02 Oct 05 21:33, DAVID WILLIAMS wrote to All:

 DW> My stepson, who is in Grade 7, got the following question in his math
 DW> homework:

 DW> "Three circles are drawn on a flat surface. Each circle encloses an
 DW> area of 20 cm^2. They overlap so that the total area that is enclosed
 DW> by one or more circles is 36 cm^2. The area that is enclosed by all
 DW> three circles is 3 cm^2. What is the total area that is enclosed by
 DW> exactly two circles?"

 DW> (I've probably changed the wording a bit, but the sense should be
 DW> clear.)

 DW> The more I play with it, the more interesting it gets. Any thoughts
 DW> about it, from anyone, would be welcome.

Like all word problems in math, most of the information is misleading
and isn't needed to solve the problem. There's no complicated mathematical
solution for this one, save for two plus two and simple deduction.

The question is; "What is the total area that is enclosed by exactly two
circles?"

Each circle 'encloses' 20cm^2, so the exact 'enclosed' area of two circles
is 40cm^2 - keywords are, 'exactly two circles'

One has to wonder if the answer would include the overlap of any two
circles, as the question seems to be evasive.

Let us know what the teacher says the answer is.

Roy

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