SOLUTION: A woman’s will decreed that her cats be shared among her three daughters as follows: ½ of the cats to the eldest daughter,1/3 of the cats to the middle daughter, and 1/9 of the cat

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Question 760861: A woman’s will decreed that her cats be shared among her three daughters as follows: ½ of the cats to the eldest daughter,1/3 of the cats to the middle daughter, and 1/9 of the cats to the youngest daughter. Since the woman had 17 cats, the daughters decided that they could not carry out their mother’s wishes. The judge who held the will agreed to lend the daughters a cat so that they could share the cats as their mother wished. Now, ½ of 18 is 9; 1/3 of 18 is 6; and 1/9 of 18 is 2. Since 9+6+2=17, the daughters were able to divide the 17 cats and return the borrowed cat. They obviously did not need the extra cat to carry out their mother’s bequest, but they could not divide 17 into halves, thirds, and ninths. Has the woman’s will really been followed?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
I think the flaw in this is
1%2F2 + 1%2F3 + 1%2F9 does not add up to 1, 17%2F18.
So how can it represent the total number of animals, to be divided up?
The old lady had forgotten her 3rd grade math.