Question

Consider the following story:

Three men walk into a hotel and ask to share a room. The cost is going to be $270 for
the night. Each man puts in a $100 bill and they get 3 $10 bills in change. The bell boy
carries their luggage and they each decide to be generous and tip the bell boy their change.
The front desk realizes they miss-charged the men, so the bell boy takes a $20 bill change to
the room. The men realize that you can’t split the $20 bill evenly 3 ways so they add it onto
the tip. The bell boy is happy but then thinks to himself: ”If the room is $270 and they had
this extra $20 that’s only $290, where did the other $10 go?”
Explain what is wrong with the Bell Boy’s thoughts, and what is the correct math here.

Answer 1

Explanation:

The bell boy added $270 and $20 incorrectly. The $20 bill was something that was returned due to overcharching. On the other hand, $270 was the amount that they paid for their room. This only means that $20 should be deducted from $270 and that's the amount that they paid for their room while $30 and $20 are the amount that the bell boy received as a tip

Total money of the three men: 3($100) = $300

They paid $270 for the room: $300 - $270 = $30

Tip for the bell boy: $30 - $30 = $0

Amount overcharged to them: $0 + $20 = $20

Tip to the bell boy: $20 - $20 = $0

They were left with no more money from the original $300.