Image there is a large table, and there are 12 people sitting around it. Why 12 people? Because LCM (2, 3, 4)=12.Thus for each table like this, there are 12/2=6 dishes for rice, 12/3=4 dishes for broth, and 12/4=3 dishes for meat. Therefore there are 6+4+3=13 dishes on this table. Totally there are 65 dishes. Then 65/13=5 tables are needed, and thus 5*12=60 guests attend the dinner.
What is interesting is that the most common solutions online is to consider the dish-person rate, i.e., how many dish (es) does ONE guest use. Since 2 persons share a rice dish, ONE person uses 1/2 dish. Similarly, 1/3 dish/person for broth, and 1/4 dish for meat. Thus a guest uses 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 = 1/3 + 3/4 = 13/12 dish/person. Since there are 65 dishes total, there are 65 / (13/12) = 60 guests.
It might be helpful if students understand the cultural background that, when dining, Chinese people sit around a table (roughly 8-12 persons/table), and share cuisines that are put in the middle of the table. They use chopsticks to move the food they want to individual plates. This "shared cuisine" then creates the concept of 1/2 dish/person.
No comments:
Post a Comment