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#1 2005-07-14 17:42:13

tt
Member
Registered: 2005-07-03
Posts: 32

rabbit farm

I found this puzzle on web, no solutions :
Supposed that every 2 mature rabbits reproduce 2 baby rabbits each month and baby rabbits will be mature and reproduce after 2 months.
How many rabbits will you have after 10 months if you start with 2 mature rabbits ?

Last edited by tt (2005-07-14 17:44:51)

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#2 2005-07-14 17:47:58

Jai Ganesh
Administrator
Registered: 2005-06-28
Posts: 45,956

Re: rabbit farm

This is much more complicated than what I thought! smile

Last edited by Jai Ganesh (2005-07-14 18:54:00)


It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.

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#3 2005-07-14 19:15:16

mathsyperson
Moderator
Registered: 2005-06-22
Posts: 4,900

Re: rabbit farm

Work out how many rabbits you get over the first few months. Notice any patterns?
*Works out answer* Oh, that's gross!


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

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#4 2005-07-14 19:41:49

Jai Ganesh
Administrator
Registered: 2005-06-28
Posts: 45,956

Re: rabbit farm

You mean 144? My friend says it is ___!

Last edited by Jai Ganesh (2005-07-14 19:42:20)


It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.

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#5 2005-07-14 19:43:03

mathsyperson
Moderator
Registered: 2005-06-22
Posts: 4,900

Re: rabbit farm

Yes, but it was meant to be a subtle hint. smile
And I've just realised I'm wrong, anyway.

To MathsIsFun, the mature rabbits breed every month, not every two.


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

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#6 2005-07-14 19:43:57

MathsIsFun
Administrator
Registered: 2005-01-21
Posts: 7,711

Re: rabbit farm

0 months: 2 Adults, 2 Babies
2 months: 4 Adults, 4 Babies
4 months: 8 Adults, 8 Babies
...

Huh? Is it that simple ... I must have made a mistake.


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

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#7 2007-03-17 11:16:56

JaneFairfax
Member
Registered: 2007-02-23
Posts: 6,868

Re: rabbit farm

120 rabbits?

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#8 2007-03-17 11:36:36

justlookingforthemoment
Moderator
Registered: 2005-05-26
Posts: 2,161

Re: rabbit farm

172 rabbits?

mathsyperson wrote:

Notice any patterns?

Fibonacci!

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#9 2007-03-17 11:56:56

mathsyperson
Moderator
Registered: 2005-06-22
Posts: 4,900

Re: rabbit farm

This is becoming very interesting. I get 178.


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

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#10 2007-03-17 12:03:59

JaneFairfax
Member
Registered: 2007-02-23
Posts: 6,868

Re: rabbit farm

Okay, assume we start with a male–female pair and all babies are born as male-female pairs.

AA = Adult (mature) pair, JJ = Juvenile (one-month old) pair, BB = Baby (newborn) pair

Starting with AA:

Rabbits.jpg

Total rabbits at end of 10 months = 2×(28 + 13 + 19) = 120.

dunno

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#11 2007-03-17 12:09:40

JaneFairfax
Member
Registered: 2007-02-23
Posts: 6,868

Re: rabbit farm

All right, I see something there. I have assumed that the rabbits become mature at the end of two months, but don’t start reproducing at two months yet – i.e. they start reproducing only in their third month. (I mean, I’ve assumed that the rabbits are born at the end of each month and reach maturity at the end of two months – so they wouldn’t have time yet to reproduce.)

EDIT: Anyway, I’ve just made a re-calculation on the revised assumption that the juveniles can reproduce as soon as they reach maturity (just add a blue arrow from each JJ to the BB below it in my diagram above). Guess what answer I got.

288. faint

Last edited by JaneFairfax (2007-03-17 12:28:12)

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#12 2007-03-17 12:32:39

justlookingforthemoment
Moderator
Registered: 2005-05-26
Posts: 2,161

Re: rabbit farm

Haha, I can't add properly! I actually got 178 too.

Oops, my bad! big_smile

What I think:

month    a   j   b   t
 1)      1           1
 2)      1       1   2
 3)      1   1   1   3
 4)      2   1   2   5
 5)      3   2   3   8
 6)      5   3   5  13
 7)      8   5   8  21
 8)     13   8  13  34
 9)     21  13  21  55
10)     34  21  34  89

With the letters representing the same things as Jane's, in pairs. And 't' being the total number of pairs.

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#13 2007-03-17 12:38:01

JaneFairfax
Member
Registered: 2007-02-23
Posts: 6,868

Re: rabbit farm

The month numbers you have there are for the beginning of the month. Thus your month 10 would mean beginning of that month, meaning only 9 full months have passed. Since the question wants 10 months, I think you should add another month’s calculation … which should bring the total number of rabbits to 288. smile

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#14 2007-03-17 12:43:16

justlookingforthemoment
Moderator
Registered: 2005-05-26
Posts: 2,161

Re: rabbit farm

Yes, I see. If the month numbers there are for the end of the month, I have assumed that the rabbits don't reproduce in the first month. So, do the rabbits reproduce in the first month?

EDIT: Actually, I suppose they would. I think you're right. Ganesh even said the number of pairs at the start, didn't he? big_smile

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