The following question was asked on a math test:

If 6 cats kill 6 rats in 6 minutes, how many will be needed to kill 100 rats in 50 minutes?

Ryan answered 12, Stefanie said 13, and Tom put down 14 for his answer. After looking at their work, the teacher decided to give all three students credit.

What were the arguments that each student made?

If it takes 6 cats 6 minutes to kill 6 rats....

Ryan argued that it takes all 6 cats to kill 1 rat, which they can do in 1 minute.

Stefanie argued that 1 cat can kill 1 rat all by itself, but this takes the cat 6 minutes.

Tom argued that 2 cats must work together to kill 1 rat, and the pair need 3 minutes to do it.

Posted by Penny on 2004-01-20 13:11:39