid mathematical demonstration than by inventing an even more absurd example based on the first.

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,711

Re: Where is the remainding $1

Sometimes it’s better to expose the absurdity of a piece of choplogic reasoning by lucid mathematical demonstration than by inventing an even more absurd example based on the first.

Oh now .... that is clearly absurd!

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"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman