Mathematics.... - Can you solve it?

122. Mathematics....

Three men in a cafe order a meal the total cost of which is $15. They each contribute $5. The waiter takes the money to the chef who recognizes the three as friends and asks the waiter to return $5 to the men.

The waiter is not only poor at mathematics but dishonest and instead of going to the trouble of splitting the $5 between the three he simply gives them $1 each and pockets the remaining $2 for himself.

Now, each of the men effectively paid $4, the total paid is therefore $12. Add the $2 in the waiters pocket and this comes to $14.....where has the other $1 gone from the original $15?

Submitted by GmdAquaman · Added 7 December 2015

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Solution:

The confusion arises from the incorrect addition of the amounts. The three men paid a total of $12 after receiving $3 back ($1 each), and the waiter kept $2. The correct way to account for the money is to consider the total cost of the meal ($15) as $12 (paid by the men) plus $3 (returned to them), which equals $15. Therefore, the chef has $10, the waiter has $2, and the men received $3 back, with no dollar missing.

Comments (2)

ac4pic 18 December 2015

3x = 15 (gave it to the waiter -> gives it to the chef)
x = 5 (each paid)
3x = 10 (chef got this much left)
x = 3.33.... (each one of them paid to the chef)
The chef is done with.
Now, how much do you pay the waiter?
(They each pay 2 dollars)
3x = 2
x = (2/3)
Each pay 66 cents to the waiter.
((chef) + (waiter))/3 = (total paid per person)
3.33 + .66 = 4 dollars
They paid in total 4 dollars.
3x = 12
Now, they get the remaining 3 dollars. :D So, they saved 1/5 the money. Everyone wins! :D

Saiyan0414 ★ Solved 7 January 2017

The men paid a total of 12$ and the waiter keeps 2$ for himself. Also when the chef returned 5$ back he is left with 10$.

therefore, 10$(chef) + 2$(waiter) = 12$ paid by the 3 men.

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