Weed.:cool:

. .and then we need to know where the second brick is. (the moon?)

1.5 lbs +.75 brick

Damn, you must be old like me to remember that.:eek:

Why don't we just put the brick on a scale?

Seriously, the people who come up with stupid problems like this must think that the world exists simply to perform meaningless math. What about useful questions like "What kind of mileage is my car getting?" Or "Based solely on cost per oz, which jar of peanut butter should I buy?" Perhaps more useful at the college level, "Which pizza size provides the most food for the dollar?"

Aargh. This is why people don't use math -- because the s*** we teach in school has so little practical value.

No, it's because the general public doesn't think it's important, and doesn't put any importance on their offspring learning it. If our society on the whole stressed the importance of education and school...

I've learned plenty of math that's useful. I built a circular planter in my back yard. My wife wanted a minimum amount of sqft per so many different plants, and wanted a concentric circle in the middle of the outer circle, so I had to figure out the radius to make each circle to ensure that we had enough space for what she wanted to plant.

I can do math to figure out the camber or toe of my tires based on triangles.

I went to primarily public schools (except for the 5th grade through half of the 8th grade). I did go to some Dept of Def schools when my dad was stationed over seas. The key is that my parents stressed learning to me more than sports and drinking and fitting in and being cool which is what most kids think is important.

Fortunately, there are lots and lots of jobs out there that the average joe is suited for regardless of his/her level of education, so we need lots of those folks to fill those jobs. (not that everyone in an average job is average either, just speaking generally. There are average folks almost everyplace, and there are exceptional folks absolutely every where.)

you guys have bricks for brains, wasting your time on this stupid question... first of all, the question can be interpreted several different ways and/or it doesn't make any sense.

I can't even believe I'm posting here..

Now those are useful problems. How many stones do you need to make the circular planter the right size for 3 different kinds of plants that each require different amounts of dirt? That's useful. So's trig -- I find I use trig in more home and auto projects than almost anything else.

My point is that there's a lot of useful math out there -- way too much good material to waste time doing junk like "A brick weighs 1lb plus half a brick..." The same argument goes for reading -- why do we read "Tess of the Durbevilles," (answer: because it has historical significance in terms of the history of the novel, blech) which is dry enough to turn off even the most avid reader? There's so much good material out there, but we waste our time on awful boring stuff. (Disclaimer: I love reading -- despite years in public schools, I still read every day, for pleasure.)

I won't under-stress the importance of good parenting in the education process, though. If parents are lackadaisical, I don't believe the best school can fix the problem. But what do I know -- I don't have any kids, and I've only been one once. :)

No kids here either. Still partly one myself. I read OT for a balance of entertainment and education (not a 50/50 balance in my opinion).

Why the anger?

Is the answer 2.25 #'s or 36oz's?

1=16 and 1/2=8 or 24 oz's x 1.5 = 36oz's /16oz = 2.25 pounds per brick.


KT

Play with this brick:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/games/bloxorz

I posted it in a new thread too. One of the better games I have played in a while, FWIW.

Best,

Kurt

3 lbs is the answer. 1 brick weighs 2 lbs.

If you have 1/2 of a brick and a 1 lb weight and the combined weight of the two is equal to the weight of 1 whole brick, it's self evident that one brick weighs 2 lbs.

Sure does, but surprisingly it frustrates a lot of people even when asked what 1 brick weighs to simplify the problem.

I got this from one of the engineers where I worked who passed it around to the other engineers and it drove all but a couple of them nuts for a while - even when asked what 1 brick weighs!

Lotta frustration and arm waving, then a lotta laughs when it became obvious how simple it is:)

The more I read it the more it seems the information is incomplete.

A brick could weigh anything. The only real data is this one pound that is added.


The only answer I see as TRUE is: ( unknown weight ) of brick plus 1.5 pounds.

x + 1.5 pounds


KT

Looking even more closely at the original question adds to the confusion.

Shouldn't it read: how much does 1 AND 1/2 bricks weigh?

Or even: how much does 1 1/2 bricks weigh? ( One half brick?)

It could mean either 1 and a half combined or just one half by itself, depending on how one interprets the poorly worded/punctuated sentence.

produce your formula to solve the problem, if you don't mind.


KT

But what is the value of said pizza if it is of such low quality as to make it uneatable?

x = 1 + x/2

multiply both sides by 2

2x = 2 + x

subtract x from both sides

2x - x = 2

2x - x = x therefore x = 2

1.5 multiplied by 2 lbs = 3 lbs

Come on. We're talking college students here and everyone knows that when you've drunk enough beer ANY pizza is edible.

Fini

OK, thank you. I see it...Finally :)

The brick can only wiegh 2#'s for the 1# weight to work in the answer.


KT