Last week, I travelled from London to Stoke.
On the first day, I travelled one half of the distance.
On day two, I travelled one third of the remaining distance.
On day three, I travelled three quarters of the remaining distance.
Yesterday I travelled one half of the remaining distance.
I now have 5 miles left to travel.
How far is it from Stoke to London in total?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Try working backwards.
Answer
120 miles.
Reasoning
I now have 5 miles left to travel, so I must have travelled 5 miles yesterday.
At the end of Day 3, I had 10 miles left to travel, so I must have had 40 miles left at the start of the Day 3.
At the end of Day 2, I had 40 miles left to travel, so I must have had 60 miles left at the start of the Day 2.
At the end of Day 1, I had 60 miles left to travel, so I must have had 120 miles left at the start of the Day 1.
Double-Checking
On the Day 1, I travelled 60 miles, leaving 60 miles.
On Day 2, I travelled 20 miles, leaving 40 miles.
On Day 3, I travelled 30 miles, leaving 10 miles.
Yesterday, I travelled 5 miles, leaving 5 miles.
