The fascination of Maths thread

[NotAllThere]

In a bus there are 7 girls. Each girl has 7 bags. Each bag has 7 big cats. Each big cat has 7 small cats. All the cats have 4 legs. How many legs in the bus?

WGAS?

[BrilloPad]

WGAS?

can I assume you are less than fascinated?

[Denny]

girls have 2 legs each. it is just all living creatures mentioned.

In a bus there are 7 girls. Each girl has 7 bags. Each bag has 7 big cats. Each big cat has 7 small cats. All the cats have 4 legs. How many legs in the bus?

but there are 7*7*7 big cats. care to revise your answer?

don't worry - me and sasguru will rise you to new levels of geekdom!

I still make it 238 legs, if we are to assume that the 49 small cats are on the bus as well as the big cats and women with 2 legs each.

Otherwise, we must assume that the small cats aren't on the bus at all (as this is not explicitely stated in the question). In that case, the answer is: 42 legs in total (assuming that none rather than some of the big cats have their little 'uns on the bus with them in the bag).

[BrilloPad]

I still make it 238 legs, if we are to assume that the 49 small cats are on the bus as well as the big cats and women with 2 legs each.

well there are 7 girls with 2 legs = 14

there are 7*7*7 big cats = 343 big cats = 1372 legs. (7 girls, each 7 bags, each 7 cats)

care to go for the small cat leg answer?

add to the above to get total.

[AtW]

Sounds like those cats in the bus are inbreeding. In which case how many of them are like this one?

[Denny]

I've just realised that I've misread the question, despite my careful analysis of the blips in the question that still stand. I didn't read that each girl had seven bags each, not one bag each with each bag containing 7 cats.

So the answer is:

7 girls legs = 14
Big Cats = 1372 legs
Small Cats = 9604 legs


Answer: 10,990 legs (assuming that all the creatures mentioned in the question are on the bus).

[Denny]

Sounds like those cats in the bus are inbreeding. In which case how many of them are like this one?

Someone I knew had a three legged cat. I called it Tripod.

[AtW]

I called it Tripod.

Better than triffids.

[BrilloPad]

I've just realised that I've misread the question, despite my careful analysis of the blips in the question that still stand. I didn't read that each girl had seven bags each, not one bag each with each bag containing 7 cats.

So the answer is:

7 girls legs = 14
Big Cats = 1372 legs
Small Cats = 9602 legs


Answer: 10,988 legs (assuming that all the creatures mentioned in the question are on the bus).

but 1372*7 = 9604? So...

10990 is the correct answer! you are geek of the week!

[Denny]

but 1372*7 = 9604? So...

10990 is the correct answer! you are geek of the week!

Hardly. My observations about the question earlier was spot on, except for the amount of bags each girl had (which was a silly oversight). So my original answer (that it was impossible to work out based on the original question still stands).

But my calculations were woefully inadequate due to my oversight mentioned above, and my adding up of the small cats legs that were two legs short for some reason, based on the assumption that all the living creatures were on the bus. My calculator was playing up.

I knew I'd never become an accountant.

I got there in the end though.