Question:
If three cats catch three mice in three minutes, how many cats would be needed to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes?
Answer:
3
Explanation
In this playful riddle, we’re on a mission to calculate the feline workforce needed to keep those mischievous mice in check! Let’s embark on this amusing journey of cat-catching calculations.
If three cats can catch three mice in three minutes, it’s evident that each cat catches one mouse in three minutes. Now, the fun part begins as we use this clue to figure out how many cats are required to handle the grand task of catching 100 mice in 100 minutes.
Since each cat catches one mouse in three minutes, we can represent the number of cats needed as “C.” Now, to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes, we’ll set up a proportion:
Number of Cats / Time (in minutes) = Number of Mice / Time (in minutes)
C / 3 = 100 / 100
Now, let’s solve for the number of cats (C):
C = (100 × 3) / 100
C = 300 / 100
C = 3
Another way to explain this is that if it takes 3 minutes for one cat to catch a mouse, how long would it take just one cat to catch 100 mice? This means 300 minutes. This also means that the cat could catch 100/3 mice in 300/3 minutes. That is, one cat catches 33.33 mice in 100 minutes.
But our cat is lonely. If we increase the number of cats to 3, that means each of them can catch 33.33 mice in 100 minutes. In other words, they all catch 33.33×3 = 100 cats in 100 minutes!
There you have it! Three clever cats are all we need to work together as a purrfect team, catching 100 mice in 100 minutes. These feline friends are ready to show off their prowess in a delightful display of quick and cunning moves. Let the cat-catching adventure begin!
