Today from Bedtime Math: Good Moo-sic

We all like different music from each other. You and your friend might like some of the same songs, but not every song, and your parents definitely don’t like all the same songs as you. So what about cows: do cows all like the same music? And is there one kind they like best? Scientists studied this a few years ago by playing different songs for cows to see if the cows made more milk during certain songs. They found that when listening to songs with fewer than 100 beats a minute – maybe about 1 beat per second – the cows gave 3% more milk: in the time the farmers normally got 100 cups from them, they now got an extra 3 cups. Even though people have been studying this since the 1930′s, no one’s sure whether music really makes cows make more milk – or more importantly, whether the milk tastes better.

Now here's today's math~

Wee ones: If this picture shows 6 cows and 9 women playing music for them, were there more people or cows in the barn?

Little kids: The article lists 6 songs that the cows liked best, all by different singers. If one was by Aretha Franklin, how many other singers made the list with her?  Bonus: If the cows heard 10 other songs that never made the list, how many songs did they hear in total?

Big kids: If 50 cows listened to the music and half of them made more milk, for how many cows did the test work?  Bonus: If the half that made more milk made 3 cups each and the rest made 2 cups each, how much milk did the farmer get?

Answers:
Wee ones: More women than cows.

Little kids: 5 other cow singers.  Bonus: 16 songs.

Big kids: 25 cows.  Bonus: 125 cups – 75 cups from the happy music cows, and 50 from the other 25 cows.