Brain Teasers
A Stooge Race
Moe, Larry, and Curly were trying to figure out who among them was the fastest, and by how much. They decide to settle this by a series of 2-man 100-meter races. In the first race, Moe beats Larry by exactly 10 meters. (That is to say, when Moe crosses the finish line, Larry is 10 meters behind him.) In the second race, Larry beats Curly by exactly 10 meters.
If they run at the exact same speeds as they did in their previous races (and their speed is constant over the entire course of the race), by what distance should Moe beat Curly when they race?
If they run at the exact same speeds as they did in their previous races (and their speed is constant over the entire course of the race), by what distance should Moe beat Curly when they race?
Answer
19 meters.Instead of thinking about the distance one finishes ahead another, think of the total distance each racer covers. In the time it takes Moe to run 100 meters, Larry runs 90 meters, so his pace must be 90% of Moe's. In the time it takes Larry to run 100 meters, Curly runs 90 meters, so his pace is 90% of Larry's. Combining these two facts, we find that Curly's pace is 90% of (90% of Moe's), which is 81% of Moe's. So in the time that Moe runs 100 meters, Curly must run 81 meters, and therefore finish 19 meters behind Moe.
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Comments
this is a wrong teaser, it would be twenty, if he was beaten by ten meters by someone beaten by ten meters, you would count by ten meters, not ten percents
Mar 04, 2005
The answer is correct based on the assumtion of constant speed over the 100m. Larry "lags" Moe by 10% (10m), so is at the 90m mark when Larry crosses the line. Curly "lags" Larry by 10%, so is 9m behind Larry when Larry is at the 90m mark, when Moe finishes. However, everyone knows that Curly was the fastest stooge...nayt, nayt, nayt!
TROT -- imagine all three run at the same time. Let's say that Curly runs at a pace of 81 meters/hour (I know, incredibly slow, but bear with me), Larry at 90 meters/hour, and Moe at 100 meters/hour. After one hour, Moe crosses the finish line, and Larry is 10 meters behind him. Curly is 19 meters behind Moe, and 9 behind Larry. Another six minutes and 40 seconds pass, and Larry crosses the finish line. This means that Curly has been running for 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 40 seconds at 81 meters/hour, so he will have covered exactly 90 meters. That is, Larry will finish 10 meters ahead of Curly. Does this make sense to you? If not, feel free to PM me.
is WAS 20.(r u in the 1st grade)
This should be in the MATH section, not the logic. Those of us who don't like math, would prefer you get your sections right!
seriously i am with the others on this one dude
why do people have the little signs by their names and not me this is not fair i didn't know you can put signs by your names when i first made my name
i can't belive this guy dosn't know how to add!!!!!!!!!!!I can do it watch 1646+7545 = 9191
maths be hard yall
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