A one armed fisherman said it was THIS big.

[stanwilcock]

   The fish has a head 9 inches long. The tail is equal to the size of the head plus one half the size of the body. The body is the size of the head plus the tail. How long is the fish?

[delilahcat]

72 inches (head = 9, body = 36, tail = 27)

[brachiopod]

If h = 9 and

t = h + b/2 and

b = h + t

Then  b = 9 + (9 + b/2)

=> b = 18 + b/2

=> 2b = 36 + b

=> body = 36 in.

Therefore;

since b = h + t

=> t = b - h

=> tail = 36 - 9 = 27 in.

Therefore; Fish = h + b + t

= 9 + 36 + 27 = 72 in = 6 ft.

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(Do I get extra points for showing all my working? You had to "show all working" when I did O level maths !!)