easymath

If 3 cats can kill 3 rats in 3 minutes, how long will it take 100 cats to kill 100 rats?

It will take 3 minutes for 100 cats to kill 100 rats. 1 cat can kill 1 rat in 3 minutes, so 100 cats can kill 100 rats in 3 minutes.

Why this works

This riddle plays with the concept of rate and scaling. The information that "3 cats can kill 3 rats in 3 minutes" implies that each cat kills one rat in that timeframe. Therefore, if you have 100 cats, each cat is still working at the same rate, allowing them to collectively kill 100 rats in the same 3 minutes. The riddle cleverly leads you to think about the number of cats and rats, but since they scale evenly, the time remains constant!

Common Wrong Answers

“100 minutes”

This answer assumes that more cats means a longer time to kill the same number of rats, which is incorrect. The riddle shows that the rate of killing remains constant regardless of the number of cats.

“30 minutes”

This guess suggests that with more cats, the time increases proportionally. However, since all cats can work simultaneously, the time remains the same regardless of the number of cats.

“10 minutes”

This answer implies that the increased number of cats leads to a faster rate of killing, which is not the case in this scenario. The riddle clearly establishes that the killing rate per cat does not change.

More math riddles →More easy riddles →Browse all riddles →