Funky Mensa Calendar Puzzle.

[jdurg]

This one was on today's Mensa Calender puzzle, and while I got the answer I think it was by dumb luck. I'm not sure how it can mathetmatically be determined.

 

"A certain girl is a very astute shopper and always liked to get the best bargain. Today she was in charge of getting party favors for a Mardi Gras party. She goes to a store and makes her arguments and is successful in her fight. However had she paid 4-cents more per hundred party favors, she would have wound up buying 5 less. How much did she pay per hundred party favors?"

 

For some reason, I can't figure out how to get the exact total since they don't give you the amount of money she spent total, nor the number of party favors she bought.

[dan19_83]

let x be = to price of 100 'party favors!'

 

100(x) = 95(x+4)

 

is x = 76?

 

I'm probably wrong!

[jdurg]

Nope. You are not correct. I got the answer, but I think I did something logically wrong and just got lucky. Hmm.........

[Martin]

I got the answer, but I think I did something logically wrong and just got lucky. Hmm.........

 

I am curious. Would you mind telling what your answer was?

( I dont see how to approach the problem....knowing your answer might give a hint how to interpret it)

[YT2095]

this isn`t like a Buy one, get one free thingy is it?

 

I read it as: how can paying 4c more per hundred, leave you with 5 items less?

 

Quantities are in 100`s

curency units are in cents.

 

I`m gunna have to ask the wife, she does most the shopping )

[jdurg]

The answer for this question is 96.

[Phi for All]

I still don't get this one. I assumed they used a Mardi Gras party because it was on a Mensa calendar and it is timely. At first I thought it odd that she would be a bargain hunter but also need to "fight", but that led me nowhere. I still get hung up on the fact that she is buying by the 100s, but would end up with 5 less if she paid 4 cents more.

 

There are no clues with tricky names for Mardi Gras favors that I could find. Even with the answer of 96 I can't see what they are getting at. Mensa bastards!

[RedAlert]

Lol.

[Dak]

Mensa bastards!

havning just spent an hour trying to solve it, i agree

[DreamLord]

havning just spent an hour trying to solve it, i agree

 

I agree too. I have no idea how to get the answer.

[jdurg]

On more than one occasion, however, the answers to the puzzles have been wrong. (I.E. based upon the wording to the puzzle you should have gotten one answer, but their reasoning behind how they got their answer contradicts the wording of the puzzle). So this could just be one of those questions where they messed up in the wording.

[Dak]

this is how i started reasoning:

 

let x = price of party favour, Y = total number of favours bought, $ = total amount of money posessed, and c = cent. "4c less per 100x" = "0.04c less per x"

 

Yx < $

Y(x+0.04c) > $

Yx +0.04cY > $

(Y-5)(x+0.04c) < $

Yx - 5x +0.04cY - 0.2c < $

 

then i tried simultaniously solving the equasions, and trying to work out one of the values. for ages. and ages.

 

if anyone can do anything with the above..?

 

if this turns out to be unsolvable, then i shal personaly hunt down the person responsible and repeatadly beat them with a wet haddock.

[Phi for All]

On more than one occasion, however, the answers to the puzzles have been wrong.

WHAT!?!?

 

Mensa wrong?!

 

What kind of calendar are they running there?

 

Sky-high IQs, elitist as hell, and WRONG?!?

 

 

 

Make room at the haddock barrel, Dak. We've got some cod whalloping to do.

[Dak]

so hang on wait, are you telling me that mensa only put the answre, and not the actual method of working it out? what, in their infinit wisdom did they not deduse that people might be a bit curiouse as to how to work it out?

 

haddocs all round if that be the case

 

this is really bugging me. I WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWRE!!! im one of those people. i need to know the answre. has anyone worked it out yet?

[Phi for All]

I found this debate (so Dak and I can sleep again) at:

 

http://www.gatorace.com/blog/archives/2005/02/mensa_desk_cale.html

 

It seems more people feel that $0.76 is correct and that the calendar's answer is wr... wro... wr... wrong.

[Dak]

cheers phi. phew! now we, mensa, and arguably all haddocs everywhere, can rest easy at the lack of impending fish-related violense.

While the calendar's answer falls CLOSE' date=' it is not EXACT like $0.76. Therefore, I conclude that the answer on the calendar is WRONG.[/quote']

 

let x be = to price of 100 'party favors!'

 

100(x) = 95(x+4)

 

is x = 76?

 

I'm probably wrong!

looks like dan was right (you genius, you) and mena were wrong (frickin' idiots)