I have a MENSA puzzle page-a-day calendar on my desk at work. The puzzle today seems to have a glaring problem. Let's see if any of you can figure out what the problem is. Here is the puzzle, copied exactly from the calendar.
"Kim has three vases in her living room, each containing the same number of flowers. Kim adds thress fresh flowers to one vase, which now has two more than the new average. How many flowers were in the vases originally?"
What is wrong with that puzzle?
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The puzzle's problem is not typos, that's my problem.
thress = three
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| Name: |
PikeSki
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| Subject: |
Easy One -
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:48:21 PM
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Any number of flowers (equal in each vase) will work.
Example:
If each vase starts out with 3 flowers that is 3+3+3
The starting average per vase is 3
3+3+3=9 divided by 3 vases
If she adds 3 flowers to the 1st vase that is:
3+3(Vase1)+3 (second vase) + 3 (third vase).
To find the new average you would add (3+3)+3+3=12 flowers
3 vases divided by 12 flowers = 4 (new average)
Answer: Vase 1 now has 6 total flowers which is 2 more than the new average.
NOTE - Any number of flowers in each vase will work for this.
What do I win?
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| Name: |
Island Camper
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| Subject: |
You win......
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:51:48 PM
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pride.
The calendar claims that the answer is 6. Makes me wonder about the intelligence of the author.
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| Name: |
lakeplumber
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| Subject: |
puzzle
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:52:07 PM
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The puzzle is misleading. The original number whould be 0. The statement that "each containing the same number of flowers" leads one to believe that there are flowers in each when in fact, there is none.
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
YOU ARE THE WINNER OF
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:54:58 PM
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A DATE WITH THE BLONDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Name: |
PikeSki
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| Subject: |
Easy Two -
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:55:44 PM
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To clafify that any number will work I have used the same example in my last post but increased the starting number of each vase to 12:
If each vase starts out with 12 flowers that is 12+12+12
The starting average per vase is 12
12+12+12=36 divided by 3 vases = 12 (starting average)
If she adds 3 flowers to the 1st vase that is:
12+3(Vase1)+12 (second vase) + 12 (third vase).
To find the new average you would add (12+3)+12+12=39 flowers
3 vases divided by 39 flowers = 13 (new average)
Answer: Vase 1 now has 15 total flowers which is 2 more than the new average.
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| Name: |
lakeplumber
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| Subject: |
Duh?
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Date:
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2/16/2006 4:56:22 PM
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OK my brain farted
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| Name: |
PikeSki
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| Subject: |
puzzle
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Date:
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2/16/2006 5:01:45 PM
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To clarify: It can't be 0 in each vase to start with bacause the starting average of the 3 vases would be 0. Thus whatever vase should would put the 3 new flowers into would be 3 more than the average (not 2)
As for the the calendar claiming that the answer is 6. Makes me wonder about the intelligence of the author.
6 would be a correct statement. Incomplete . . . but correct.
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| Name: |
JIM
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| Subject: |
Easy Two -
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Date:
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2/16/2006 5:02:29 PM
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what a bunch of pansies.
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| Name: |
joyrider
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| Subject: |
puzzled
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Date:
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2/16/2006 5:52:13 PM
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PikeSki lost me!
You win!
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
puzzled
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Date:
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2/16/2006 5:57:46 PM
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JOY---Are you blonde??????
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
To JIMBO -
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Date:
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2/16/2006 6:00:12 PM
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Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm a Pansie
And so are you!!!!!
Glad to see you are feeling better. Hope your family is feeling well also!!!!!!!!
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| Name: |
jawjagal
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| Subject: |
puzzle
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Date:
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2/16/2006 6:59:45 PM
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I have a MENSA puzzle page-a-day calendar on my desk at work. The puzzle today seems to have a glaring problem. Let's see if any of you can figure out what the problem is. Here is the puzzle, copied exactly from the calendar.
"Kim has three vases in her living room, each containing the same number of flowers. Kim adds thress fresh flowers to one vase, which now has two more than the new average. How many flowers were in the vases originally?"
What is wrong with that puzzle?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT PUZZLE? We don't know how old Kim is. We don't know if Kim is really a boy or a girl (Kim could be from Korea) and the fresh flowers are really silk flowers made to look like fresh flowers. We also don't know the KIND of flowers that were put in the vases, hence the size of the opening of the vase, to know how many would go into the vase. Was the vase filled to the top with water? We don't know that either...that would let us know how many it would hold. So, it is impossible to answer this question because they have left too many variables out. Next puzzle, please....;-)
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| Name: |
JIM
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| Subject: |
To JIMBO -
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Date:
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2/16/2006 7:44:50 PM
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THANKS!!!!!!!!
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