How many flowers do I have if all of them are roses except two, all of them are tulips except two, and all of them are daisies except two?

(In reply to Flower Thoughts by K Sengupta)

Let us consider the interpretation, where every flower in the given collection corresponds to Rose, Tulip or Daisy.

Let the total number of flowers in the given collection be x.

Then, by the problem:

Total number of Roses = Total number of Tulips = Total number of daisies = x-2

Accordingly, we must have:

(x-2) + (x-2) + (x-2) = x
or, 3(x-2) = x
or, 3x-6 = x
or 2x=6
or, x=3

Thus, the total number of flowers in the given collection is 3, and the break up is as follows:

Number of Roses = 1
Number of Tulips = 1
Number of Daisies = 1

Posted by K Sengupta on 2008-03-11 10:55:40