Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (Wayside School 2.50)

“But me is part of we,” said Sue.

“No, me plus we is she,” Mrs. Jewls corrected her.

g

g

Sue stared blankly at the problem.

“Okay,” said Mrs. Jewls. “So how much is he plus we?”

g

g

Sue had no idea. She wondered what kind of stupid answer Mrs. Jewls would come up with.

“Sue,” said Mrs. Jewls.

g

g

“Hey, that’s me!” Sue exclaimed.

Mrs. Jewls sighed. She wondered if Sue would ever learn. The three above problems must be solved together. For example, whatever number h represents in the first problem, it must represent that number in each of the other two problems. The same is true for the other letters. Each letter represents a different number. What number does each letter represent?

g

e = ? h = ? m = ? s = ? u = ? w = ?

g

(CLUE Although it is easy to determine what numbers e and s represent, it doesn’t seem all that helpful. The key is figuring out what number m represents.)

PROBLEM 18

“All right, Sue,” said Mrs. Jewls. “This is your last chance. If you can’t answer this problem you’ll have to go back to your old school.”

“No, Mrs. Jewls,” pleaded Sue. “Don’t send me back there. You don’t know what it’s like.” Even though she was totally lost, she still liked Wayside School better than her old school.

“I’m sorry, Sue, but in order to stay you have to answer the next question correctly.”

“I’ll try,” said Sue. She concentrated extra hard.

“How much is moth plus took?” asked Mrs. Jewls.

Sue bit her lip. “Hmmmm,” she muttered.

“That’s right!” exclaimed Mrs. Jewls. “You did it! I’m so proud of you, Sue. Welcome to Wayside School.” She gave Sue a Tootsie Roll Pop from the coffee can on her desk.

g

g

h = ?llllk = ?llllm = ?llllo = ?llllt = ?

g