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Question

This is a math question I got for homework and is really confusing! Please answer and explain how to answer this question. Here is my question.   

 

 

  Mary has more that just Silver Bells and Cockie Shells shes growing cabbages bean corn beets lettuce and tomatoes Shes arranged her nine plants in eight rows with 3 plants in each row Whats her cabbage patch look like

Answer 1

She has nine plants.

There are eight rows.

Each row has three plants.

 

This is a trick question.  Obviously, if there are eight rows of three plants, there would have to be 24 plants to make eight normal parallel rows.  

 

So, the rows are not parallel. We have to arrange the nine plants so as to make eight different ways that there are three in a row.  (The names of the plants are distractors here, so we'll ignore them.)

 

With ten plants in ten rows of 4, you would make a five pointed star shape.  How can we do it with 9 plants in eight rows?

 

Okay, I figured out the answer.  You could make up to NINE rows of 3 plants with 9 plants using geometric tricks, but they're not needed here. 

 

It's just realizing to count every different direction that you can find a row (or column) of three plants, left-right, up-down, or diagonally.

 

Make the simplest layout you can with 9 plants -- 9 being the key here -- and then look for and count any set of three plants in a row in any direction. 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer 2

Bells  Shells  Cabbage  Bean  Corn  Beets  Lettuce  Tomatoes

Bells  Shells  Cabbage  Bean  Corn  Beets  Lettuce  Tomatoes

Bells  Shells  Cabbage  Bean  Corn  Beets  Lettuce  Tomatoes