Smart enough to know ? [modified]
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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 ..."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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And why is this ?, please explain.
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"The Soapbox has been so ..."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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brianwelsch wrote:
Hint: eye color is irrelevent here
Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P
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brianwelsch wrote:
Hint: eye color is irrelevent here
Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P
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brianwelsch wrote:
Hint: eye color is irrelevent here
Actually it's critical to obtain the proper solution! ;P
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
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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.
How about 3, 3, and 4?
This statement is false.
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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 ..."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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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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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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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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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
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.