More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (Wayside School 2.60)

Chapter 13

Strange Facts

(In each of the following problems you will be given a set of facts. You are to accept those facts as true, even if you think they’re preposterous.

You will then be asked to come up with a conclusion based on those facts.

There are no clues or hints for this set of problems.)

PROBLEM 44

Facts:

1. All the girls in Mrs. Jewls’s class like unicorns.

2. All the boys in Mrs. Jewls’s class like spaghetti.

g

Based on those two facts, which of the following conclusions must be true? (There may be more than one.)

a: Jenny likes spaghetti.

b: Rondi likes unicorns.

c: Myron doesn’t like unicorns.

d: Kathy hates unicorns.

PROBLEM 45

Using the same facts as in problem 44, Which of those four conclusions must be false? (There may be more than one.)

PROBLEM 46

Facts:

1. Dana’s hair is longer than Joe’s hair.

2. Joe has more hairs on his head than Dana.

3. John’s hair is shorter than Joe’s.

4. Dana has more hairs on her head than John.

5. All of Joe’s, John’s, and Dana’s hairs are exactly the same thickness. In other words, if you plucked a hair from each of their heads, and cut each hair to the same length, the three hairs would all weigh the same.

(If the hairs are not cut, then one of Dana’s hairs will weigh more than one of Joe’s hairs because Dana’s hairs are longer.)

g

(You might think a single hair doesn’t weigh anything, but imagine if you had a million hairs piled on a scale. That would certainly weigh something. Therefore each individual hair has to have some weight to it.)

g

Based on those facts, which of the following conclusions must be true? (There may be more than one.)

a: John has more hairs than Joe.