Two sailors were marooned on an island. They worked all day collecting coconuts into a pile, which they decided they would share evenly the next morning. During the night, one sailor woke up and decided to collect his share. He made two equal piles, with one coconut left over, which he gave to a monkey in a nearby tree. He put his share away and left the remaining coconuts in a single pile. Later that night, the second sailor awoke and did the same thing, also giving one leftover coconut to the monkey in the tree. In the morning, the two sailors noticed the pile was smaller, but said nothing. They then divided what was left of the original pile equally, but found they had one coconut left over which they gave to the monkey. How many coconuts were in the original pile? Prove it. There are many answers. Find more. Can you classify all possible solutions?
Two sailors were marooned on an island. They worked all day collecting coconuts into a pile, which they decided they would share evenly the next morning. During the night, one sailor woke up and decided to collect his share. He made two equal piles, with one coconut left over, which he gave to a monkey in a nearby tree. He put his share away and left the remaining coconuts in a single pile. Later that night, the second sailor awoke and did the same thing, also giving one leftover coconut to the monkey in the tree. In the morning, the two sailors noticed the pile was smaller, but said nothing. They then divided what was left of the original pile equally, but found they had one coconut left over which they gave to the monkey.
How many coconuts were in the original pile? Prove it. There are many answers. Find more. Can you classify all possible solutions?
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