How smart are you-lets see how many get the right answers

[VTLS1]

A traveling salesman who had spent several nights in a little
upstate New York hotel asks for his bill. It amounts to $30
which he, being a trusting soul, pays without more ado. Right
after the guest has left the house for the railroad station the
desk clerk realizes that he had overcharged his guest $5. So he
sends the bellboy to the station to refund the overcharge to
the guest. The bellhop, it turns out, is far less honest than his
supervisor. He argues: "If I pay that fellow only $3 back he
will still be overjoyed at getting something he never expectedand
I'll be richer by $2. And that's what he did.
Now the question is: If the guest gets a refund of $3 he
had paid $27 to the hotel all told. The dishonest bellhop has
kept $2. That adds up to $29. But this monetary transaction
started with $30 being paid to the desk clerk. Where is the
30th dollar?


A used-car dealer complains to his friend that today has been
a bad day. He has sold two cars, he tells his friend, for $750
each. One of the sales yielded him a 25 per cent profit. On the
other one he took a loss of 25 per cent. "What are you worrying
about?" asks his friend. "You had no loss whatsoever."
"On the contrary, a substantial one," answers the car dealer.
Who was right?


Now,lets see whos awake,whos asleep & who has some intelligence

[turmoil117]

1.the maths is f###ed up
2.the salesman

[kiwicon]

Ill come back to the first one, lets look at the 2nd one..

2 cars - $750 each.
Car 1 made a 25% profit, so that ment he only paid $ 600.00 for the car ($600x25%=750)
Car2 made a 25% loss, so that ment he paid $ 937.50 for the car ($750x25%=937.50)

Now to break it down..

600 + ? = 750.. that would be $150
937.50 - ? = 750.. that would be $ 187.50

So the loss he occurred is $ 37.50

[Hangman]

1 is stupid.

2 is just maths

[madrx3boy]

1. Clerk (who represents the Hotel) still has the $25, The Guest has $3 (part of the refund he was owed), and the Bellboy has $2 (which he kept for himself, not for the hotel). The guest hasn't actually paid $27 to the hotel as such, he has only paid $25 to the hotel (and $2 to the bellboy, and the other $3 is in his [the guest's] own pocket).

[Hangman]

For the first one, it's more how it's worded than any sort of actual problem.

The $27 paid to the hotel includes the bellhops $2.

[Adds_05]

paid $30
price was actually $25 for room,man wasnt aware
manager refunded $5
man gets $3 back so man had actually paid $28
bellboy keeps $2
now = $30

so basically
room was $25
man given $3 = $28
bellboy took $2 = $30
total = $30
its how its worded,sound about right?

[monkeys437]

1. It adds up to 30. Just the way the question is worded throws people off track and is designed to make them miscount it time and time again

[VTLS1]

A few frustrated people with no answers,a few almost right as well as right answers & a few just completely way off
Will wait a bit longer & see what other answers come up

[HERONVY]

eh i started to think, do the math and then just cbf anymore haha

[VTLS1]

Answer 1:The desk clerk received $30 minus $5, that is,
$25; the bellhop kept $2; that is altogether $27 on one side of
the ledger. On the other side are the expenses of the guest,
namely $30 minus $3, also equalling $27. So there is no deficit
from the bookkeeper's angle, and no dollar is missing. Of
course, if you mix up receipts and expenses and add the guest's
expenses of $27 to the dishonest bellhop's profit of $2, you end
up with a sum of $29, and a misleading question.

Answer 2:The dealer was right. The car that brought him a 25 per cent
profit cost him $600 (because 600 + 25% = 750). The other car on
which he lost 25 per cent cost him $1,000 (because 1,000 - 25% =
750). So the dealer paid a total of $1,600 for two cars which he sold
for $1,500, causing him a loss of $100.

[Tsunamix]

Now the question is: If the guest gets a refund of $3 he
had paid $27 to the hotel all told.

So hotel gets 30less 5 or 25, bellhop 2, and the client the refund of 3.

What cant you count ?

2.

percentages are cumulative. so 25% profit is based on a number less than 750 plus a percentage. So the 'base' number is less than 750 dollars. 25% loss is based on a number greater than 750 less a percentage, so the base number is more than 750.

Thats why percentages in terms of profit and loss are not trusted in industry. Those of us with any brains work in GM - Gross margin, which is an actual dollar value.