At the race track, one spectator watched a number of cars whirling around the circular track and said, " Ther'es Joe, that man in the white car!" " Yes I see." was the reply, "but how many cars are running in this race?" Someone replied. " one-third of the cars are in front of Joe added to three quarters behind him will give you the answers." how many cars were being driven in the race?
2007-12-28 19:13:16 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Something is wrong with the phrasing of the question.
If 1/3 of the cars are ahead and 3/4 of the cars are behind, that comes out to 4/12 + 9/12 = 13/12. It shouldn't be a number bigger than 1.
2007-12-28 19:23:52 · answer #1 · answered by Puzzling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
6 cars including Joe's car. 2 leading Joe (2 = 1/3 of 6), three cars (not three quarters) behind Joe.
2007-12-29 04:27:04 · answer #2 · answered by sv 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Something is wrong with the problem!
Assume the total number is x.
Then
Before Joe: x/3
Behind Joe: 3x/4
Hence we have
x/3 + 1 + 3x/4 = x
4x + 12 + 9x = 12x
x = -12
2007-12-29 03:40:21 · answer #3 · answered by hsugiyama 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋