Three students checked into a hotel and paid the clerk $30 for a room ($10 each). When the hotel manager returned, he noticed that the clerk had incorrectly charged $30 instead of $25 for the room. The manager told the clerk to return $5 to the students. The clerk, knowing that the students would not be able to divide $5 evenly, decided to keep $2 and to give them only $3.
The students were very happy because they paid only $27 for the room ($9 each). However, if they paid $27 and the clerk kept $2, that adds up to $29. What happened to the other Dollar?
Answer:
There is a saying that you cannot add apples and oranges. If you have 3 apples and 2 oranges do you have 5 apples? No. Do you have 5 oranges? No. You have five fruits, but the number of apples and oranges has not changed. Similarly, you cannot add real money and “what they think they paid”.
When we count only real money, the students have $3, the clerk has $2, and the manager has $25. That is $30 total.
| Accounting of Real Money | ||
|---|---|---|
| Before | After | |
| Student #1 | $10.00 | $1.00 |
| Student #2 | $10.00 | $1.00 |
| Student #3 | $10.00 | $1.00 |
| Clerk | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| Manager | $0.00 | $25.00 |
| Total | $30.00 | $30.00 |
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