A PUZZLING LEGACY.
(
Money Puzzles)
A man left a hundred acres of land to be divided among his three
sons--Alfred, Benjamin, and Charles--in the proportion of one-third,
one-fourth, and one-fifth respectively. But Charles died. How was the
land to be divided fairly between Alfred and Benjamin?
Answer:
As the share of Charles falls in through his death, we have merely to
divide the whole hundred acres between Alfred and Benjamin in the
proportion of one-third to one-fourth--that is in the proportion of
four-twelfths to three-twelfths, which is the same as four to three.
Therefore Alfred takes four-sevenths of the hundred acres and Benjamin
three-sevenths.
