Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes/Problems/1 - De Limace
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Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes by Alcuin of York: Problem $1$
- De Limace
- A Slug
- A leech invited a slug for lunch a leuca away.
- But he could only walk an inch a day.
- How many days will he have to walk for his meal?
Solution
(This does not take into account leap years, as it assumes a year of strictly $365$ days.)
Proof
It is understood that there are:
Hence there are $90 \, 000$ inches to a leuca.
Thus at $1$ inch per day, it will take the slug $90 \, 000$ days to arrive for his meal.
$\blacksquare$
Sources
- c. 800: Alcuin of York: Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes ... (next)
- 1992: John Hadley/2 and David Singmaster: Problems to Sharpen the Young (Math. Gazette Vol. 76, no. 475: pp. 102 – 126) www.jstor.org/stable/3620384