The Rainy Book Sale: Entry Time, Book Limit, and Cash Only
The Northfield Library Friends group has posted this notice in the entrance hall. The Saturday Book Sale runs from 10:00 to 15:00 in the second-floor meeting room. Members of the Friends group may enter at 9:30; everyone else waits until 10:00. Shoppers should bring their own bags because the library has no boxes this year, and each person may take a maximum of 20 books. Paperbacks cost 100 yen, hardbacks 200 yen, children's books 50 yen, and old magazines are free, up to 10 per person. The library accepts cash only. If it rains, the sale moves to the basement, and the entrance is on King Street, not the main door. Kenji is not a Friends member. He wants to buy 22 children's books for his reading club, he plans to arrive at 9:45, he has a 1,000-yen note and a debit card, and the forecast says heavy rain all morning.
1. At what time can Kenji enter the sale, and through which entrance? Explain which parts of the notice decide your answer.
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Kenji cannot enter at 9:45. The notice gives the 9:30 entry only to Friends members, and it says everyone else waits until 10:00. Kenji is not a member, so his entry time is 10:00.
The rain changes the place, not the time. In rain the sale is in the basement, and the entrance is on King Street rather than the main door. So the correct plan is: King Street entrance, 10:00.
The trap here is reading '9:30' as the general opening time. The notice splits the times by group, and Kenji belongs to the second group.
2. Kenji's plan has two problems with the books and one with payment. Identify all three and suggest the smallest change that lets him get what he needs.
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Book problems
- He wants 22 children's books, but the limit is 20 books per person. That is a rule, not a suggestion.
- The notice fixes the price, not the stock. There is no promise that 22 copies of the titles he wants will be on the table, so he needs a back-up plan.
Payment problem
- Children's books are 50 yen each, so 20 books cost exactly 1,000 yen. His note covers it, but the library takes cash only, so his debit card cannot be used. He must also keep enough cash for the bus home.
Smallest fix Arrive at 10:00 at the King Street entrance, take 20 books, and pay 1,000 yen in cash. Ask a friend to come and take the other two books, or ask the library whether two copies can be held for him. A card will not solve anything, and arriving early will only make him wait.