Is the 6th grade problem about lions trying to survive related to inductive methods in Mathematics giving you a hard time?
Induction is a very important method in Mathematics. We apply this method through the following fun problem:
Twenty lions in a cage. Their favorite food is sheep. However, the lions know that any lion that eats a sheep will be sleepy and at risk of being eaten by another nearby lion.
A lion that eats another lion will also be sleepy and at risk of being eaten. A sheep is brought into the barn. Every lion wants to eat it, but will only do so if they are sure that they will not be eaten. What will happen to the sheep?
Note that, if the sheep is eaten, it will only be eaten by one lion, and not shared with the entire flock. The lions in the cage are all very intelligent and they always act in their best interests.
Photo: reneeduke
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Vo Quoc Ba Can
Math teacher, Achirmedes Academy, Hanoi
