SOLUTION: Can any of u help me to solve this problem I borrowed $1000 from a frend, but I lost it the next min. So I borrowed $500 frm another frend. From tht $500, I bought $300 sweets. W

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Question 1030410: Can any of u help me to solve this problem
I borrowed $1000 from a frend, but I lost it the next min. So I borrowed $500 frm another frend. From tht $500, I bought $300 sweets. With the balance $200 I paid back each $100 to the frends I borrowed frm. So I owe $900 +$400 = $1300. Well with $1300 add the sweet amt of $300 will be $1600. I only borrowed $1500 frm my both frends. Then where did the $100 came frm.

Answer by Edwin McCravy(20060)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
I'll rewrite your problem with better grammar and punctuation.
I'll also take two zeros off the end of your numbers to make
it more realistic.  It's more realistic to have borrowed ten 
dollars and five dollars than to have borrowed one thousand
dollars and five hundred dollars. After all, nobody buys three
hundred dollars worth of sweets!

I borrowed $10 from a friend, but I lost it. So I borrowed $5
from another friend. From that $5, I bought $3 worth of sweets.
With the remaining $2, I paid each friend back $1. So I owe
$9 +$4 = $13.
That should be the end of the story.  You borrowed $15 and paid 
back $2.  So you owe $13. $9 to the first friend and $4 to the
second friend.  The $13 that you owe is $10 that you lost and $3
that you spent for sweets.  But then the story continues with a 
mistake:

Well with $13, add the $3 I spent for sweets will be $16.
No, no! That's bad math to add that!  Add the $2 you paid them 
back and get $15.  What you owe for the sweets is part of the
$13 that you owe.  It is wrong to add that $3 to the $13 that
already includes it!  Also you are ignoring the $2 that you
paid back.  So your mistake was that instead of adding the $2 
you still owe to the $13 and get the $15 that you borrowed, you 
wrongly added $3 again which is part of the $13, and got $16, 
and ignored the $2 you paid back.

So I owe $9 +$4 = $13. Well with $13 add the amount for the
sweets of $3 and get $16. I only borrowed $15 from my friends.
Where did the extra $1 come from?
What tricks you is the fact that you think you have added in the
$2, but you haven't, you have subtracted it instead.  That's where 
the $13 came from, $15-$2.  What else tricks you is that you think 
you haven't included the $3 you spent for sweets.  That's because 
you didn't say anything about the sweets when you did your bad 
math, but it was already included in the $13 that you still owe, 
$10 for what you lost and $3 for the sweets.  So it makes no sense
to add the $3 for sweets again to the $13 that contains it!

Edwin


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