Wednesday, 3 December 2014

The Mathematical Shepherd



            Shepherd Gopal had a curious aptitude for mathematics and he was known around where he lived as the ‘Counting Shepherd’.

            A man passing through the meadow one day saw Gopal grazing a number of sheep and in the course of a short conversation asked him how many of the grazing sheep were his own. Gopal’s reply absolutely baffled him, which was as follows: 

            If you divide my sheep into two different parts the difference between the two numbers will be the same as the difference between their squares. Now figure it out for yourself the number of sheep I own.’

           Can you say just how many sheep Gopal had?

Answer: Shepherd Gopal had one sheep only.

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