Math Is Fun Forum

Zach

Member

Registered: 2005-03-23

Posts: 2,075

Simple Logic Puzzle; The Farmer.

A farmer has a 3x3 piece of square land, which he divides up into 8 exact pieces. He makes the middle piece his home and builds a house there with windows on all four sides of the square building so he could see out. The rest of the 8 squares were turned into fields, where he employed workers. He emplyed 40 workers, 5 fot each field. So, everytime he looked out a window, he could see 15 workers.

Soon, though, another guy came along and said to the farmer "Hey. Can I work for you?" The farmer thought about this, and came to the answer; "Okay. But, only when I look out of my windows, I see 15 workers."

How did the new worker get the job?

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Boy let me tell you what:
I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too.
And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.

Jai Ganesh

Administrator

Registered: 2005-06-28

Posts: 48,421

Re: Simple Logic Puzzle; The Farmer.

The additional worker is accomodated and the earlier arrangement is changed into this formation:-

          4 workers          5 workers            6 workers

          5 workers          The house            6 workers

          6 workers          6 workers            3 workers

Just a guess

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It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.

Zach

Member

Registered: 2005-03-23

Posts: 2,075

Re: Simple Logic Puzzle; The Farmer.

A bit complicated, but it works.

The better solution is to;

4 Workers - 6 Workers - 5 Workers
6 Workers -    House    - 5 Workers
5 Workers - 5 Workers - 5 Workers.

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Boy let me tell you what:
I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too.
And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,713

Re: Simple Logic Puzzle; The Farmer.

Or how about:

10 Workers - 0 Workers - 5 Workers
0 Workers -     House    - 0 Workers
5 Workers - 0 Workers - 10 Workers

With 11 workers relaxing on the roof? Laissez le bons temps rouler!

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"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman