Alcuin of York developed a series of mathematical problems for his students. Many of these remain and are collected in the document entitled: Propositiones ad acuendos juvenes or Problems to sharpen the young. This collection contains 56 problems, many of which have similar structure, along with corresponding answers. These problems are presented by Hadley and Singmaster [1]. I thought it would be fun and educational to post some problems from time to time. I'll modify them slightly for the audience.
Problem 5: The merchant and 100 dollars
A merchant wanted to buy 100 pigs for 100 dollars. A boar cost 10 dollars, a sow cost 5 dollars, and a pair of piglets cost a dollar. How many of each did the merchant buy?
Answer will be posted tomorrow.
[1] Hadley, J. and Singmaster, D. "Problems to Sharpen the Young", The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 76, No. 475, The Use of the History of Mathematics in the Teaching of Mathematics (Mar., 1992), pp. 102-126
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