# Another 6th grade math word problem. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836 "2004-09-30T13:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/1 "2004-09-30T13:19:06Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277257) I asked for help with a math problem and received such good responses that I was able to guide my daughter into figuring out the problem for herself. šŸ™‚ Well, I have another problem (I really do suck at math). I know the board rules on homework help and I want to assure the mods that the answers to these questions are not given to my daughter. They are used as a way of guiding her into figuring out the problem on her own. The problem: Farmer Brown sells turkey eggs. They are for people with large appetites. His 100 turkeys lay 10,000 every 100 days. How many days will it take to lay 1 egg? If Iā€™ve learned anything from the last problem then I think I should disregard the number of turkeys. But Iā€™m coming up with the turkeys laying 100 eggs a day, which canā€™t be right. Can you guys and girls help again? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/2 "2004-09-30T13:26:58Z")
10,000 eggs per 100 days. So, 10,000 / 100 = 100 eggs per day are produced. You have 100 turkeys so, 100 / 100 = 1 egg per day per trukey. Check the mathā€¦ 1 egg per turkey = 100 eggs per day 100 eggs per day \* 100 days = 10,000 eggs. ---
**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/3 "2004-09-30T13:29:58Z")
100 turkeys lay 10000 eggs in 100 days 100 turkeys lay 100 eggs in 1 day (1 egg per turkey!) 100 turkeys lays 1 egg in 0.01 days 1 day = 24 \* 60 = 1440 minutes 0.01 days = 14.4 minutes. =\> 100 turkeys lay 1 egg in 14.4 minutes. I think the question might be trying to show the kids that you canā€™t always work something out purely mathematically. Looking at it more logically you can say that after 0 days you have 0 eggs and after 1 day you have 100 eggs. This doesnā€™t necessarily mean that the production of the eggs you get are distributed evenly across the time. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/4 "2004-09-30T13:32:32Z")
> [@fezpp](#): > > 1 day = 24 \* 60 = 1440 minutes > 0.01 days = 14.4 minutes. > > =\> 100 turkeys lay 1 egg in 14.4 minutes. Damnā€¦I had forgotten to finish off my numbers to the ultimate answer to the question and was writing a follow-up when I preview I see I was (unsurprisingly) beaten to it. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/5 "2004-09-30T13:32:58Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > 100 / 100 = 1 egg per day per turkey. Yes, but the question as posed by the OP is ambiguous: ā€œHow many days will it take to lay 1 egg?ā€ 1 day? 0.01 days? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/6 "2004-09-30T13:36:42Z")
The teacher told the kids that the problem is quite simple. I must be the simple one, Iā€™m laying an egg with this problem. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/7 "2004-09-30T13:40:14Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > Yes, but the question as posed by the OP is ambiguous: ā€œHow many days will it take to lay 1 egg?ā€ 1 day? 0.01 days? I was thinking maybe itā€™s a trick question. There actually is 1 egg layed on day 1, and 99 more as well. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/8 "2004-09-30T13:44:55Z")
For the general thought process of these kinds of problems (things producing something by a certian date): You need to first arrive at a base rate of production and then apply that to the original question. The basic formula for the production rate is _individuals_ \* _time_ = _product_ In this case, individuals is 100 turkeys, the time is 100 days, and the product is 10,000 eggs. Or new formula is 100t \* 100d = 10,000e. Solve for d and we arrive at 100 eggs per turkey produced in 100 days, or 1 egg per turkey per day. The original question though, was how many days until an egg is produced. Since thereā€™s 100 turkeys, you make 100 eggs in a day. Flip it around and a single egg is produced in 1/100 of a day, or every 14.4 minutes (as **fezpp** has shown). ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/9 "2004-09-30T13:54:22Z")
**Frank #2** , **fezpp** That must be the answer, though it doesnā€™t seem quite as simple as the teacher made it out to be. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help. Honey ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/10 "2004-09-30T14:02:03Z")
Iā€™d ignore any possible trick, and just give the straight answer: 0.01 days. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/11 "2004-09-30T15:27:53Z")
> [@Frank #2](#): > > For the general thought process of these kinds of problems (things producing something by a certian date): You need to first arrive at a base rate of production and then apply that to the original question. > > The basic formula for the production rate is _individuals_ \* _time_ = _product_ > In this case, individuals is 100 turkeys, the time is 100 days, and the product is 10,000 eggs. > > Or new formula is 100t \* 100d = 10,000e. Solve for d and we arrive at 100 eggs per turkey produced in 100 days, or 1 egg per turkey per day. > > The original question though, was how many days until an egg is produced. Since thereā€™s 100 turkeys, you make 100 eggs in a day. Flip it around and a single egg is produced in 1/100 of a day, or every 14.4 minutes (as **fezpp** has shown). Thereā€™s also the practical aspects to consider (after all the problem mentions the eggs are for people with large appetites, so we are in the real world.) There is no reason to believe that 100 turkeys each laying 1 egg per day do so in a ā€˜conveyor-beltā€™ system. So I donā€™t agree with 14.4 minutes. If you had a world-wide population of 1,000,000 turkeys, the first egg would not appear practically instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/12 "2004-09-30T15:38:56Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Thereā€™s also the practical aspects to consider (after all the problem mentions the eggs are for people with large appetites, so we are in the real world.) > > There is no reason to believe that 100 turkeys each laying 1 egg per day do so in a ā€˜conveyor-beltā€™ system. So I donā€™t agree with 14.4 minutes. If you had a world-wide population of 1,000,000 turkeys, the first egg would not appear practically instantly. I didnā€™t think about that. Itā€™s possible they donā€™t lay eggs every day. Or even the same amount of eggs every day. Now Iā€™m really confused again. Arghhhh! ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/13 "2004-09-30T15:48:13Z")
So, Youā€™d need to wait until the 100th day to be guaranteed an egg? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/14 "2004-09-30T15:50:06Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I didnā€™t think about that. Itā€™s possible they donā€™t lay eggs every day. Or even the same amount of eggs every day. Now Iā€™m really confused again. Arghhhh! Cheer up - I think this is just an attempt by the teacher to show that alothough maths is wonderful, you need to take the real world into account too. For example, what is 1 puddle + 1 puddle? 1 (larger) puddle! From my limited experience, farmers collect eggs every day. \*\*So itā€™s perfectly reasonable to say it takes one day to produce 1 egg \*\* (plus another 99 not required in the answer!). If the answer to a maths problem is not clear, you should always check you had sufficient information in the question. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/15 "2004-09-30T15:57:58Z")
Ya know, there was something else written after the math problem. I didnā€™t think it was relevant, so I left it out. Here it is: If you get the right answer then you can call yourself an eagle, if not, then you are a real chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/16 "2004-09-30T16:12:37Z")
The question is not stated well. It implies ā€œIf 10,000 eggs are laid in 100 days, how many are laid in one day?ā€ Using simple ration and proportion, the answer is .01. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/17 "2004-09-30T16:18:26Z")
It also should indicate that an equal number of eggs are laid each day. Written the way it is could mean that all 10,000 eggs were laid on day 100. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/18 "2004-09-30T16:34:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The question is not stated well. It implies ā€œIf 10,000 eggs are laid in 100 days, how many are laid in one day?ā€ Using simple ration and proportion, the answer is .01. Stated that way, youā€™re incorrect. 100 are laid in one day. Honey, you should print this out and give it to the teacher so he/she knows how poorly worded the question is. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/19 "2004-09-30T16:53:57Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Stated that way, youā€™re incorrect. 100 are laid in one day. > > Honey, you should print this out and give it to the teacher so he/she knows how poorly worded the question is. Then my daughterā€™s teacher would know my user name. Ooh boy, I definately wouldnā€™t want her reading some of the things Iā€™ve posted here. šŸ˜ƒ IfyaknowwhatImean? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836/20 "2004-09-30T17:47:48Z")
> [@](#): > > If you had a world-wide population of 1,000,000 turkeys, the first egg would not appear practically instantly. I donā€™t see why not. Out of those million turkeys, at any given point thereā€™s likely to be one whoā€™s just about almost ready to lay an egg. Unless thereā€™s something causing the turkeys to be synchronized, egg-laying should be approximately uniformly distributed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-6th-grade-math-word-problem/266836.md?page=2)