March 2023
Problem of the Month

Pie Eaters
by Rob Jarvik

Dennis can eat a pie in 6 minutes.
Diana can eat a pie in 12 minutes.
David can eat a pie in 14.639145073927682623334797247841 minutes.

If they share the same pie, how long will it take the three of them to scarf down the whole thing?
Show your work.

Solution to the Problem:

The answer is:

It would take them 3.14159 minutes (or pi minutes).

Dennis eats pies at the rate of 10 pies per hour.
Diana eats pies at the rate of 5 pies per hour.
David eats about 4.0986 pies per hour.

Let x = time in hours that it takes all three of them to eat the pie together.

So, 10x + 5x + 4.0986x = 1
19.0986x = 1
x = .052359858838 hours
To convert to minutes, multiply by 60:
60x = 3.14159153027 minutes.

Correctly solved by:

1. Colin (Yowie) Bowey	Beechworth, Victoria, Australia
2. K. Sengupta	Calcutta, India
3. Davit Banana	Istanbul, Turkey
4. Dr. Hari Kishan	D.N. College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
5. Alan Rench	Armstrong Creek, Wisconsin
6. Mrs. Painter's Honors Precalculus Class	Broome High School, Spartanburg, South Carolina
7. Ivy Joseph	Pune, Maharashtra, India

Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher