This is a 5th grade math problem. If you can open the spreadsheet, you’ll see it’s a very small list of people who have gotten the correct number. This is not a trick question. This is a real math problem so don’t say that a bus has no legs.
There are 7 girls in a bus.
Each girl has 7 backpacks.
In each backpack, there are 7 big cats.
For every big cat there are 7 little cats.
Bus driver is not in the bus at this time.
Question: How many legs are there in the bus?
(The number of legs is the password to unlock the Excel sheet. If you open it, add your name and send it on to see who else can unlock it.)
(the Excel file is in the Box.net file sharing widget—if I can figure out how to put it there)
You Think Too Much! 
Clever! Really boils down to observation and understanding what it is actually asking.
798 legs?? haha I am guessin I didnt put to much thought into it! I just want to know the answer!!! hehe:)
I would say 42 since it doesn’t say rather or not the little cats are on the bus, but i am not sure were to plug the number in at. If the little cats are included it would be 70
14 girls legs, plus 49 backpacks, but no legs on the backpacks themselves. So far.. 14 plus…
That cats don’t have legs?
It doesn’t say rather or not the backpacks are on the bus, so really there isn’t enough information, to answer. You could assume the Backpacks are on the bus, but you could assume it isn’t either.
There are a total of 343 big cats in the 49 backpacks. They each have 4 legs making 1372 big cat legs on the bus. Plus the 14 girl’s legs. Plus….
It doesn’t say the little cats are in the backpack with the big cats nor does it say the backpacks are on the bus. as far as we know they girls could have left their back packs at school. My point is it isn’t exactly set up very well for a story problem, even a 5th grade story problem. Too many assumptions
Yes, but they are assumptions that every 5th grader would naturally make. Only a 35th grader 🙂 would see so many loopholes and difficulties in this problem.
Ok so I will agree with that, just because i read in a health study on cognitive ability that the older we get the better we will be able to answer story problems.
I got 10,990 legs, but is the joke just to see who would actually try to figure it out?
Answer: 10,990
If you just read each word in each sentence.
You should get the right answer.
Don’t think “outside the box” or “read between the lines” or make assumptions.
Its simple addition and multiplication.
EASY!
238 is what i think but i also just wanted to find out the answer