Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

A rich merchant had collected many gold coins. He did not want anybody to know about them. One day, his wife asked, "How many gold coins do we have?" After pausing a moment, he replied, "Well! If I divide the coins into two unequal numbers, then 50 times the difference between the two numbers equals the difference between the squares of the two numbers." The wife looked puzzled. Can you help the merchant's wife by finding out how many gold coins they have?

  1. 40

  2. 60

  3. 55

  4. 50
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Let the two unequal numbers be a and b. The statement means 50(a-b) = a² - b². Factoring gives 50(a-b) = (a-b)(a+b). Since a ≠ b, divide both sides by (a-b) to get a + b = 50 coins. Options A (40), B (60), and C (55) are incorrect.

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