answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

This appears to be in reference to the old puzzle where a farmer leaves 17 sheep to his 3 sons, one son gets 1/2, another gets 1/3 and another gets 1/9. The reason it 'needs' 18 sheep is that the sum of the fractions given to the sons is 17/18, not 1. 1/2+1/3+1/9 = 9/18+6/18+2/18 = 17/18

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: If a farmer leaves 17 sheep to his sons in different percentages why does it take 18 sheep to make it work?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Other Math

A farmer has 18 sheep all but 8 die how many are still standing?

The answer is provided within the riddle.The farmer has 18 sheep, all but 8 die. That means 10 sheep die, and 8 are left.This question is not about arithmetic, but reading comprehension. You don't want to calculate 18-8=10; that's what makes the riddle tricky. You need to know that "all but 8" means "all the sheep except 8."


What country has three times as many sheep as people?

Australia has 120 million sheep and about 20 millions of population. New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep. There are about 36 million sheep in the UK and about 60 million people. Argentina has about 14 million sheep and a population of nearly 40 million. So your answer may be Argentina.


A lion could eat a sheep in 4 hours A leapord could eat one in 5 hours A bear could eat one in 6 hours How long would it take for all of them to devour a sheep if it were thrown among them?

Lion eats 1/4 sheep per hour.Leopard eats 1/5 sheep per hour.Bear eats 1/6 sheep per hour.Working together, they can eat (1/4) + (1/5) + (1/6) sheep per hour.(1/4) + (1/5) + (1/6) = (15/60) + (12/60) + (10/60) = 37/60 sheep per hour.60/37 hours per sheep = 1.6216 hours = 1hr 37min 17.84sec (rounded)


If it takes a lion 2 hours to devour a sheep a wolf 3 hours to devour a sheep and a dog 5 hours to devour a sheep How long would it take to devour one sheep if they all ate at the same time?

The way to solve this kind of problem is to calculate how much each animal eats in an hour, and add the fractions. (Of course, some assumptions are being made, mainly, that the lions eat at the same rate all the time.)In an hour, the lion eats 1/2 sheep, the wolf 1/3 sheep, and the dog, 1/5 sheep. Adding the fraction:1/2 + 1/3 + 1/5 = 15/30 + 10/30 + 6/30 = 31/30. The time it takes all together is the reciprocal of this: 30/31 of an hour, approximately 58 minutes.


What is 23 times 2 squred by 6?

Well lets see here it is about the amount of two guys fighting in a bar with two sheep and one cat to go along with that sheep and yes this right

Related questions

A farmer has 17 sheep all but 9 ran away?

The farmer has 9 sheep left. If the farmer has 17 sheep, and all the sheep except for 9 ran away then he has 9.


Who is a person who runs property with sheep?

It is a sheep farmer.


A person who runs a property with sheep?

It is a sheep farmer.


What is a dog owner called?

Stock farmer? Grazier


To an Australian what is a woolgrower?

A woolgrower is a sheep farmer, or the owner of a sheep station.


You move cattel and sheep what are you?

a farmer


Which president was a sheep farmer?

bush


What is the main predator of sheep in Britain?

I am a farmer. Majority of my sheep are eaten by wolves.


A sheep lives where?

Usually sheep live on farms in the fields, in different parts of the country they may well be seen out on the crags roaming free until the farmer/shepherd brings them back to the fold.


What is the farmer called that herds the sheep?

A shepherd.


What do you call a person who looks after sheep?

a farmer


Who is a livestock farmer?

a farmer who raises livestock (cattle, sheep, horses, goats, etc)