Christmas Contest!

Kira Ravenwood · Post by **Kira Ravenwood** » 16 years ago

Here's a Christmas contest for everyone and the prize is a CAH of your choice paid by yours truly. It might not be done until next week or the week after, but if you are the winner, you WILL get one.

Here's the rules:

Only one winner.
Only one guess per person.
You cannot guess for someone else.
If there are multiple correct answers, names will be put into a hat and the winner will be drawn from this.
Simply post your guess below.

Player Name (not forum name)
Your Guess

Contest Opens: December 11
Contest Closes: December 14 at 7:30pm PST (game time)

Entries posted after 7:30pm PST will not be accepted. Winner will be announced within 15 minutes of closing time.

I will add 2 more hints before the contest is done. The first has already been added. The second will be added tomorrow and the third on Thursday.

Contest Question

When I take my dog for a walk, he frequently supplies me with some interesting puzzle to solve. One day, for example, he waited, as I left the door, to see which way I should go, and when I started he raced along to the end of the road, immediately returning to me; again racing to the end of the road and again returning. He did this 4 times in all, at a uniform speed, and then ran at my side the remaining distance, which according to my paces measured 27 yards. I afterwards measured the distance from my door to the end of the road and found it to be 625 feet. Now, if I walk 4 miles per hour, what is the speed of my dog when racing to and fro?

Hint #1
The distance remaining to be walked side by side with the dog was 81 feet, the fourth power of 3 (for the dog returned four times).

Hint #2
The distance to the end of the road was 625 feet, the fourth power of 5.

Hint #3
The difference between the speeds of man and dog AND the sum of the speeds must be in the same ratio.

Mac Silver · Post by **Mac Silver** » 16 years ago

Is this part worded right Kira? "and when I started he raced along to the end of the road" Im sure it is but at first glance that seems to leave one too many variables. But i could certainly be wrong! lol

Kira Ravenwood · Post by **Kira Ravenwood** » 16 years ago

Yes, it is worded right. I know, I had to read that sentence a couple times before I decided that it was right.

Keith Maidlow · Post by **Keith Maidlow** » 16 years ago

Just to get the first answer in and in case it's right.

You have a very fast dog going 52.76471 MPH.

Paul Sellers · Post by **Paul Sellers** » 16 years ago

Not to hijack the thread ...

I am an attorney.
I bill out at $125 an hour.
I have spent an hour on this problem.
The value of getting it right is 3,000 GPs, or US $3.
How much money have I lost by trying to solve this problem?

:huh:

Thanks for the brain teaser Kira. And my answer will be coming shortly.

Mac Silver · Post by **Mac Silver** » 16 years ago

i think your dog ran 9.176 mph

Jolene Danner · Post by **Jolene Danner** » 16 years ago

I'm going to say 15mph. Since 88% of the distance is covered without the dog at heel. I took 88% of the MPH and added it to 4 and then doubled it since thye were going back and forth. LOL I did lots of conversions and cross multiplying and etc, but nothing came out right. I hated word problems in school and turns out they still suck.

Keith Maidlow · Post by **Keith Maidlow** » 16 years ago

I had the dog running in the opposite direction from you. Duh!

Haste makes waste.

Mac Silver · Post by **Mac Silver** » 16 years ago

Can i change mine? lol. Im sending you a pm Kira.

Kira Ravenwood · Post by **Kira Ravenwood** » 16 years ago

Updated with today's hint!

Tasha Langley · Post by **Tasha Langley** » 16 years ago

OMG....right. I would love to do this but I can't add 2+2, so good luck everyone XD

Cool contest idea though.

Meagan D'Amoure · Post by **Meagan D'Amoure** » 16 years ago

YAY brain teasers!

... * math.

Way too much for my little brain to take in. =] Good luck to those who participate, and I can't wait for the answer!

Laura Ferguson · Post by **Laura Ferguson** » 16 years ago

Jolene, you were close.

16 mph.

The key is in the two hints. The difference between the owner's and the dog's speed, and the total of the owner's and the dog's speed needs to match that 3 to 5 ratio.

Laura

Ronnie Dee · Post by **Ronnie Dee** » 16 years ago

Laura F. wrote: Jolene, you were close.

16 mph.

The key is in the two hints. The difference between the owner's and the dog's speed, and the total of the owner's and the dog's speed needs to match that 3 to 5 ratio.

Laura

Technically, isn't 16 MPH an upper bound of the dog's speed? You get 16 MPH if the dog runs back home on each circuit rather than to his owner (it says "returning to me" rather than "returning home") who is walking towards the end of the road and then back home (so the owner walked for about 3.55 minutes at 4 MPH). That is, some of the dog's circuits will be quite short when the owner is near the end of the road.

Laura Ferguson · Post by **Laura Ferguson** » 16 years ago

We'll have to agree to disagree