a simple math question that many people will not answer correctly

total rev - total cost = profit.
20-18 = P
$2 = profit.

 

bought a chicken for eight - sold it for nine = $1 profit
bought a chicken for ten - sold it for eleven = $1 profit.

He made $2...right?

 

That was my original thinking but then I thought he lost his original one dollar profit when he bought it again for $10. So I said $1. But I tend to over think.

 

I say $1 profit.

 

If the answer is not $2 then I will be pissed off

 

Well...I was somewhat unsure when I posted my above answer...of $2.

but now I know he made $2.

Just pretend he made both purchases at the SAME TIME with two different chickens.

He bought a chicken for 8 and a chicken for 10...he then sold the one for 9 and the other for 11. He made...$2.

Other's have explained it better mathematically - 18 spend, 20 received...but I just figured I'd explain it situationally.

 

About treeeee fittttttty.

 

The answer is:




Cash.

 

I posted this at another forum with a poll attached.

So far 10 out of 15 have guessed incorrectly. The most common answer with 6 guesses is $1. Followed with 5 guesses at $2. 4 people guessed "he broke even."

 

An easier way to conceptualize this problem: Assume he starts with $100 in his pocket.

$100
- $8
= 92
+ $9
=$101
- $10
= 91
+ 11
= $102

Therefore, he has $2 more than when he started.

 

so it is $2

 

how did anyone actually get this wrong? can you explain how you arrived at answers like $1 or breaking even? i'm curious to see the thought process.

 

lol. forgot about that movie.

 

1 dollar

look, the guy bought it for $8 , sold it for $9 so... +1

he then bought it back for $10 , so he had to dish out an extra dollar...-1

at this point he has made no profit +1 -1 = 0

he then sells it to someone for $11 after buying it for $10, thus I get 1 dollar as his profit.

Edit whoops, guess its wrong...but thats my thought process

 

Have some faith, pirc1 hasn't told the "correct" answer yet.

 

ahhh ok.

 

uh, how do the majority of people not answer $2?

isn't that correct?

 

how did you get $2?

 

I had the same thinking as you.

 

The total amount he received was 20. The total amount he spent was 18.