Let's start with the time. The accident happened at 16:09, which means the current time is 16:10, so the angle of his watch hands is 65 degrees.
Then, I suggest setting the number of pennies as x, to avoid fractions of x.
Meaning, Nq (Number of quarters) is 5x, Nd(dimes) is 7x, Nn (nickels) is 10x.
Mums Age, M, is therefore (x+(25*Nq)+(10*Nd)+(5*Nn))/6 = (x+125x+70x+50x)
=246x/6=41x
So his mother is either 41 or 82, because all further multiples of 41 are rather improbable.
We now take the information about the time, and see that:
If x=2, then he'd have 10 quarters, 14 dimes, 20 nickels and 2 pennies, for a total of 46 coins. Thus
65=3*46-9
Which is obviously wrong. So, just for completeness, we test the x=1 variant:
If x=1, then he'd have 5 quarters, 7 dimes, 10 nickels and a penny, for a total of 23 coins. Thus
65=3*23-4=69-4=65
Which is true, meaning this solution (Mum is 41) is the correct one. |
