5 dogs can kill 5 rats in 5 minutes

[Misty P]

[squarebear]

Yes for one dog but the question setter said it takes 5 dogs 5 minutes to kill 5 rats not one dog, a minute to kill a rat.

[jno]

I rat per minute for 1 dog would be '5 dogs can kill 5 rats in 1 minute'.

So you've got out of the ratting business yourself?

[RATTER15]

It makes perfect sense to me, 5 dogs kill 5 rats in 5 minutes ratio of 1 rat per dog per minute!

[LoftyLottie]

My head hurts!

[squarebear]

That's not a ratio of 1 dog, a minute to kill a rat.

If each dog only had one rat to kill and it took him a minute. Do the others just stand around waiting for him to finish before they kill theirs? That's the only way it would take them all 5 minutes.

[dr b]

"Something" kills 5 rats in 5 minutes. Therefore "Something" kills one rat per minute, and so it will take "something" 100 minutes to kill 100 rats.

Now, whether "something" is 5 dogs, 10 dogs, a large brick, or whatever, the "something" does not change.

[RATTER15]

So Dr b, are you agreeing with me or them lol

[squarebear]

He is agreeing with us. Imagine the question said "a team of dogs" can kill 5 rats in 5 minutes. This team kills one rat per minute. It will take the team 100 minutes to kill 100 rats.

[LoftyLottie]

Dr B has made sense of it to me! :o)

[kawakiri]

They are working for the council one dog does the killing the other 4 watch.

[dr b]

Yes, squarebear and I agree. The question uses '5 dogs' to try to mislead, but as sb points out if it said 'a team of dogs' the answer would be obvious.

[hc4361]

It takes each dog 5 minutes to kill 1 rat. That means 5 dogs kill 5 rats in five minutes.
If each dog could kill 1 rat in 1 minute, 5 dogs would kill 25 rats in five minutes.

drb - 5 dogs are not 'something'. They are 5 units, not 1.

[RATTER15]

ok, but I stick by my theory of one dog per rat per minute, it just doesnt suit the outcome of the riddle. Oh well.

and in reality 1 rat would actually be killed in a few seconds.

[dr b]

these are really, really quick rats.

[squarebear]

The whole point of this riddle is to mislead. Looks like it has worked. The answer though is definitely 5 dogs.

[RATTER15]

Does anybody agree with my theory though?

[squarebear]

Ratter - how many minutes would it take 5 dogs to kill 5 rats?

[dr b]

If one dog kills one rat per one minute, then 5 dogs would kill 5 rats in one minute.

[RATTER15]

in reality a few seconds.

I understand what you are saying but the riddles has an equation of 1 rat per1 dog per 1 minute or 5 rats per 5 dogs per 5 minutes.

[squarebear]

Exactly, but it takes them 5 minutes to kill 5 rats, not one minute.

That's a rate of one rat per minute, so the same 5 dogs will kill 100 rats in 100 minutes.