Ali Baba had four sons, to whom he bequeathed his 39 camels,
with the proviso that the legacy be divided in the following
way :

The oldest son was to receive one half the property, the
next a quarter, the third an eighth and the youngest one
tenth. The four brothers were at a loss as how to divide the
inheritance among themselves without cutting up a camel,
until a stranger appeared upon the scene.

Dismounting from his camel, he asked if he might help, for
he knew just what to do. The brothers gratefully accepted
his offer.

Adding his own camel to Ali Baba's 39, he divided the 40 as
per the will. The oldest son received 20, the next 10, the
third 5 and the youngest 4. One camel remained : this was
his, which he mounted and rode away.

Scratching their heads in amazement, they started
calculating. The oldest thought : is not 20 greater than the
half of 39? Someone must have received less than his proper
share ! But each brother discovered that he had received
more than his due. How is it possible?

Answers were Sorted based on User's Feedback



Ali Baba had four sons, to whom he bequeathed his 39 camels, with the proviso that the legacy be di..

Answer / guest

They took their percentages from 40 and not from 39, so they
got more than their share.

The oldest son got 1/2 of 40 = 20 which is 0.5 more

The second son got 1/4 of 40 = 10 which is 0.25 more

The third son got 1/8 of 40 = 5 which is 0.125 more

The youngest son got 1/10 of 40 = 4 which is 0.1 more

And the stranger got 1/40 of 40 = 1 which is 0.025 more (As
he is not supposed to get anything)

All these fractions add to = 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.125 + 0.1 +
0.025 = 1 which stranger took away.

Is This Answer Correct ?    10 Yes 0 No

Ali Baba had four sons, to whom he bequeathed his 39 camels, with the proviso that the legacy be di..

Answer / srinivasa rao

The stranger added his camel to the existing 39 and the
count rose to 40.
they got share from 40 and they are always comparing their
share with 39 <40. Hence all the brothers feel they got
more than they deserve.

Is This Answer Correct ?    2 Yes 0 No

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