Problem of the Week - Middle School - April 4, 2021 to April 10, 2021

Middle School: 

Question: A Neanderthal hunting party caught between 20 and 30 animals. If a sixth of the animals were reindeer, a fourth of them were goats, a third of them were sheep, and the rest were rabbits, then how many rabbits did the Neanderthals catch? 

Answer: 6 rabbits

Solution: Since the animals can be divided into sixths, fourths, and thirds, we know that the total must be a multiple of 6, 4 and 3. The only number between 20 and 30 that is a multiple of 6, 4, and 3 is 24. If we subtract the reindeer (24 ÷ 6 = 4), the goats (24 ÷ 4 = 6), and the sheep (24 ÷ 3 = 8) sheep from the total, we find that the Neanderthals caught 24 – 18 = 6 rabbits.