TransWikia.com

A Math Riddle: But the math does not add up

Puzzling Asked on June 1, 2021

Grandpa had a lot of different books of stamps on his desk. He was counting them.

I was curious. “What are all those stamps Grandpa?”

“I just got back from the Post Office son and bought a bunch of different stamps! All books.”

“Yea? What did you get?” Not sure why I asked.

“Well, let’s see. Two books of International stamps. One book of 75 cent stamps.
And I got – 20 cent stamps, 50 cent stamps and also 55 cent stamps. That is it!”

“Lot of books, Grandpa.”

“Yes, son. I spent 50 dollars in total. Let’s see. Wow. I have a total of 13 books of various stamps.
So do your math and tell me son, how many books from each stamp category do I have? Here is the pricing. I only bought stamp books; no individual stamps”

I did the math. It did not add up.

“Are you sure you counted the books right, Grandpa?”

“Yes, absolutely!”

“No other stamps than what you told me?”

“Nope. Only full books, 10 stamps in each book.”

Hmmm. Why was he right?

Postage Pricing
1 Book = 10 Stamps

2 cent stamp 20 cents per book
5 cent stamp 50 cents per book
10 cent stamp $1.00 per book
20 cent stamp $2.00 per book
50 cent stamp $5.00 per book
55 cent stamp $5.50 per book
75 cent stamp $7.50 per book
International stamp $12.00 per book

One Answer

To solve this, we need to examine more closely Grandpa's words when he says:

Two books of International stamps. One book of 75 cent stamps. And I got – 20 cent stamps, 50 cent stamps and also 55 cent stamps. That is it!

Knowing that Grandpa spent exactly $50.00 and bought 13 books, what can we say for sure?

If we take his words at face value then we run into the problem our narrator had:

However, if our narrator misheard Grandpa, who actually said:

then the maths can work out!

So Grandpa actually bought:

Correct answer by Stiv on June 1, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP