Missing Pound

Keywords: Starter | Arithmetic | Money | Problem Solving | Puzzles

• Chris, Exeter
• Tuesday, June 20, 2006
• "I think they are very good - some of the 'numeracy' starters were a little dry but you seem to have improved them recently. Thanks for taking the time to put these together and making them free. You've earnt your gold star!"
• Anne, Blackburn, Lancashire
• Wednesday, May 23, 2007
• "Good Grief! That had me going (despite being a 30 year old maths graduate!) The waiter's £2 came out of the £27 paid by the three diners. They did pay £27 (3 x £9) and £25 went to the kitchen and £2 to an unscrupulous waiter. Thanks for making me think though!"
• 9yma3, Northcliffe School
• Friday, June 08, 2007
• "The £27 they paid is the £25 for the meal and the £2 the waiter kept."
• Nikki Jordan, Braunton School, Devon
• Tuesday, June 19, 2007
• "Excellent. Thank you very much for a fabulous set of starters. I use the 'weekenders' if the daily ones are not quite what I want. Brilliant and much appreciated."
• Class 8A (Miss Yuen), St Philomena's School, Carshalton
• Tuesday, June 19, 2007
• "£30 shared equally between three is £10 each.
  
  £25 shared equally between three is £8.33333......(recurring).
  
  (£8.3333...) X 3 + £5 = £10 X 3
  
  So the pound is still there!"

 

• Stuart Don, Aberdeenshire
• Tuesday, June 19, 2007
• "Right
  
  The £30 is spead out like this
  
  Restaurant:- £25
  
  Waitor:- £2
  
  Customers:- £3
  
  so 25 + 2 + 3 = £30 so the pound is still there
  
  That Waitor is "NAE NICE""
• Joss Dutton, Class 9T3, National Comprehensive School
• Wednesday, October 17, 2007
• "Man thats hard that'll keep me thinking but if they all payed 10 came back with 5, £1 for every one = £23 + £2 = 25 help me!"
• Faizah, Newcastle
• Monday, October 22, 2007
• "The £30 is still there!"
• Katie n Shaz n Cyan n Jess n Jess !, Menzies High School
• Friday, December 14, 2007
• "Here's the real sum;
  
  £25 for Bill !
  £3 for People !
  £2 for Waiter ! SOOOOOOOO......
  
  £25 + £3 + £2 = £30 so the pound hasn't gone anywhere."
• Baran Ulutas, london
• Tuesday, June 03, 2008
• "They have not paid £27 for meal the bill was £25. yes they paid £27 but inculiding £2 which waiter kept for hiself.
  so £25+£2+£3=£30"
• Miss Andrew and Miss Dengure, Nether Hall Learning Campus
• Tuesday, June 10, 2008
• "We found this starter extremly good and the children really enjoyed it and quoted " This was the best starter."
• Elder Class, Petersfield
• Wednesday, June 18, 2008
• "The Pound is still there because:
  £30 - £1x3 = £27.00
  £27.00 - £2.00 = £25.00
  
  So the restaurant gets
  £25 + £2.00 (waiter)
  Guests get £3.00
  Totals £30.00
  
  We thought this was a good starter because it got us thinking!!!"
• Holly Adams, Thistely Hough
• Wednesday, June 18, 2008
• "The pound has not gone any where because if the people paid 10 pounds each,the total was 30 pounds.
  But the waiter came back with 5 pounds meaning they only paid 9 pounds.
  this is the sum.
  Waiter=2 pounds,
  People=3 pounds,
  Bill= 25 pounds.
  25 add 3 add 2 =30 pounds"
• MWS student, Home
• Wednesday, June 18, 2008
• "10x3=30 right and the waiter gives back 1 pound to each person so thats 9x3 which is 27 plus the 2 pounds the waiter took which is £29. but it's really 30-3=27 and 27-2 so the pound hasn't gone anywhere it's to do with the times tables i think."
• Eddy, Huntcliff school
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "So what are we looking for? the 30 pounds spent or should we look for the 25 given for the meal:
  each pay £9 (9x3=27) and the waiter keeps £2 so the sum should realy be £27 - £2 = 25 which is what the restaurant got!!!
  real good staters though
  Thanks"
• Farnborough hill Hampshire , year 8 set 1
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "they added the 2 twice in both 9x3 and the 27+2. They should have written 27+3 because they paid for the waiters *tip*
  Original cost=£30
  Returned £3
  Waiter kept £2
  therefore they paid £27, instead of £25-the evil waiter stole £2.
  THEIF!!!!!
  woooooooooooooohoooooooooooooo"
• Mrs O'Hagan's 2nd yr class, Holyrood RC Sec , Glasgow
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "£25 + £3 + £2 =£30
  
  THE WAITER SHOULD BE FIRED!! "
• year 8 top set, Brockington College
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "Charlotte says no it doesn't make sense, but we liked it anyway. More like this please."
• Simran Kaur Kainth, Holyrood RC Secondary School
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "The one pound is still there because the waiter =£2
  people =£3
  bill =£25
  
  so they all add up to £30.there we have it there was no one pound missing after all!"
• Ghaya Rashid, Northbury Junior School
• Thursday, June 19, 2008
• "I think he kept the pound for him self!"
• Godwin Amarikwa-Obi, St. Mary's COE School, Hendon, London
• Friday, June 20, 2008
• "I really enjoy using your starter of the day with my students. The missing pound one was a very hard nut to crack."
• Lewis, School
• Thursday, June 11, 2009
• "The money was added up incorrectly. They payed £27. The waiter kept £2 pounds but these 2 pounds are in £27 already we should add the £3 they were given back!"
• Tirzah Cooper,
• Saturday, June 13, 2009
• "£30 - £3=£27 so the waiter kept £2.The 3 people have £1. £27 - the £2 that the waiter has = £25. There is no missing coin. The 3 people have £1 each so £25 + £3 = £28. The waiter has £2 so £28 + £2 = £30."
• Cassie Heart Of The National Forest &+ Jack, Castlerock High School!
• Wednesday, June 17, 2009
• "Right
  whilst one was calculating the sum, one come across a discovery that there was no missing pound.
  2+3=5
  £25 SPENT
  25+5=30.
  So therefore there was no missing pound sterling."
• Mr P, Dorset
• Thursday, June 18, 2009
• "The bill totalled £25 so the customers would each have paid £8.33r NOT £9. So each would get £1.67 change
  It is not the waiter's right to keep any money left over but the customers really should have given a tip. However, if the waiter was that dishonest I wouldn't tip him at all!
  No missing pound, just customers out of pocket and a cheeky waiter not declaring his tips."

 

• Yr 6/7 Class, Stirling East PS
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "We really enjoyed the question. It provoked a lot of discussion.The waiter's 2 pounds should be taken not added and 27 pounds subtract 2 pounds is 25 pounds which was the original bill."
• Farhana Khatun, Azhar Academy 9B
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "The sum which says 27+2 is wrong it is suppossed to be 27-2 which equals 25 so inturn the sum is wrong."
• Mr Barker's Year 7 (Best Set?), William Farr Welton
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "The £30 was the Red Herring. The bill was actually £25 plus a £2 tip totalling £27 so they paid the correct amount. Usually the tip should be 10% so if I was the witer I would be looking for an extra 50p!"
• Becky Taylor, Crookfur Primary
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "If they were ment to pay £25 and then they got £3 back that would be £28
  then add the £2 the waitor got is £30."
• Gwindley, St Peter In Thanet Ce Junior School
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "£8.33 per person for meal ( £25/3)
  £0.67 per person went to waiter = £2.00 (3 x £0.67)
  
  £1.00 per person returned =£3.00
  total £25 +£3 + £2= £30
  Meal costs £8.33 per person not £9 as stated in question."
• Mr C, Bexhill HIgh
• Friday, June 19, 2009
• "Initially they paid £30, the waiter kept £2 so in fact they paid £28 - £3 returned = £25. There is no missing £1."
• Jonathan, St Aidans C O E Tech College
• Monday, June 22, 2009
• "The restaurant gets £25
  the people altogether get £3
  and the waiter gets £2
  add them together and you get £30."
• Adam, Leeds UK
• Monday, September 14, 2009
• "Easy you minus the £2 from 27
  why on earth would you add it to make £29
  30 - 3 + 2 will always leave you a pound short
  100 - 3 + 2 = 99 (1 pound short)
  50 - 3 + 2 = 49 (1 pound short)
  5 - 3 + 2 = 4 (1 pound short)
  the answer is 30 - 3 - 2 = 25."
• Cherie Glennon, Brooksbank School
• Tuesday, September 15, 2009
• "If you approach the problem from the other direction or backwards i.e.
  The 3 men have paid £25 in total for the meal. They then recieve £1 each
  making £28 and the 'dumb waiter' gets £2 = £30."
• Shannon Lohan, Stevenagw
• Saturday, May 22, 2010
• "Initially they paid £30, the waiter kept £2 so in fact they paid £28 - £3 returned = £25. There is no missing £1."
• Jack McNeill,
• Tuesday, June 15, 2010
• "In fact, you shouldn't have added 2, you should have subtracted 2, to get to 25, the cost for the meal!"
• Why On Earth,
• Saturday, June 19, 2010
• "Easy you minus the £2 from 27
  why on earth would you add it to make £29
  30 - 3 + 2 will always leave you a pound short
  100 - 3 + 2 = 99 (1 pound short)
  50 - 3 + 2 = 49 (1 pound short)
  5 - 3 + 2 = 4 (1 pound short)
  the answer is 30 - 3 - 2 = 25."
• Sebastian Calvert, East Marden PS, SA
• Monday, June 21, 2010
• "This had me thinking for a while! I finally thought, " Well, the bill is $25, and the customers have three and the waitor has two! Why didn't I think of that before?"
  Anyway, It's nice to have a strategical starter once in a while."
• Gabie, Dorset
• Friday, June 25, 2010
• "£5 is returned so each of the costumers get £1 each back and there is 3 costumers so thats £3 back and the waiter kept £2. so £25+£3+£2=£30."
• Will,
• Tuesday, June 29, 2010
• "The waiter gave back £3 pounds so that is £3 of the £5 gone so 30-3=27
  and he keeps £2 so 27+2=29 but you gave the men £3 so the pound that is not counted the man has."
• Alan Courtenay, Leytonstone
• Wednesday, June 15, 2011
• "For a bill of £25 each person should have paid £8.33, but they paid £9 each. This means that each person paid an extra 67p (just under) and this times 3 gives the £2 that the waiter kept. What's the problem?"
• Miriam, Lewisham
• Friday, October 14, 2011
• "If people keep adding up the total from another angle, it will always add up to £30, but that's not the question. From this angle it doesn't make sense because there is an error in the calculations. You're adding an extra £2, to the total. The £9 that each of the people paid already includes the £2 that the waiter took. 9x3=27 and that 27 is made up of th2 £25 that the hotel has and the £2 that the waiter has. Now all you have to do is add the amount left, the £3 given to each of the men by the waiter, which makes £30."
• JOHN BARNES, JPBARNESJR@MSN.COM
• Thursday, December 01, 2011
• "Suppose the three gentlemen who initially put down $10.00 each take one of the 5 one dollar bills and leave the restaurant.
  Have they not parted with a total of 9.00 each?
  Isn't a total of $2.00 left on the table?
  Don't we still have a dollar missing?
  I await an answer."

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