A farmer walks into a store and heads for the counter. On the counter is a basket of hard-boiled eggs. The farmer says to the cashier,"I'll take half of your eggs plus half an egg."
The next day he walks in the store and says to the cashier,"I'll take half of your eggs plus half an egg."
On the third day, the farmer walks into the store and says th the cashier,"I'll take half of your eggs plus half an egg." There are now no more eggs in the basket. How many eggs were there to begin with?
Please explain cause i really don't understand!
Audrey,
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Thank you for your kind cooperation.
You could see my follow-up at the following link:
http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1315261911
To solve this riddle, let's break down the information provided and figure out a solution step by step.
The farmer goes to the store three times and makes the same statement each time: "I'll take half of your eggs plus half an egg."
Let's assign a variable to represent the total number of eggs in the basket. We'll call it "x".
On the first day, the farmer takes half of the eggs plus half an egg. Mathematically, this can be represented as (x/2) + 0.5.
On the second day, the farmer once again takes half of the eggs plus half an egg. With the remaining eggs, this can be represented as [(x/2) - ((x/2)/2)] + 0.5.
On the third day, the same calculations apply, with the remaining eggs: [[(x/2) - ((x/2)/2)]/2] + 0.5.
We know that on the third day, there are no eggs left in the basket. So we can set up the equation [[(x/2) - ((x/2)/2)]/2] + 0.5 = 0.
Now, let's solve the equation to find the value of x.
First, simplify the equation: [(x/2) - (x/4)]/2 + 0.5 = 0.
Combine the fractions: [(2x - x)/4]/2 + 0.5 = 0.
Solve the numerator: (x/4)/2 + 0.5 = 0.
Divide (x/4) by 2: (x/8) + 0.5 = 0.
Subtract 0.5 from both sides: (x/8) = -0.5.
Multiply both sides by 8: x = -4.
Wait a minute! The number of eggs cannot be negative. This seems to be a contradiction. So, based on the provided information, it is not possible to determine the initial number of eggs in the basket.
It's important to note that this riddle may not have a logical answer. It might be intended to challenge your thinking or simply have a trick solution. Therefore, it's always a good idea to carefully analyze the information given in riddles or puzzles before attempting to solve them.