I can't get it! Where did it go?

Question

These three guys go to a hotel and split a room. The manager charges them $30. So each of the men pay $10 each. Later he relizes that he overcharged them and that the room cost only $25. He sends a bell boy up with the $5 dollars to give to the 3 men. The bellboy can't figure out how to split the $5 3 ways. So, he decides to give each man $1 and keep the other $2 as a tip 4 himself.

Well if each man paid $10 $10x3=$30

Now if the bell boy gave back each man $1. Then each man actualy paid $9.

$10-$1=$9

But! $9x3=$27 +the $2 the bell boy took that = $29 what happen to the other $1

Answer 1

okay. sends bell boy up with 5. each man gets 1 back. So each man paid 9. 9x3=27... 3 extra... hmm.

let's think about this....

10x3=30-5=25 paid to the owner...

5-3=2 for the bellboy.

5-2=3 for the men.  

It adds up to 30.

WAIT -- HERE:

They each paid 9 dollars for the room for a total of 27.

It's 25 for the room. And 2 dollars for the bellboy. There isn't a missing dollar.

Answer 2

This is a fun problem because the difficulty arises when we combine two different ways of looking at how the money moves.

First, we see each person paying $10 for a total of $30.  Since we start with these sums, we have to finish with these sums.  So when the manager gives the bellboy back it is suddenly as if the three men together paid $25.

Here's the math:

10 + 10 + 10 = 30   (payment)

30 - 5 = 25             (refund)

25 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 30   (how the bellboy divided the extra $5)

It's pretty simple to add up.

The $27 dollars comes into play when you look at it from the payees' perspective.

9 + 9 + 9 = 27       (what the men each payed after the refund)

27 - 25 = 2            (the difference between the payment and cost is the bellboy's take)

To try 30 - 27 = 3??? here would be a mistake since the thirty is not the price the men paid- it was 25!

Basically, it's just simple confusion between two ways of looking at a problem.  There are no missing dollars here.  But if by chance, you do find a dollar, it was probably mine and you should send it to me ;)

Answer 3

on your last part of the equation you have to subtract 2 not add which will give you 25 which is the cost of the room

Answer 4

umm this is confuzing try finding a homwrk help site.