1. ## Ox and Sheep

Two drovers hired a pasture together for $7. The first put in 4 oxen and the second, thirty sheep. What should each pay if one ox eats as much as ten sheep? 2. Originally Posted by aznmartinjai Two drovers hired a pasture together for$7. The first put in 4 oxen and the second, thirty sheep. What should each pay if one ox eats as much as ten sheep?
one ox eats as much as ten sheep, that means four oxen will eat as much as forty sheep.

so the oxen are consuming a ratio 4/7, while the sheep consume 3/7
(okay, so technically this sentence makes no sense, but i think you get what i'm trying to say)

so the owner of the oxen should pay $(4/7)*7 =$4
while the owner of the sheep pays $(3/7)*7 =$3

3. Hello, aznmartinjai!

Here's a baby-talk explanation of Jhevon's excellent solution.

Two drovers hired a pasture together for \$7.
The first put in 4 oxen and the second, thirty sheep.
What should each pay if one ox eats as much as ten sheep?

The livestock is distributed like this:
Code:
      *--------------*--------------*
|              |              |
|    4  oxen   |   30 sheep   |
|              |              |
*--------------*--------------*

Since one ox eats eats as much as ten sheep,
. . the distribution is equivalent to:
Code:
      *--------------*--------------*
|              |              |
|   40 sheep   |   30 sheep   |
|              |              |
*--------------*--------------*

And that's where Jhevon got the 4/7 and 3/7