The King's gift
A noble on the planet VZIGS invented a new game involving a 9 by 11 board of squares. The King greatly enjoyed playing when it was shown to him and asked the noble what he wanted as a reward.
"I would like 1 mug of ale for the first square, 2 for the second square, 3 for the third square, and so on for every square on the board," the noble replied.
The King, an able mathematician, quickly worked out the number of mugs required. "Deal. It would be easier for me to give you the ale in barrels."
The noble, an equally adept mathematician, nodded. "Each barrel can hold 150 mugs' worth of ale."
How many barrels of ale did the King supply as his gift?
The answer is 33.
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1 solution
The number of mugs of ale is 1 + 2 + 3... + 99. This is equal to 50 * 99 = 4950.
To covert this to barrels, divide by 150: 4950/150 = 33 barrels.