How many cats were sitting on the roof if they had 10 more paws than ears? - briefly
Cats typically have 4 paws and 2 ears. If the cats on the roof had 10 more paws than ears, this scenario is impossible under normal circumstances, as the number of paws and ears per cat should be equal. Therefore, no cats could be sitting on the roof under these conditions.
How many cats were sitting on the roof if they had 10 more paws than ears? - in detail
Determining the number of cats sitting on a roof given that they had 10 more paws than ears involves a logical deduction based on the biological facts about cats. Cats typically have four paws and two ears. Therefore, each cat contributes four paws and two ears to the total count.
To solve this, let's denote the number of cats as ( n ). Each cat has 4 paws and 2 ears. Thus, the total number of paws is ( 4n ) and the total number of ears is ( 2n ). According to the given condition, the number of paws exceeds the number of ears by 10. This can be expressed as: [ 4n = 2n + 10 ]
Solving for ( n ): [ 4n - 2n = 10 ] [ 2n = 10 ] [ n = 5 ]
Therefore, there were 5 cats sitting on the roof. This conclusion is derived from the basic biological attributes of cats and the given condition about the disparity between the number of paws and ears. The logic is straightforward: by equating the difference in the number of paws and ears to 10, we can solve for the number of cats, confirming that 5 cats would satisfy the condition.