If three cats chase three rats in three minutes, how many total minutes of chasing do they accumulate altogether?
27 minutes
There are 3 cats, and each cat chases for 3 minutes, giving 9 cat-minutes. But wait, if 3 cats and 3 rats are all active simultaneously for 3 minutes, that's 3 entities active for 3 minutes each, or 3 * 3 * 3 = 27 cumulative minutes of active pursuit if counted per pairing.
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: Hard. More like this: Math riddles with answers or try Target 24 for a different kind of puzzle.
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