Brain teaser

[Dion]

Got this brain teaser from a friend via email and can't figure out the answer.

There are 7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 backpacks.
In each back pack there are 7 big cats.
For every big cat there are 7 little cats.

Question: How many legs are there on the bus? PS don't make assumptions like including a bus driver or anything like that.

I have been working on this for the last half hour with no sucess. In fact it's driving me bonkers. I'm embarrassed to ask this question

Could some please post the answer and how they got it? The right answer will unlock an excel spread sheet.

My math/reasoning skills suck btw

Please and thanks

[Jiggy_12]

edit: nm, I'm so wrong.

[wpgflamesfan]

is it not 10990. how did you not get it after 30 minutes

[tussery]

If you want to be technical there are only 14 legs on the bus all the others are in the bags.

[Fobby]

working backwards.

for 1 big cat, there are 7 little cats

in 1 back pack, there are 7 big cats...therefore 56 cats in 1 backpack.

Each girl has 7 backpacks, so each girl is carrying 7*56 = 392 cats

7 girls each carrying 392 cats each = 2744 cats, each cat has 4 legs...10976 legs.

With the 7 girls each having 2 legs each. 14 + 10976 = 10990 legs?

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Krieger99

7 girls = 14 legs
7 big cats x 7 backpacks x 7 girls = 343 big cats = 1372 legs
7 little cats x 7 big cats x 7 backpacks x 7 girls = 2401 little cats = 9604 legs

Add up all the legs (14+1372+9604) for 10990 total. Is that the answer?

I got that too, assuming there the 7 girls are the total number of people on the bus and they have 2 legs (as opposed to being handicapped), all the backpacks are on the bus, the 343 big cats all have 4 legs, and the 2401 little cats all have 4 legs, there are no other cats on the bus, and there are no other legs, and the tires on the bus don't count as legs (otherwise it would be 10994)

[foofighter15]

Buses don't have legs! They have wheels!

[Rathji]

There are 7 girls on a bus.
7 X 2 = 14 people legs

Each girl has 7 backpacks.
In each back pack there are 7 big cats.
For every big cat there are 7 little cats.
7X7 = 49 big cats X 7 = 343 little cats

(49+ 343) X 4 = 1568 cat legs

14 + 1568 = 1582 legs total.

My math may be rushed, as I am in lecture right now.

I am probably missing something because this seems like it shouldnt be hard at all.

[foofighter15]

Alternative stupid answer (like my first one) zero legs are on the bus....they're all IN it!

[BlackEleven]

I got 10990 as well

2*7 + 4*7^3 + 4*7^4 = 10990

[You Need a Thneed]

The answer is 10990, as others have shown.

[tussery]

Originally Posted by foofighter15

Alternative stupid answer (like my first one) zero legs are on the bus....they're all IN it!

Funny the first thing that I thought of when i read this was "As I was going to Saint Ives I met a man with 7 wives every wife had 7 sacks every sack had 7 cats every cat had 7 kittens. How many were going to Saint Ives."

But the answer after doing the math for this would be 10990 legs.

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by tussery

Funny the first thing that I thought of when i read this was "As I was going to Saint Ives I met a man with 7 wives every wife had 7 sacks every sack had 7 cats every cat had 7 kittens. How many were going to Saint Ives."

But the answer after doing the math for this would be 10990 legs.

are you the only one going to Saint Ives?

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by foofighter15

are you the only one going to Saint Ives?

Logically speaking, does anyone wonder how they got 8 cats into a bag, and 2744 cats and 7 girls on a bus - in a humanitarian way? Or are they dead?

[photon]

Are any of the cats named Lucky or Stumpy?

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Logically speaking, does anyone wonder how they got 8 cats into a bag, and 2744 cats and 7 girls on a bus - in a humanitarian way? Or are they dead?

Not just 8 cats in every bag, but 56!

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Logically speaking, does anyone wonder how they got 8 cats into a bag, and 2744 cats and 7 girls on a bus - in a humanitarian way? Or are they dead?

Kinda like the dead baby joke whats worse then 100 dead babies in 1 garbage can......
I hate those jokes so to lighten the mood
The brain teaser made me think of this brain teaser.

Locke the homeless Hobo had a cigarette addiction. Locke had no money so in order to feed this addiction he had to collect cigarette butts and every seven he collected he could make a new cigarette.
After collecting 49 Cigarette butts, how many Cigarettes can Locke make?

[photon]

None, he's addicted so he smoked them.

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by photon

None, he's addicted so he smoked them.

Nope, but I've switched the end, so that no one else gives that answer

[skippy]

The obvious answer is 7 cigarettes but how do you smoke butts? (in a non gay way)