Hobart town
Two years ago to Hobart-town
A certain number of folk came down
The square root of half of them got married
And then in Hobart no longer tarried
Eight-ninths of all went away as well
(This is a sad story to tell)
The square root of four now live here in woe!
How many came here two years ago? Note: Eight-ninths of all refers to eight ninths of the original number
Sources: Brandreth, Gyles (1981) The Puzzle Mountain Level 35 Number Classics, Page 70 Question 8
The answer is 72.
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1 solution
N-√(N/2)-(8N/9)=2
Put √N=x and solve simple quadratic to get N=72