Answer to February 2, 2004 Problem

The Locksmith Problem

 
Over the Christmas holidays, our granddaughter locked an interior door of a neighbor's home and after several unsuccessful hours of trying to unlock it, we called the local locksmith.

If the locksmith charged $9,626.09 per hour for the 23 seconds that it took for him to unlock the door, what was the amount of his bill (to the nearest cent)?

(Unfortunately, this is a true story)

 

Solution to the Problem:

The answer is $61.50.

Divide $9,626.09 by 3,600 seconds to determine the locksmith's rate per second -- $2.673913889 per second. Multiply this by 23 to determine the bill.

Note that at least nineteen of the forty-two correct answers came from students at the Brookstone School in Columbus, Georgia! Congratulations!


Correctly solved by:

1. Jeffrey Gaither Winchester, Virginia
2. David & Judy Dixon Bennettsville, South Carolina
3. Kristofer Friman Tullängsskolan, Sweden
4. Walt Arrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5. John Funk Ventura, California
6. Bill Funk San Antonio, Texas
7. Akash Patel Columbus, Georgia
8. Laura LaRusso Winchester, Virginia
9. Richard Johnson La Jolla, California
10. Viktor Bergqvist Tullängsskolan, Sweden
11. James Alarie University of Michigan -- Flint,
Flint, Michigan
12. Lindsay Hawkins Columbus, Georgia
13. Claire Doiron Columbus, Georgia
14. Kiki Grainger Columbus, Georgia
15. Keith Mealy Cincinnati, Ohio
16. Lara Gutjahr Winchester, Virginia
17. Lucy Flournoy Columbus, Georgia
18. Allen Page Columbus, Georgia
19. Kelly Morrow Columbus, Georgia
20. John Beasley Winchester, Virginia
21. Mac McDonald ----------
22. Dave Smith Toledo, Ohio
23. Andrew Marvets Columbus, Georgia
24. Zach Enumah Columbus, Georgia
25. Eweymae ----------
26. Billy Shaheen Columbus, Georgia
27. Saxton Sharad Columbus, Georgia
28. Martha Johnston Columbus, Georgia
29. Bkbees ----------
30. Shannon Bagshaw Winchester, Virginia
31. Britney Ford Winchester, Virginia
32. Mitchell Lane Columbus, Georgia
33. Patrick Mize Columbus, Georgia
34. Franklin Harcourt Columbus, Georgia
35. Kenan Kaya Tullängsskolan, Sweden
36. Christen Bartley Columbus, Georgia
37. Cady Ciuba Columbus, Georgia
38. Jo Monhollen Winchester, Virginia
39. Matthew Reames Roanoke, Virginia
40. Irene Mathieu Winchester, Virginia
41. Dick Norman Columbus, Georgia
42. Joo-Ri Lee Columbus, Georgia