(A) Ben called ahead by telephone and ordered a length of rope which is in integer feet and inches (that is, lengths like 3 feet and 5 inches NOT lengths like 3 feet and 5.5 inches. Also, lengths like 3 feet and 34 inches are untenable.)

When he picked it up, he found that the clerk had wrongly written the order by interchanging the feet and inches. As a result the rope was only 30% of the length he ordered.

What length did he originally order and what length did he get?

(B) If Ben had got p% of the length he ordered, then for what integer values of p from 1 to 100 inclusive are each of the length of the rope he ordered and the length of the rope he received in integer feet and inches?

(In reply to Disclaimer by Ady TZIDON)

The puzzle does say p from 1 to 100 inclusive. My programming ignored the inclusive on the 100 end only because I thought it was so trivial, but it does say inclusive.

The values above 100 are indeed "bonuses" in the sense of going beyond what the puzzle is asking for, merely as an interesting aside.

Posted by Charlie on 2013-12-07 00:09:20