Mathematics

Virginia Parsons

5 December, 13:23

Mrs. Decker saw three witches land in a field where they found a pile of pumpkins and a ghost. They agree to sleep overnight in the field and divide up the pile of pumpkins in the morning. During the night, one witch wakes up, gives one pumpkin to the ghost, takes exactly 1/3 of the rest of the pumpkins and falls back asleep. Then second witch wakes up and does the same thing. Later, the third witch wakes up and does the same. In the morning there are fewer than 10 pumpkins left. They each take 1/3. How many pumpkins were there in the original pile?