math challenge

Weeks of July 20 - August 2, 1998

Goodbye Minus


Grrr...finally I can get some peace and quiet...

Math Challenge mascot, Minus the Math Shark, is retiring. His new home is a pretty aquarium on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where he is fed by a blue-suited trainer and a red-suited trainer.

The blue trainer throws out blue fish with twice as much "meat" as the red fish thrown out by the red trainer. The blue trainer throws out fish at 3-minute intervals while the red trainer throws out fish at 2-minute intervals. If they throw out fish at the same time, Minus can only get one or the other (not both at the same time).

In a 12-minute feeding session, which begins with both trainers throwing out fish, how many blue fish and how many red fish will Minus get if he optimizes his strategy to get the maximum amount of "meat"?


See the solutions