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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!daemon!richl
From: richl@daemon.UUCP (Rick Lindsley)
Newsgroups: net.games
Subject: Re: i need help.... (long)
Message-ID: <353@daemon.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 1-Sep-84 18:02:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: daemon.353
Posted: Sat Sep  1 18:02:37 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 3-Sep-84 10:25:02 EDT
References: <632@bnl.UUCP>
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 54

I was taught an easy way to translate story problems, and it works
well here....

First off, the passenger's statement is only to confuse you. Ignore it.

However, the driver says

  "the fare is 2 cents more than one half of one penny more than it would
   be if fares had risen 50% this morning."

I was taught to translate this word by word. Using the variable F for the
unknown fare...

  "the fare is..."
  
  F =
  
  "...2 cents more than..."
  
  F = 2 +
  
  "...one half of..."
  
  F = 2 + 0.5(
  
  "...one penny more than..."
  
  F = 2 + 0.5(1 +

  "...it would be if fares had risen 50% this morning."

  F = 2 + 0.5(1 + (1 + 0.5)F)

This simplifies to

  F = 2 + 0.5 + 0.75F
  0.25F = 2.5
  F = 10

The hard part is figuring out whether he meant

  "the fare is 2 cents more than one half of [ one penny more than it would
   be if fares had risen 50% this morning. ]"

or

  "the fare is 2 cents more than [ one half of one penny ] more than it would
   be if fares had risen 50% this morning."

but the latter sounds grammatically strange. Besides, the equation then
would work out to be F = 2.5 + 1.5F or they are paying people a nickel
apiece to ride the bus!

Rick