Brain Teasers
Hoosier Hysteria
It was an excellent basketball game, according to Coach Pasquale; the team set a record high. In the 4th quarter, they scored 1/4 of the total points which they scored in the game, less 3. In the 3rd, they scored 1/3 of their score at the end of the 3rd, less 2. In the 2nd, they scored 1/2 of their score at the end of the 2nd, less 1. Their score at the end of the 1st was 27. What was their final score?
Hint
Start at the beginning...Answer
96 PointsEXPLANATION: You know the score at the end of the first quarter is 27, so to figure the score at the end of the second, let X=score after the second quarter & (X/2 - 1) = points scored in the second quarter:
X=(X/2 - 1) + 27 (points scored in first quarter)
X=52
Let Y = score at end of third quarter & (Y/3 - 2) = point scored in third quarter:
Y=(Y/3 - 2) + 52 (score at end of second quarter)
Y=75
Let Z = score at end of fourth quarter & (Z/4 - 3) = points scored in the fourth quarter:
Z= (Z/4 - 3) + 75 (score at end of third quarter)
Z=96
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Comments
hard... it took me some time, but i got it right eventually!!!
i enjoyed it!
i enjoyed it!
Phbbt! as they say in the comic strips. Decent math but reversed chronological order in question is contrived, clumsy and annoying. (Shouldn't phrase like "less 1" be placed between "score" and "at end of the 2nd?" It doesn't feel like it should be set off by a comma.)
Ouch, my brain hurts!
Wording was fine for me.
Wording was fine for me.
Thank you for your comments, stil. I tried to word it so it wouldn't be impossible to figure out, but it is after all a "brain teaser." Perhaps I should have used chronological order - I've seen similar math teasers put both ways. Anyone else have an opinion on this?
I personally think you could beat Einstein on any Math exam, if he was still alive, of course!
My genius daughter strikes again!
I was disappointed you gave the total for the first quarter. A much more interesting teaser would have been to give the ratio between the first quarter score and the final score.
So what would the answer be if the final score is three and a half times the score in the first quarter? It's a unique answer, but I'll leave it to the reader to figure out how to solve it.
So what would the answer be if the final score is three and a half times the score in the first quarter? It's a unique answer, but I'll leave it to the reader to figure out how to solve it.
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