A garden snail attempts to scale a vertical 30-foot garden trellis. Each daylight period it crawls upward 3 feet, but each night it slips downward 2 feet while resting. On which day will the snail finally reach the very top of the trellis?
Day 28
The snail gains a net 1 foot per 24-hour cycle. At the end of Day 27 (after slipping that night), it sits at 27 feet. On Day 28, it climbs 3 feet to hit the 30-foot top before slipping.
About this riddle
Math riddles hide a calculation inside a short story. Pull out the numbers, work out what is being asked, and watch for a trick such as a unit change.
Difficulty: Medium. More like this: Math riddles with answers or try Target 24 for a different kind of puzzle.
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