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People and horses (legs on the ground): Infer the number of horses from total legs counted. There are as many men as horses. Half of the owners (men) are mounted; the rest walk, leading their horses. Total legs on the ground counted = 70. Find how many horses there are. Choose the correct value.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: 14

Explanation:

Let
n = number of horses = number of men.

Count legs on the ground
Men walking = n/2 ⇒ human legs on ground = (n/2) × 2 = n. All horses have 4 legs on ground regardless of riders ⇒ horse legs = 4n. Total ground legs = n + 4n = 5n = 70.

Solve
5n = 70 ⇒ n = 14.

Common pitfalls
Subtracting legs for mounted horses; a mounted horse still contributes four legs on the ground.

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