help

[sglazier]

On the tv show HELP last night there was a kind of maths puzzle which went something like: Three men have a meal in a restaurant, the waiter tells them the bill comes to 30 pounds. They each give a tenner and the waiter takes the money. Then the manager tells the waiter he has overcharged the men, the bill should have come to 25 pounds, and orders him to take the five pounds back. On the way back the waiter decides, as the men did not know they had been overcharged to keep 2 pounds for himself and give the men back one pound each. the men leave having paid 9 pounds each for their meals. Three 9's are 27, the waiter has kept 2 pounds for himself. what happened to the other pound?

[THECORBYLOON]

There's �30 in total. When the waiter paid out the �3, he kept �2 as a "tip" so the sum should be-

Correct Bill (�25) + refund (�3) + tip (�2) = �30. 

[sglazier]

ok its quite easy really, 25 divided by three is 8 and a third.. thats what they all paid if billed correctly. then add one pound each and multiply by three. add two. = 30 .

The way it was phrased just made it confusing fore thats all.

[tpfan]

but the problem is clearer like this

30 - 5 = 25   the correct bill

25 + 2  tip = 27  what they actually paid

  + 3 refund = 30

since the waiter's �2 is accounted for at step two, it shouldn't come into the sum again at the end - no missing pound.