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  3. Smart enough to know ? [modified]

Smart enough to know ? [modified]

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  • M Offline
    M Offline
    MoustafaS
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

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    "The Soapbox has been so ..."

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    • M MoustafaS

      I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

      ------------------------------
      "The Soapbox has been so ..."

      H Offline
      H Offline
      hlmechanic
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      The answer is pie.. Oh? What's the question?

      M 1 Reply Last reply
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      • H hlmechanic

        The answer is pie.. Oh? What's the question?

        M Offline
        M Offline
        MoustafaS
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Modified

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        "The Soapbox has been so ..."

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        • M MoustafaS

          I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

          ------------------------------
          "The Soapbox has been so ..."

          7 Offline
          7 Offline
          73Zeppelin
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Old riddle. The answer is 2, 2 and 9. The clue is the colour of the eyes and the word "eldest". You must also realize that 32 can be broken down into products of primes. In fact, were you to know the number of the building, that would be insufficient information as you have the possible combinations: 1,6,6 and 2,2,9 which BOTH total 13 (this hint excludes the 6 other combinations of numbers that give you 36). That is, the number of the house was insufficient to solve the problem which implies an ambiguity in the answer, thus the necessity of the final clue involving "eldest". But then we are told about the ELDEST having blue eyes, this excludes 1,6,6 giving the solution: 2,2,9.

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          • 7 73Zeppelin

            Old riddle. The answer is 2, 2 and 9. The clue is the colour of the eyes and the word "eldest". You must also realize that 32 can be broken down into products of primes. In fact, were you to know the number of the building, that would be insufficient information as you have the possible combinations: 1,6,6 and 2,2,9 which BOTH total 13 (this hint excludes the 6 other combinations of numbers that give you 36). That is, the number of the house was insufficient to solve the problem which implies an ambiguity in the answer, thus the necessity of the final clue involving "eldest". But then we are told about the ELDEST having blue eyes, this excludes 1,6,6 giving the solution: 2,2,9.

            M Offline
            M Offline
            MoustafaS
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            And why is this ?, please explain.

            ------------------------------
            "The Soapbox has been so ..."

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            • M MoustafaS

              I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

              ------------------------------
              "The Soapbox has been so ..."

              B Offline
              B Offline
              brianwelsch
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Given this info, all you need to do is find 3 numbers that when multiplied give you 36. I used 2,3 and 6. He lives in building number 11 in my world. Hint: eye color is irrelevent here. ;P

              BW


              If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
              -- Steven Wright

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              • M MoustafaS

                And why is this ?, please explain.

                ------------------------------
                "The Soapbox has been so ..."

                7 Offline
                7 Offline
                73Zeppelin
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Modified.

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • B brianwelsch

                  Given this info, all you need to do is find 3 numbers that when multiplied give you 36. I used 2,3 and 6. He lives in building number 11 in my world. Hint: eye color is irrelevent here. ;P

                  BW


                  If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
                  -- Steven Wright

                  7 Offline
                  7 Offline
                  73Zeppelin
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  brianwelsch wrote:

                  Hint: eye color is irrelevent here

                  Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P

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                  • M MoustafaS

                    I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

                    ------------------------------
                    "The Soapbox has been so ..."

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    I always hated this problem. The 'eldest' part supposedly gives the answer because it requires an age combination where there is one child with a higher 'age' than the others. So, why do I hate it? In the real world we use age to identify the current year of life we are in - an integer. So a friend of mine is 38 and so am I. We are the same 'age'. Her birthday is in April, mine is in May. She is older than me. This problem uses two terms that don't mix. Age typically refers to integer years, 'oldest' or 'elder' doesn't. Cheers, Drew.

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                    • M MoustafaS

                      And why is this ?, please explain.

                      ------------------------------
                      "The Soapbox has been so ..."

                      D Offline
                      D Offline
                      David Crow
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      There are 8 combinations that produce a product of 36: 1,1,36 1,2,18 1,3,12 1,4,9 1,6,6 2,2,9 2,3,6 3,3,4 The person knows his own house number, so all but two of the combinations can be eliminated, thus leaving: 1,6,6 2,2,9 Now since there is an "eldest son," that rules out the combination with two 6s. Make sense?


                      "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" - 2 Timothy 2:15

                      "Judge not by the eye but by the heart." - Native American Proverb

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                      • 7 73Zeppelin

                        brianwelsch wrote:

                        Hint: eye color is irrelevent here

                        Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P

                        B Offline
                        B Offline
                        Bob Flynn
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        So why is Brian's answer wrong, as eye color was not used to determine that result.

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                        • 7 73Zeppelin

                          brianwelsch wrote:

                          Hint: eye color is irrelevent here

                          Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P

                          D Offline
                          D Offline
                          Dan Neely
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          No, it's not. Even if the eldest two were twins, one would still be a few minutes to hours older than the second, so it doesn't constrain the answer. Even excluding multiple births there're several valid solutions. 2,2,9 2,3,6 1,2,18 1,3,12 1,4,9

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                          • 7 73Zeppelin

                            brianwelsch wrote:

                            Hint: eye color is irrelevent here

                            Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P

                            D Offline
                            D Offline
                            David Crow
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            The Apocalyptic Teacup wrote:

                            Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution!

                            It's not important at all. The fact that there is an "eldest son" is what matters.


                            "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" - 2 Timothy 2:15

                            "Judge not by the eye but by the heart." - Native American Proverb

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • 7 73Zeppelin

                              Old riddle. The answer is 2, 2 and 9. The clue is the colour of the eyes and the word "eldest". You must also realize that 32 can be broken down into products of primes. In fact, were you to know the number of the building, that would be insufficient information as you have the possible combinations: 1,6,6 and 2,2,9 which BOTH total 13 (this hint excludes the 6 other combinations of numbers that give you 36). That is, the number of the house was insufficient to solve the problem which implies an ambiguity in the answer, thus the necessity of the final clue involving "eldest". But then we are told about the ELDEST having blue eyes, this excludes 1,6,6 giving the solution: 2,2,9.

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              Chris S Kaiser
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              How about 3, 3, and 4?

                              This statement is false.

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • M MoustafaS

                                I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in :^) , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS :~ Any one have a clue ? -- modified at 10:43 Thursday 19th October, 2006

                                ------------------------------
                                "The Soapbox has been so ..."

                                J Offline
                                J Offline
                                JasonSmith
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                LongHC wrote:

                                I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS Any one have a clue ?

                                There is obviously not enough information to solve the problem, at least not in a way to find a single definitive solution. The fact that the eldest son has a single eye is rather odd, but seems irrelevant.

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                                • J JasonSmith

                                  LongHC wrote:

                                  I didn't know the solution for this question ?,I found it on some forum, they say its right A man has 3 sons, the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of the building he lives in , the eldest son's eye is blue. FIND THE AGES OF THE THREE SONS Any one have a clue ?

                                  There is obviously not enough information to solve the problem, at least not in a way to find a single definitive solution. The fact that the eldest son has a single eye is rather odd, but seems irrelevant.

                                  D Offline
                                  D Offline
                                  dighn
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  the OP told it in a very confusing way. I googled it and discovered a crucial constraint missing: knowing the number of the building is insufficient to solve the puzzle

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                                  • D dighn

                                    the OP told it in a very confusing way. I googled it and discovered a crucial constraint missing: knowing the number of the building is insufficient to solve the puzzle

                                    D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    Dan Neely
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    So what is the missing constraint?

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                                    • D Dan Neely

                                      So what is the missing constraint?

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                                      D Offline
                                      dighn
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      the fact that knowning the number is insufficient to solve the puzzle is the constraint. if the sum equates to an unambiguous combination, then you would know. the fact that you don't nkow means it must be one of the ambiguous sums perhaps this link http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-33226.html will make it clearer. that actuall tells the puzzle the right way

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                                      • D dighn

                                        the fact that knowning the number is insufficient to solve the puzzle is the constraint. if the sum equates to an unambiguous combination, then you would know. the fact that you don't nkow means it must be one of the ambiguous sums perhaps this link http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-33226.html will make it clearer. that actuall tells the puzzle the right way

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        Dan Neely
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        That solution is still wrong. A middle child does NOT require that all three children have different ages in years. Twins are born sequentially so one will be older than the other if only by a minute or two. Even with a no twins constraint you can have two children born less than a year appart, and consequently having the same age in years. "MIddle child..." is not sufficient to constrain the solution in any way, shape, or form.

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