The Question

Here is a question from a math problem that I found in an old jacket that I used to wear. (In fact it was a Hawks jacket. I was probably the only one in central NJ with one back in 1995 but anyway.)


8. Ingrid takes 4 clients to dinner. the check amounts to $160. She wishes to leave a tip of %15. To find this amount, Ingrid computes %10 of the check. She then takes half of that number. She adds the two numbers.

A. Use a calculator to compute %15 of the check.
B. Compute the tip using Ingrid's method.
C. Compare the answers to A and B and explain why they are the same of different.

(Here is the answer I gave.)

A and B are the same because if you take the two answers and you average them in a combination that can really blow your mind. If you take A and put it to Charles theory you will find that you will get a completely wrong answer. Although there is no Charles Theory I am just proving a point. A is a complicated question. It seems that numbers are numbers and there are so many numbers in the numerical system that if we kept counting we would die before getting to the last number. B is one of the hardest questions in the whole number system.


Hence the reason why I was a terrible math student. Oddly enough I use Ingid's method when computing a tip at a restaurant which I guess in an odd way is me learning something all those years ago. And so the answer to A is $24. B is $24 and they are the same. My only problem is they are different because the methods used to determine %15 of $160 are figured through different means. Sure that's not what the question is asking but it is possible that question C is the very reason why I gave the answer that I did.