Math Puzzle

[Deicider]

I dont know if this already been posted but here it goes:


What is the Cost of a book that costs 1$ plus half of its price?

[Oriako]

1/2x + 1 = x

x=2

The book costs $2?

[Deicider]

1/2x + 1 = x

x=2

The book costs $2?

Nope.

[Willowz]

The book is priceless. :D

[Deicider]

Book has a price, and i dont think anyone here can find it.

[davee123]

Nope.

I don't understand why you think Oriako is wrong, please explain.

DaveE

[Goongyae]

>What is the Cost of a book that costs 1$ plus half of its price?

The answer is $1.50.

As you stated, the book costs $1.00.
Add half its price and the cost becomes $1.50.

[davee123]

As you stated, the book costs $1.00.
Add half its price and the cost becomes $1.50.

Ok, so the fault is with English, then? The difference between:

What is the Cost of (a book that costs 1$) plus (half of its price)?

Versus:

What is the Cost of a book that (costs 1$ plus half of its price)?

DaveE

[micromass]

So the book either costs 1$, 1.5$, 2$ or infinity$...

I have a feeling the thread will turn out to be like: http://www.xkcd.com/169/

[Goongyae]

LMAO @ this thread

I still want to know if my answer of $1.50 was correct or not.

[micromass]

Are you going to tell us the answer? I'm intrigued what it could be...

[D H]

Not this nonsense, again. You've posted this in another forum, trying to play poorly-worded games with "price" versus "cost".

Ignoring the silly nonsense, with "cost" and "price" being synonyms, the answer is of course $2.
Pay attention to the silly nonsense and the answer is a cumquat (or whatever you want).

[Deicider]

Not this nonsense, again. You've posted this in another forum, trying to play poorly-worded games with "price" versus "cost".

Ignoring the silly nonsense, with "cost" and "price" being synonyms, the answer is of course $2.
Pay attention to the silly nonsense and the answer is a cumquat (or whatever you want).

Nope.
Still wrong answer.

[Jimmy Snyder]

If P = price and C = cost, then C = $1 + P/2. For instance, for a dime novel, the price is $0.1 and the cost is $1.05. That's why you don't see dime novels anymore. However, for a book with a price of $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.02, the cost would be $500,000,000,000,000,000,000,001.01 and since this is beyond the means of most publishers, you don't see these kinds of books anymore either.

[Goongyae]

I've finally solved it! The answer is either $0.50 or $0.98.

>What is the Cost of a book that costs 1$ plus half of its price?

We have the profit of buying the book at -$1, plus half the price of the book at $0.50, for a total profit of $-0.50, or a total cost of $0.50.

But what if the statement means "What is the Cost of a book that costs one dollar, plus half of its (the dollar's) price?"

It is impossible to buy a dollar anywhere (you can certainly trade something for a dollar, but it's not called "buying" a dollar). Therefore the only meaningful price atributable to a dollar would be the price paid by the Treasury Department to manufacture it, i.e. $0.04.

Thus we have the profit of buying the book at -$1, plus half the price of the dollar at $0.02, for a total profit of $-0.98, or a total cost of $0.98.

[Deicider]

I've finally solved it! The answer is either $0.50 or $0.98.

>What is the Cost of a book that costs 1$ plus half of its price?

We have the profit of buying the book at -$1, plus half the price of the book at $0.50, for a total profit of $-0.50, or a total cost of $0.50.

But what if the statement means "What is the Cost of a book that costs one dollar, plus half of its (the dollar's) price?"

It is impossible to buy a dollar anywhere (you can certainly trade something for a dollar, but it's not called "buying" a dollar). Therefore the only meaningful price atributable to a dollar would be the price paid by the Treasury Department to manufacture it, i.e. $0.04.

Thus we have the profit of buying the book at -$1, plus half the price of the dollar at $0.02, for a total profit of $-0.98, or a total cost of $0.98.

Not correct but you're close.
Go for it, i see the potential in you.

[ƒ(x)]

I dont know if this already been posted but here it goes:


What is the Cost of a book that costs 1$ plus half of its price?

Well...lets see...

Case 1: as the question is worded, the book costs $2

Case 2: we take the question at face value and don't think about it too much, the book costs $1

Case 3: the book costs 1 dollar and is then marked up by 50%, the book costs $1.50

Case 4: because Cost is capitalized, it is obviously referring to the manufacturer's cost of making the book. Assuming that the manufacturer sells it at a 10% profit, the store then sells it again for a 10% profit, and we use the value from case 1, the book Costs about $1.65

Case 5: see goongyae's answer (http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3171447&postcount=15), i like it (but if you combine both parts, wouldn't the book end up costing either $0.52 or $1.52, depending on interpretation of the word "plus"?)

Case 6: we hire the professional detective from this thread (http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=477512), who then promptly investigates the matter and informs us that our initial value of $2 is correct

[Caracrist]

the Cost of a book that costs 1$ = 1$

[GodPlaysDice]

is it either 2.25 or 3.375 ? or something along those lines....like the number plus half of itself repeatedly? or it is either an infinite amount of $'s.


or is it free???

[DaveC426913]

f(x)'s first case is correct.

Cost of the book is x. The question reads as cost of the book equals $1 plus half the cost of the book.

So: x=1+.5x


Thus: x=2