Give me a sum to do :-)

[dms1972]

(one not too difficult)

 

[RC1970]

How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Show your work.

 

[Davian]

 

[dms1972]

How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Show your work.

What's a woodchuck?.

 

[dms1972]

.

 

[Davian]

Q: Why does a math book always look unhappy?
A: Because it always has lots of problems.

 

[New Testament Revealed]

HAHAHAHA! Brilliant!

 

[dms1972]

Sorry I had to ask an expert

 

[Paradoxum]

-10x -11 = 19 + -8x

What is x?

(You actually wanted a sum?)

 

[dms1972]

is this a trick question?

i mean is it possible to work out what 'x' is?

 

[dms1972]

Ok (had to get some help)

x = -15

One can add 11 to both sides

-10x = 30 + -8x

(plus & minus can be simplified to minus) so

-10x = 30 - 8x


then

-10x + 8x = 30

-2x = 30

x = -15

 

[essentialsaltes]

Karl Friedrich Gauss' math teacher once asked the class what the sum of 1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 100 was. That's a fine problem to start with.

 

[dms1972]

.

 

[dms1972]

ok here goes:

1+2=3+3=6+4=10+5=15+6=21+7=28+8=36+9=45+10= 55

55+11=66+12=78+13=91+14=105+15=120+16=136+17=153+18=171+19=190+20 = 210

210+21=231+22=253+23=276+24=300+25+325+26=351+27=378+28=406+29=435+30 = 465

Back in a bit.

 

[dms1972]

465+31+496+32=528+33=561+34=595+35=630+36=666+37=696+38=734+39=773+40 = 813

813 +41= 854+42=896+43+939+44=979+45=1024+46=1070+47=1117+48=1165+49=1214+50 = 1264

any patterns emerging?

 

[essentialsaltes]

(well, yes, in the story, Gauss does find a shortcut, thus displaying his early genius for mathematics. Knowing that there is a shortcut is one way to goad one to find it. Certainly you can do it the long way, especially since you wanted sums to do! But if you're still exhausted, you can rest a bit and meditate about why adding the first 10 resulted in the somewhat pleasingly symmetrical 55.)

 

[essentialsaltes]

465+31+496+32=528+33=561+34=595+35=630+36=666+37=696+38=734+39=773+40 = 813

813 +41= 854+42=896+43+939+44=979+45=1024+46=1070+47=1117+48=1165+49=1214+50 = 1264

any patterns emerging?

Well we sort of had a pattern. The sum of the first 10 ended in 5. Then the first 20 ended in 0. Then the first 30 ended in 5 again. But now the pattern is broken, just after your exhaustion emoji. Better check the number of the beast...

 

[essentialsaltes]

It's also a bit curious that the sum of the first 36 (itself 6 times 6) is 666.

 

[dms1972]

well, yes, in the story...

are you tellin me someone made this up?

 

[dms1972]

(But if you're still exhausted, you can rest a bit and meditate about why adding the first 10 resulted in the somewhat pleasingly symmetrical 55.)

Because 5+5 = 10 ???