Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes/Problems/21 - De Campo et Ovibus in Eo Locandis
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Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes by Alcuin of York: Problem $21$
- De Campo et Ovibus in Eo Locandis
- Sheep in a Field
- There is a field $200$ feet long and $100$ feet wide.
- I want to put sheep in it, so that each sheep has $5$ feet by $4$.
- How many sheep can I put in there?
Solution
- $1000$.
Proof
We have that:
- $5$ goes into $200$ a total of $40$ times
- $4$ goes into $100$ also a total of $25$ times.
Thus we can put $40 \times 25 = 1000$ sheep into that field.
$\blacksquare$
Sources
- c. 800: Alcuin of York: Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes ... (previous) ... (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