Tom, Dick, Harry and the Gorilla

1
Tom, Dick, Harry and the Gorilla

• An Investigation

2

• Tom, Dick, Harry and the Gorilla
• On a table is a bag of nuts.
• Standing round the table are three boys Tom, Dick
  and Harry and a gorilla called Hilda. The nuts
  are to be shared between them.
• Tom takes the bag of nuts.
• He gives one to the Gorilla
• and takes half of what
• is left for himself,
• and then passes the bag onto Dick.
• 
  Dick opens the bag and takes
  
• 
  half the nuts for himself
• 
  before passing one to the
• 
  Gorilla. He then passes the
  bag
• 
  to Harry.

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• Tom, Dick, Harry and the Gorilla
• Harry eats one of the nuts when he gets
• the bag and then shares the rest equally
• with the Gorilla.
• 
  If the Gorilla got 17 nuts in total,
• 
  how many nuts were
• 
  originally in the bag?

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• Solution- Tom, Dick, Harry and the Gorilla
• Let x be the number of nuts in the bag
  originally.
• Tom gets ½(x-1) of the nuts. Dick gets ¼(x-1).
• Harry gets and Hilda gets
• Solving the equation ,
  gives x 129 nuts in the bag.
• Therefore
• Tom 64 nuts
• Dick 32 nuts
• Harry 16 nuts
• Hilda 17 nuts