The Missing Dollar Paradox

Three ladies go to a restaurant for a meal. They receive a bill for $30. They each put $10 on the table, which the waiter collects and takes to the till. The cashier informs the waiter that the bill should only have been for $25 and returns $5 to the waiter in single dollar bills. On the way back to the table the waiter realizes that he cannot divide the bills equally among the ladies.

Since they don’t know the total of the revised bill, he decides to put $2 in his own pocket and give each of the ladies $1.

Now, each of the ladies paid $9. Three times 9 is $27. The waiter has $2 in his pocket. Two plus 27 is $29. The ladies originally handed over $30.

Where is the missing dollar?

EXERCISE SPECIFICS

1. As a Reply to this page, write a brief and clear explanation for the “missing dollar.”
2. Feel free to consult with your classmates.
3. Complete your work by the end of class today.