My teacher says to create a St. Ives poem and solve it, but I don't know what to do. Help?
As I was Going to St. Ives
BY ANONYMOUS
"As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?"
How about --
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a cat with nine lives
So then am I supposed to do Each lives had. And so on?
Yes.
I'm confused about this too. I tried to look it up online, but this is what I found.
Of course! I can guide you on how to create and solve a St. Ives poem.
A St. Ives poem is a type of riddle or puzzle that involves a series of items or people being mentioned, and the task is to count or calculate the total. Though there are different variations, the most common one follows a specific rhyme scheme.
Here's an example of a St. Ives poem:
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?
To solve this poem, you need to focus on the last line and count the number of items/people mentioned, starting from the man and his wives. Let's go through it step by step:
1. Man: 1
2. Wives: 7
3. Sacks: 7 x 7 = 49
4. Cats: 49 x 7 = 343
5. Kits: 343 x 7 = 2401
Now, add up all the items mentioned:
1 + 7 + 49 + 343 + 2401 = 2801
Therefore, the answer is 2801. So, in this St. Ives poem, 2801 were going to St. Ives.
Now, you can give it a try! Create your own St. Ives poem, and remember to follow the rhyme scheme and incorporate the counting element. Once you've written it, you can solve it by counting the number of items/people mentioned and adding them up.