(The title holds a clue)
12,22,30,36,40,42,42,40…
Here is a finite sequence. Can you tell me the sum of all of its numbers?
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2$\begingroup$ Why all the downvotes 😭😭😭 $\endgroup$– PDTCommented Dec 11, 2023 at 5:03
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$\begingroup$ Seems like it could be 364 but can it be that simple? $\endgroup$– pmacfarlaneCommented Dec 11, 2023 at 11:10
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$\begingroup$ Maybe that is why people are hating $\endgroup$– PDTCommented Dec 11, 2023 at 11:37
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2$\begingroup$ The real question is not so much what is the sequence and the sum, but what it represents. $\endgroup$– Florian FCommented Dec 11, 2023 at 13:49
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2 Answers
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I think the answer is (as mentioned in the comments)
364
And the sequence is what you would expect
12, 22, 30, 36, 40, 42, 42, 40, 36, 30, 22, 12
But what is this sequence?
This is the number of each present (see title) gifted in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. That is the "Partidge in a Pear Tree" is gifted once on each of the twelve days (making 12), the "Turtle Doves" are gifted twice on each of 11 days (making 22), the "French Hens" are gifted three times on 10 different days (making 30), etc.
answered Dec 11, 2023 at 11:45
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The answer could be:
364
because
From the starting number, you add 10, then 8, then 6... decreasing by 2 each time. Since it is a finite sequence, we might guess it ends back at 12.
12,22,30,36,40,42,42,40,36,30,22,12 sums to 364
