In the Finn family each girl has the same number of brothers as sisters. Each boy has twice as many sisters as brothers. How many children are in the family?
To find the number of children in the Finn family, let's break down the given information and solve it step by step.
Let's suppose there are 'x' girls and 'y' boys in the Finn family.
According to the first statement, "each girl has the same number of brothers as sisters." This means that each girl has 'x-1' sisters (excluding herself) and 'x-1' brothers.
According to the second statement, "each boy has twice as many sisters as brothers." This means that each boy has '2y' sisters and 'y-1' brothers.
Now, we can set up two equations based on the information given:
1) x - 1 = x - 1
2) 2y = y - 1
Simplifying each equation:
1) x - 1 = x - 1
0 = 0 (This equation is true for any value of 'x'.)
2) 2y = y - 1
y = -1 (This equation doesn't have a valid solution.)
From the second equation, we can see that there is no valid solution for 'y'. This means that the conditions given are contradictory, and it's not possible to determine the number of children in the Finn family.
Therefore, we cannot determine how many children are in the family based on the information provided.