Between the story problems in Sean’s algebra homework this week and the South Carolina primary yesterday, I ended up having the following dream last night:
Mitt Romney’s weight is a three-digit number, the sum of whose digits equals nine. The second digit is three times the third digit, and the third digit is twice the first digit. (This isn’t a joke, yet. This is still just a math problem.) This three-digit number is 99 less than the three-digit number it makes with its digits reversed. The reverse of the digits of Mitt Romney’s weight yields a three-digit number that equals Newt Gingrich’s weight. Write a system of equations that represents these two three-digit numbers. HINT: The middle digit is the same (that’s kind of a joke).
SOLUTION:
A possible system of equations might look like this.
x + y + z = 9
100x + 10y + z + 99 = 100Z + 10y + x
z = 2x
y = 3z
But you don’t really need all that bullshit (kind of like a campaign speech). You can guess that Mitt Romney’s weight probably starts with a 1, so let x=1. If z is twice x, then z=2. If y is three times z, then y=6
Mitt’s weight: 162
Add 99
Newt’s weight: 261
This isn’t the correct mathematical approach, but who cares? After all, this is The Rest of the Story Problem.
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS QUESTION:
If Newt Gingrich had an open marriage and still won the Republican nomination and Mitt Romney remained faithful to his wife and lost the nomination, how many wives will Mitt Romney get in Mormon heaven as a consolation prize?
A. 40 (because it sounds scriptural)
B. All of Newt’s exes.
C. None, stupid. Mormons don’t go to heaven.
D. None. Mormons get cookies and punch in heaven. Don’t you watch “South Park”?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool I got 162 and 261 in my head, of course I didn’t show my work.
I choose D on the extra credit b/c South Park is always right.
Those numbers look right to me. (I’m not showing my work either, Tessa.) But I have to pick A because I’m all about the scriptures.
Linda Medrano recently posted..Open Marriage
I saw a clip of Newt answering a question about his open marriage in a debate. He seemed really angry that anyone should mention it. It makes me wonder if he got cooties from the first extra-marital affair he had.
Gorilla Bananas recently posted..Viagra abuse
Cooties. *giggle*
I have no idea what you just said. Except the part about cookies and punch. And now I wish I had some cookies and punch. Can you write a theoretical equation that proves cookies + punch intake can be entirely canceled out when proceeded by a healthful serving of quinoa with raw vegetables? Also, can you make X equal a half bottle of a good red? In fact, just skip the punch …
Tina recently posted..Coming the Raw Prawn: a dozen of my favourite Australian colloquialisms
ps I love the Ron Paul video at the end of this post. Hilarious and true.
Tina recently posted..13 Ways: Someone Like You
You and Tessa could actually SOLVE those equations?!? Simpatico for sure!
That hurt my head.
karen somethingorother recently posted..BUY NORTH AMERICAN
Man, I come here thinking Paul Harvey, and I get math. What did Paul Harvey ever do to you to confuse him with math?
Anyway, I used to understand that. I really did. Then came beer, and then children, and then more beer, and now x = y = z and oh shit one of the kids is coming upstairs and now I must go.
wagthedad recently posted..Secret Vasectomy
D: Politicians don’t go to heaven.
If it were easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven, then it must be easier for a rich man riding a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a politician to enter heaven. (except for Ghandi, if you consider him a politician)
If I were God… recently posted..WHAT IF GOD IS CHEATING ON US? part V