I enjoyed this math puzzle

misterT · Feb 21, 2016

I like math puzzles that are not hard, but gets you thinking in a different way. Life brainwashes all of us to think in certain way and whatever breaks a piece of that brainwash is an eye opener.

- Is 0 an even number?
- Is 1 a prime number?
- Why negative times negative is positive?
- The Monty Hall problem: There are three doors. Behind one of them is a price. You pick one door and then the game-show host opens an empty door. You have the option to change your choice to the remaining door or stick to your original choice. Should you switch or not?

and this:

If I have a 100 g cucumber which is 99% water and I let it dry so that it contains 98% water. How much does the cucumber weigh after drying?

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

misterT said:
I like math puzzles that are not hard, but gets you thinking in a different way. Life brainwashes all of us to think in certain way and whatever breaks a piece of that brainwash is an eye opener.

- Is 0 an even number?
- Is 1 a prime number?
- Why negative times negative is positive?
- The Monty Hall problem: There are three doors. Behind one of them is a price. You pick one door and then the game-show host opens an empty door. You have the option to change your choice to the remaining door or stick to your original choice. Should you switch or not?

and this:

If I have a 100 g cucumber which is 99% water and I let it dry so that it contains 98% water. How much does the cucumber weigh after drying?

The only one I can answer is the switching doors one, the door should not be changed as you decrease your chance of being right. Oh and 0 is not even number as even numbers can be divided by themselves and you cant divide by zero

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

misterT said:
- The Monty Hall problem: There are three doors. Behind one of them is a price. You pick one door and then the game-show host opens an empty door. You have the option to change your choice to the remaining door or stick to your original choice. Should you switch or not?

In this instance!! Three doors two are empty?? If you select a wrong door, what do you lose if you choose another?

IMHO Zero is neither odd or even!
And 1 cannot be a prime number as by definition
"An integer greater than one is called a prime number if its only positive divisors (factors) are one and itself."

As for the cucumber.... I hate them!

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
In this instance!! Three doors two are empty?? If you select a wrong door, what do you lose if you choose another?

IMHO Zero is neither odd or even!
And 1 cannot be a prime number as by definition
"An integer greater than one is called a prime number if its only positive divisors (factors) are one and itself."

As for the cucumber.... I hate them!

If zero isnt odd or even then its not a number? Utterly agree with cucumbers so thats my excuse (now) for not answering the question and has nothing to do with not having the answer! Its one of those questions the answer seems too easy to be right

misterT · Feb 21, 2016

Little Ghostman said:
The only one I can answer is the switching doors one, the door should not be changed as you decrease your chance of being right. Oh and 0 is not even number as even numbers can be divided by themselves and you cant divide by zero

What if there is 100 doors. You choose one. And then 98 empty doors are opened. Would you switch to the remainding door?

And zero is an even number.

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

Zero isn't a number!! Romans never needed it!

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

misterT said:
What if there is 100 doors. You choose one. And then 98 empty doors are opened. Would you switch to the remainding door?

Like I said... What do you stand to gain / loose ??

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

misterT said:
What if there is 100 doors. You choose one. And then 98 empty doors are opened. Would you switch to the remainding door?

Nope I would stick with the one I have, I cant remember the maths now but it works out your better off sticking with the number you first chose. I remember the principle but not the mechanism behind it, I know the maths is pretty clever though , i really hope this is where your going with it! I would love to see it done again

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

LG!! Your dog looks weird!

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
Like I said... What do you stand to gain / loose ??

There is a mathematical equation that proves you are better off staying with your choice, I just cant remember it as its pretty long.

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
LG!! Your dog looks weird!

Dont be offensive! I dont criticize your cat do I

. Anyway its my dog so of course its weird lol

misterT · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
Like I said... What do you stand to gain / loose ??

Yes, the game is set up so that you win only if your initial choice is wrong (assuming you switch at the end every time).

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

Little Ghostman said:
There is a mathematical equation that proves you are better off staying with your choice, I just cant remember it as its pretty long.

Only if there is motive.... If you have three boxes, in each is a quantity of money ie £10, £20 and £50 and you select the £20, then YES I would stay... If I got the £10 then of course I would swap!!...

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
Only if there is motive.... If you have three boxes, in each is a quantity of money ie £10, £20 and £50 and you select the £20, then YES I would stay... If I got the £10 then of course I would swap!!...

That is the same as loosing in Mr T's post.

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

Little Ghostman said:
Dont be offensive! I dont criticize your cat do I . Anyway its my dog so of course its weird lol

Not saying the dogs weird... Just the picture!!

large_ghostman · Feb 21, 2016

I would love to know how they got it to pose in a photo booth

misterT · Feb 21, 2016

About the cucumber.. a 100g cucumber with 99% water. You need to evaporate 50g of water to get the water content down to 98%. So, the 98% cucumber weights 50g.

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

If there is 100g of cucumber, 99% is water.. That means the cucumber is 1% matter! I think the question needs re-writing!

Ian Rogers · Feb 21, 2016

Oh Yeah!! It was 1% and now its 2%.... I see what you mean!! That is very weird!!

misterT · Feb 21, 2016

Ian Rogers said:
If there is 100g of cucumber, 99% is water.. That means the cucumber is 1% matter! I think the question needs re-writing!

Not really.. if you have a mix of matter: 99% of red and 1% of blue.. measured by weight. So you have 99g of red and 1g of blue. If you get rid of 50g of red, you end up with 98% red and 2% blue (49g red an 1g of blue).

I enjoyed this math puzzle

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