Behold the solution to Doctor E's Revenge #1. If you forgot the actual question, click here to see it again.

There were several correct ways to do this problem.  Here is one way to look at it.  Let n be the number of people in the band, and let p be each person's share of the meal.  Then we have:

np = 600

But two people skipped out!  So if we have two fewer people paying, and the price per person increases by $25, we still should wind up with $600

(n-2)(p+25) = 600

This is two equations with two unknowns.  We can use the first equation to say p = 600/n and get the quadratic

25(n^2)-50n-1200 = 0.

The positive solution to this quadratic is 8.  So there were originally 8 members, who each owed $75.

A word with three consecutive sets of double letters is "bookkeeper" or "bookkeeping."  This was the expected solution.  Past champion Heather Ernster found an interesting one:  "tattooee" (one who gets tattooed.)  The problem with words like "Mississippi" is that, although they have three sets of double letters, they are not consecutive.

You have just read the solution to Doctor E's Revenge #1.  Please feel free to email us your comments and feedback.  Why not try the current Doctor E's Revenge now?

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