Today's Puzzle How much should the individual student pay for their journey?

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Question:

Mr. Subramaniam rents a private car for Andheri-Colaba-Andheri trip. It costs him

Rs. 300 everyday.

One day the car driver informed Mr. Subramaniam that there were two students

from Bandra who wished to go from Bandra to Colaba and back to Bandra.

Bandra is halfway between Andheri and Colaba. Mr. Subramaniam asked the

driver to let the students travel with him.

On the first day when they came, Mr. Subramaniam said, "If you tell me the

mathematically correct price you should pay individually for your portion of the

trip, I will let you travel for free."

How much should the individual student pay for their journey?

Answer:

The individual student should pay Rs. 50 for their journey.

Note that 3 persons are travelling between Bandra and Colaba.

The entire trip costs Rs. 300 to Mr. Subramanian. Hence, half of the trip costs

Rs. 150.

For Andheri-Bandra-Andheri, only one person i.e. Mr. Subramaniam is travelling.

Hence, he would pay Rs. 150.

For Bandra-Colaba-Bandra, three persons i.e Mr. Subramaniam and two

students, are travelling. Hence, each student would pay Rs. 50.