A census taker approaches a house and asks the woman who answers the door “How many children do you have, and what are their ages?
“Woman: “I have three children; the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the address of the house next door.”
The census taker walks next door, comes back and says “I need more information.”
The woman replies “I have to go; my oldest child is sleeping upstairs.” Census taker: “Thank you, I now have everything I need.”
What are the ages of each of the three children?
February 21, 2008 at 9:47 am
In the first place can this be solved at all..?? i remember coming across something similar not very long back & the only conclusion I could arrive at was there is some data missing on this..!! mail me the solution if you happen to come across any!!
February 21, 2008 at 10:41 am
@ Writankar:
For three children with product of their ages equal to 36 there are two possibilities, i.e. (9,2,2) and (6,6,1) where sums are equal, i.e there is ambiguity even after finding out the no. of the house next door. The clue about an oldest child cancels out (6,6,1) and hence (9,2,2) is the correct answer.
May 24, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Честно говоря, сначала до конца не понял, но со второго раза дошло – спасибо!
May 26, 2009 at 7:49 am
Огромное СПАСИБО! Этот блог – супер!!!
September 25, 2009 at 1:29 am
i saw the answer and everyone assumes the house next door is 13 and i don’t see why!!!!!!!!