Interesting Riddle
 

Yeah I think I got it wrong the first time around.

Let's see how fast one of you geniuses can get it.

Fred brings home 100 pounds of potatoes, which (being purely mathematical potatoes) consist of 99 percent water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98 percent water. What is their new weight?

Did it rain last night?

How many potatoes did the raccoons eat?

99 percent by weight or by volume or by molecular count?

1 lb = 2% of x = 50 lbs

I’ll bite..

99.00 pounds


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51 lbs

They are potatoes, not avogadros.:D

Seconded

100x98/99=98.98989898

Doh. I see it now...


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by volume would change the math and I think that's the trick in the question

Are these potatoes going to be cargo on a plane on a conveyor belt?

i get 50lbs as well, havent given it a ton of thought though. Just wrote out the equations

African or European potato's?

None....because they had Blue Heelers......:p

https://www.militariapress.com/mm5/g...00001/9-19.gif

Irrelevant- since x= potato cannon

Potato = 99% water, 1% starch

1 lb Starch = 1%, total = 100 lbs --> (99 lbs Water)
1 lb Starch = 2%, total = 50 lbs --> (48 lbs Water)
Delta Water, 51 lbs

Still 1 pound.

I think you need 49 lbs of water, plus 1 lbs of starch to get 50 lbs.

98% water is 49 lbs of water and 1 lbs of starch, total new weight is 50 lbs.

1/50th is 2%...water is 98%...

If they lost that much weight overnight, they were some pretty ****ty potatoes...

I suspect foul play, or a herd of raccoons.

What is their new weight?

99 lb.

typo, yes, 49lbs, so 50 lbs water loss

That was my initial thought as well without working out much more than they lost 1% of their water volume and they are 98% water so 1% = 0.99 lbs.

Am I missing something here?

Yes, the math behind it. In your scenario there's 98 lbs of water, 1 lbs of potato.

That's 98.98% water. (98 divided by 99)

To get to 98% water you need 1 lb of potato and 49 lbs of water... (49 divided by 50)

I read it this way.

The mathematical potatoes, which are not actual potatoes, are composed of 99% water. When left out overnight they were then composed of 98% water or 1% less water then the day before.

1% of 99% = 0.99 rounding off.

The first part is correct. The math after that is not. That method would work if the mass of the potato changed also.

evening
water / (water + solids) = .99
water + solids = 100 lbs
Solids = 1 lb
water = 99 lbs

Morning
Assumption solids are conserved (1st low of Idahodynamics)
Solids =1 lb
Water + solids = ?
water/(water+solids) = .98
water = 49 lbs

Therefor ? = 50.0 Lbs

Potatoes weight 100 lb on the scale....of that 99lbs is water 1 lb other stuff. = 100lb
Tomorrow you come out and find shriveled up potatoes???? I don't think so...

Today your Potatoes are 97 lbs.

What is the potatoes grew sprouts. Would they weigh or less than the original potatoes?

You guys are turning a riddle into a math problem. New weight same as the old weight, just less % of water.

Yup, me too.

I now concur with Redbeard and c4s.

1 lb. Of water = 7 lbs. So 93 lbs total.

1 lb. Of water = 7 lbs ????:eek::eek:

But a pound of potatoes has to weigh more than a pound of water.

I had some french fries for lunch.

Approximately, 99lb

Mathematical Potatos
P is Potatos
W is water
T is Taters (the part not water.)

Given P = T + W = 100lb where W = 99T
Find Px where Wx = 98T

T + 99T = 100
T ( 1 + 99) = 100
T = 1 lb

T + Wx = Px
T + 98T = Px
1 + 98 = Px
99 = Px

Mathematically

The potatoes start out as 1 pound of solids and 99 pounds of water. 99/100 = 99% water.

The one pound of solids become 2% of what? 1/50 = 2%. 49/100 = 98% water. 49 + 1 = 50 pounds.