I was thinking about that old nursery rhyme, "I Met a Man on the Way to St. Ives":
As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Every wife had seven sacks
Every sack had seven cats
Every cat had seven kittens
Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives
How many were going to St Ives?
Okay, I KNOW that the answer to the riddle is "1". But I really want to figure out how many "Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives"! How can I get the answer using an algebraic equation? (I thought it may have been a geometric sequence equation, but it just wasn't so.)
As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Every wife had seven sacks
Every sack had seven cats
Every cat had seven kittens
Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives
How many were going to St Ives?
Okay, I KNOW that the answer to the riddle is "1". But I really want to figure out how many "Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives"! How can I get the answer using an algebraic equation? (I thought it may have been a geometric sequence equation, but it just wasn't so.)