Thread: Calculating how old Diophantus lived to be.

I do not understand the question. I think I should be using fractions to solve it but honestly I am clueless. Is this a real math question?

Vicky.


From the tombstone of Diophantus, a famous Greek mathmatician : "God granted him to be a boy for a sixth part of his life, and, adding a twelfth part to this, He clothed his cheeks with down. He lit him the light of wedlock after a seventh part, and five years after this marriage He granted him a son. Alas! late born wretched child - after attaining the measure of half his father's life chill Fate took him. After consoling his grief by his science of numbers for four more years, then did Diophantus end his life" Calculate how old Diophantus lived to be.

Originally Posted by Vicky1997

I do not understand the question. I think I should be using fractions to solve it but honestly I am clueless. Is this a real math question?

Vicky.


From the tombstone of Diophantus, a famous Greek mathmatician : "God granted him to be a boy for a sixth part of his life, and, adding a twelfth part to this, He clothed his cheeks with down. He lit him the light of wedlock after a seventh part, and five years after this marriage He granted him a son. Alas! late born wretched child - after attaining the measure of half his father's life chill Fate took him. After consoling his grief by his science of numbers for four more years, then did Diophantus end his life" Calculate how old Diophantus lived to be.

This is an interesting problem . I forgot where i read this .. perhaps somewhere on the net

Let his age be D

Diophantus's stages of life :

childhood life - 1/6D

His youth - 1/12 D

Before marriage - 1/7 D

After marriage before birth of child - 5

Child's age when child dies - 1/2 D

Mourn for another 4 years , before he dies .

So how old is this fella ?

D/6+D/12+D/7+5+D/2+4=D

Solve for D then .