Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

[JB]

Bassy has three vases in her living room. Each has the same number of blossoms.<br /><br />Bassy adds three fresh flowers to one vase, which now has two more that the average.<br /><br />How many were in each vase before she did that?<br /><br />(242)

 

[heycods]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

The same # of flowers, one of them didnt have a bloom?????

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

There were 10 in each vase. She added three to one which made the total 33. Average # is 11. The one she added three to now has 13. Two more than average.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

What Bassy has done is unfair. It just isn't right that one of the vases has two more than the average...all the vases should be equal. She should take some flowers away from any vase that has more then any of the others. If the flowers can't be divided equally amongst the vases, it is better that some flowers get destroyed.<br /><br />This just isn't fair. JB, do something!

 

[boling]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

Vases shold be put in different rooms to avoid vase envy. Bassy should have known better.

 

[JB]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

Well, I can't find a hole in Dave's answer.<br /><br />My answer was 6 in each vase (average 6). The three she added gave one 9 and raised the average to 7.<br /><br />I wonder if other numbers work, too.<br /><br />Lessee, if we started with, say, 8 in each vase the new number would be 11 and the new average would be 9.<br /><br />I guess it does work for many, if not all, numbers. Mensa screwed up!! <br /><br />Okay, Bassy. Which was it?<br /><br />(238)

 

[aspeck]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

1 in each vase. Adds 3 to one. Now the average is 2, but there is 4 in the one, so it has 2 more than the average. Yep, JB, works for any number.<br /><br />But I read it differently at first. If you add 3 to one, how many were in it originally that the new number is 2 more than the old average. Couldn't find an answer for that one.

 

[NOSLEEP]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

I'm with dogsdad, Bassy is exploiting the flowers.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Thursday Brainteaser: Bassy's blooms

Trying to trick us JB?<br /><br />Actually, there are an infinite number of answers as this works for any number other than 0.<br /><br />EDIT: oops, didn't read through the whole post before responding. Props to the people above who posted 'any number' (although we do need to exclude zero).<br /><br />Explaination: when you add 3 flowers to one vase you're increasing the average of the 3 vases by one. Since you added all 3 to one vase, it will always have 2 more than the new average.