Problem:IOL/2003/i1/en

IOL 2003 Problem #2 Egyptian Arabic
Below you see arithmetic equalities written in Egyptian Arabic. All summands, as well as all sums except the last one, are represented as fractions in which neither the numerators nor the denominators are greater than 10, nor is any denominator equal to 1:

(1) tumn + tumnēn = talatt itmān (2) sabaʕt itlāt + suds = ʕašart irbāʕ (3) tusʕēn + tusʕ = sudsēn (4) xamast ixmās + subʕ = tamant isbāʕ (5) subʕēn + xumsēn = $$\frac{24}{35}$$

(a) Write these equalities in figures.

(b) The equality rubʕ + ʕašart itsāʕ = sabaʕt isdās  is missing a sign. Which one?

⚠ The letter š is pronounced as English sh, x as the ch in loch; ʕ is a specific Arabic consonant. A bar above a vowel indicates length.

—Ivan Derzhanski