Saturday, February 1, 2014

Dante's Infernal Puzzle Collection -- 4. Segare

Again, simple algebra.
Gathering one heap takes 1/5 of an hour.
Packing one heap takes 1/8 of an hour.

Suppose we gather x heaps. Since we need to fill an hour, it must be the case that:
1/5x + 1/8x = 1
Multiply both sides by 40.
8x + 5x = 40
13x = 40
x = 40/13

Answer: 40/13

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