| Date |
Title |
First Line of Text ... |
| 11/22/2009 |
And Michael Jordan Shoots... |
This problem was found in an old workshop packet from the 1... |
| 11/15/2009 |
Call Math When You get a Chance |
Since last week's problem dealt with patterns on a phone ... |
| 11/8/2009 |
Using Cell Phones in a Mathematics Class |
Study a touchtone phone's keypad, such as the one shown.
... |
| 11/1/2009 |
Doing Magic With Polynomials |
Stu Dent has mastered a new trick. It goes as follows...
... |
| 10/25/2009 |
Who Has to Do the Dishes? [Part 2] |
Before investigating this problem, be sure that you have do... |
| 10/18/2009 |
Who Has to Do the Dishes? [Part 1] |
The Dent twins have a dilemma....they live together but nei... |
| 10/11/2009 |
Where Is Crypto, the Magic Dog, When You Need Him? |
Entry into a building is controlled by a combination lock... |
| 10/4/2009 |
Take a Number and Wait in Line |
You are standing in the rain trying to hail a taxi cab in... |
| 9/27/2009 |
Moving Beyond a Proverb |
The English have a proverb: A broken clock is right twice a... |
| 9/20/2009 |
Archimedes Could Solve This Problem! |
M.J. (Bellingham, WA) shared this problem with me this summ... |
| 9/13/2009 |
Request for Help Answered |
In the May 30th issue of MathNEXUS, I printed two e-mails... |
| 8/30/2009 |
Proposed Solutions to Posed Problems |
Spring issues of MathNEXUS included several nonstandard p... |
| 5/31/2009 |
Problem of the Problem of the Week |
In the past week, I have received two e-mails regarding b... |
| 5/24/2009 |
"Seeing" is the Key, Especially in the Sun |
After several number theoretic problems, it is necessary to... |
| 5/17/2009 |
Inflationary Sequence |
At a mathematics conference recently, I picked up an intere... |
| 5/10/2009 |
Tee Off With This Real Life Problem |
D.P. (Sedro-Woolley, WA) asks for help on this real-life pr... |
| 5/3/2009 |
A Power-Full Problem |
At a mathematics conference recently, I picked up an intere... |
| 4/26/2009 |
Two More "New" Problem Solving Opportunities |
I am passing on two more problem-solving opportunities sent... |
| 4/19/2009 |
Two Posed Problems Ready For Your Investigation.... |
I am passing on a problem-solving opportunity sent to me by... |
| 4/12/2009 |
Even an Odd Problem: Just Playing Around.... |
While walking the dogs one morning, a small little probl... |
| 3/29/2009 |
Squaring the Circle in the Kitchen |
Consider this claim called "Pan Arithmetic," t... |
| 3/22/2009 |
Lunch Bunch |
On the last school day in March, the cafeteria served lu... |
| 3/15/2009 |
Safe Safe Except for Mathematical Yeggs |
To open a safe, Stu Dent knows that the combination is t... |
| 3/8/2009 |
Loop d-Loop |
Make up a 3-digit number whose digits are all different. ... |
| 3/1/2009 |
Chicken Nuggets Are a Problem |
There's a famous fast-food restaurant you can go to, wher... |
| 2/22/2009 |
Location Location Location!...Makes Cents |
Four fast food stands are to be opened on a circular high... |
| 2/15/2009 |
Cheap Sheep...Bleat! |
A brother and a sister inherited a herd of sheep. They so... |
| 2/8/2009 |
Polar Celebration |
Graph this unusual polar function correctly and you will... |
| 2/1/2009 |
Interview "Thinks" |
Consider this Question: Imagine a road that joins three c... |
| 1/25/2009 |
Blind Logic |
You are blindfolded, then asked to sit down at a table.
... |
| 1/18/2009 |
Triangles are Polygons But... |
Well-Known Fact ala Euclid: If two polygons are congruent,... |
| 1/11/2009 |
A Difficult Problem? |
The American Mathematics Contest 8 exam is designed for ... |
| 1/4/2009 |
Caterpillar Numbers--Type B |
Pick a natural number n
Rewrite the number n = 10T + U,... |
| 12/14/2008 |
Caterpillar Numbers--Type A |
Pick a natural number n
If n is even, divide by 2
If n... |
| 12/7/2008 |
Pattern Play - Act 17 |
Pick a natural number n
Find the product n(n+1)
Now ad... |
| 11/30/2008 |
Time is Money |
First, look at the video The Falling Dollar, which sho... |
| 11/23/2008 |
CryptoMath: 7 - 9 = 8? or 3 + 3 + 3 = 7? |
Every letter in the following problems represents a diff... |
| 11/16/2008 |
Egg-Citing Eggs-Perience |
A woman went to a local outdoor market with 20 eggs, ano... |
| 11/9/2008 |
Super Bowl Scores Predict Presidential Elections |
Consider these scores for recent Super Bowls for profess... |
| 11/2/2008 |
An Expanding Experience |
Joe Flubb had contracted to replace a 2-mile section of ... |
| 10/26/2008 |
Thoughts on the Cusp of a Presidential Election |
What is the smallest percent of the popular vote needed ... |
| 10/19/2008 |
Now Find Another Final Answer? |
Last week's Problem was a question asked by Carol Vorder... |
| 10/12/2008 |
Is That Your Final Answer? |
On Britain's Big Brain Game, host Carol Vorderman led a ... |
| 10/5/2008 |
Doing Mathematics: Playing With a Simple Pattern |
2 + 2 = 2 x 2
The above statement is very obvious if on... |
| 9/28/2008 |
Hiding Surprises Under Exponents |
Find all real values of x that satisfy (x2-5x+5)x2-9x+20... |
| 9/21/2008 |
Average Appearances Can Be Deceiving |
Problem A: A man in a car travels at 80 mph for 40 miles... |
| 9/14/2008 |
But Wait Until the Lawyers Get Involved.... |
A 50-mile-wide oil slick has been discovered off the Pac... |
| 9/7/2008 |
Tom's Take On Large-In-Life Numbers |
Consider this list of numbers, in increasing order:
100... |
| 8/31/2008 |
Went Fishing For The Summer! |
I was invited to spend a seven-day vacation fishing on B... |
| 6/15/2008 |
True, False, I Do Not Care... |
Consider this list of twelve statements:
Precisely one ... |
| 6/8/2008 |
Spectacular Spectacles in Spectropolis |
In a small village known as Spectropolis, every person w... |
| 6/1/2008 |
Who Plays Basketball? |
Smith, Brown, Jones, and Foster are the manager, an acco... |
| 5/11/2008 |
Plug It Up! |
Suppose you are given a board with three holes cut out of ... |
| 5/4/2008 |
Luna Legs It |
Luna walked 4 miles north, then 2 miles east, 1 mile sou... |
| 4/27/2008 |
A Hoop For Jumping From Middle School to Being a Teacher |
Consider this problem from Ontario's Middle School Examinatio... |
| 4/20/2008 |
Time For A Free Hearing Checkup |
In order to spread out the intensity of sounds so our ea... |
| 4/13/2008 |
No Time to Stop and Think |
The baseball season is back, and with it, some great mat... |
| 4/6/2008 |
Remember This Problem From 2/19/2008? |
On a Internet message board, "Mark" posted the fo... |
| 3/30/2008 |
Who Am I? |
I am a proper fraction.
The sum of my numerator and my ... |
| 3/23/2008 |
Mensa Matters |
These two mathematics-related questions are from a sampl... |
| 3/16/2008 |
Page for Paige |
Consider this dialogue from a 2006 Foxtrot cartoon by Bill... |
| 3/9/2008 |
Did the Dutch Make a Good Deal? |
On May 24, 1626, Peter Minuit, Director-General of the D... |
| 3/2/2008 |
Speeding Chickens |
Continuing with the theme of a speeding car......
Known... |
| 2/24/2008 |
Ticket or No Ticket? |
Known Fact: The distance a speeding car takes to stop is... |
| 2/17/2008 |
Mark Asks for Help |
On a Internet message board, "Mark" posted the fo... |
| 2/10/2008 |
The Elusive Imaginary |
We know: (-1)1/2 = i. But then we also have:
(-1)2/4 = [... |
| 2/3/2008 |
Prime Numbers Beget Prime Numbers |
Suppose P is a seven-digit prime number.
The consecutive... |
| 1/27/2008 |
How Clever Are You...... |
If A + B = 1 and A2 + B2 = 2, then what is A3 + B3?
If A ... |
| 1/20/2008 |
Mathville's Police Force |
The town of Mathsville is shaped like a rectangle with M... |
| 1/13/2008 |
A Sequence You Will Want to Share |
You have probably seen this sequence, which has been passed a... |
| 12/30/2007 |
Share and Share Alike |
When Karen inherited an amount of money, she divided it ... |
| 12/16/2007 |
Patterns Pop Up Everywhere! |
Complete the following:
1 + 0x1x2x3 = ?
1 + 1x2x3x4 = ?
... |
| 12/9/2007 |
Falling Flagpole |
Due to a storm, a flagpole broke at a certain point. The... |
| 12/2/2007 |
Etude for the Number N |
Consider the number 3 and write it as a sum:
1 + 1 + 1 ... |
| 11/25/2007 |
As a Fly Flies.... |
Two trains start at the same time in opposite directions... |
| 11/18/2007 |
Sounds Like a Law Suit is in the Wind... |
On a math ed listserve (purposely not identified), ES asked... |
| 11/11/2007 |
2007 Begets 2016 Begets 1008 Begets 504 Begets 252.... |
Step 1: Pick a whole number.
Step 2: If the number is e... |
| 11/4/2007 |
Multiple Marriages in Mathville |
In the town of Mathville, two-thirds of the adult women ... |
| 10/28/2007 |
Addition Magic |
Consider this Alphanumeric:
HOCUS + POCUS = PRESTO
Each... |
| 10/21/2007 |
Like Two Ships Passing in the Night... |
Two boats on opposite shores of a river start moving tow... |
| 10/14/2007 |
Trivial Pursuits of the Measurement Kind - Part II |
In 6000 B.C., the first standards for measurements were sup... |
| 10/7/2007 |
Odd or Even...Fair or Unfair? |
To determine who starts on offense in an ultimate Frisbe... |
| 9/30/2007 |
Baseball Salaries: Larger or Smaller than Predicted? |
The average salary S of a baseball player (in thousands ... |
| 9/23/2007 |
Trivial Pursuits of the Measurement Kind - Part I |
In 6000 B.C., the first standards for measurements were s... |
| 9/16/2007 |
Overflowing Pockets |
A current radio commercial for an insurance company makes... |
| 9/9/2007 |
A Sam Lloyd Classic |
A square formation of soldiers, 50 feet on a side, is mar... |
| 9/2/2007 |
Slugger at Bat |
Slugger McCoy has a batting average of 0.333, which repre... |
| 8/26/2007 |
Ben's Money Tree |
Consider this statement taken from the will of Benjamin Fra... |
| 6/17/2007 |
Stu Hears That Whistle A-Blowing.... |
Although warned of the danger numerous times, Stu Dent al... |
| 6/10/2007 |
A Secretary in Need of a New Job..or a Rest |
A "beyond-busy" careless secretary typed n lett... |
| 6/3/2007 |
To Grandma's House We Shall Need to Go.... |
The distance to grandma's house is 100 miles. The freeway... |
| 5/27/2007 |
W(hat) (Ha)t.... Ha! |
Three students are standing in a line single-file. The te... |
| 5/20/2007 |
Put Your Money Where Your Number Is! |
The twins Polly Dent and Pepso Dent decide to play a bett... |
| 5/13/2007 |
Ham Yesterday, Pork Today |
When Adrian, Buford, and Carter eat out at the local Shari'... |
| 5/6/2007 |
An Overdue Problem |
Situation One: On January 19, 2007, Robert Nuranen return... |
| 4/29/2007 |
The Center of the Problem |
The e-mail and its request were quite unexpected, being s... |
| 4/22/2007 |
The Amazing Tao |
On July 16, 1983, Terence Tao was asked the following se... |
| 4/15/2007 |
A Ball of Cable is a Ball of Fun |
IBM is currently running an interesting advertisement campa... |
| 4/13/2007 |
Nolan, We Miss You! |
The baseball season is back, and with it mathematical op... |
| 4/8/2007 |
Portraits of Pi etc |
This week's problems are connected to the web site oneth... |
| 4/1/2007 |
If Only Kris Could Remember the Combination... |
Kris found a treasure box. To open the box, she had to pu... |
| 3/25/2007 |
Liar, Liar... |
The raid on the bank was successful up to a point. The prec... |
| 3/18/2007 |
Tanner Takes the Cake |
First, try this version....
Tanner had a birthday cake w... |
| 3/11/2007 |
2 π Problems |
First, some review: if a line segment is rotated 360 degrees ... |
| 3/4/2007 |
Dina's Dilemma on Tape |
Dina was asked by her teacher to evaluate 999. Just befor... |
| 2/25/2007 |
Grilling Grundis |
There was trouble from the Grundi. One of them damaged th... |
| 2/18/2007 |
My Fingers Are Tired |
The News section for this week mentions Akira Haraguchi's cla... |
| 2/11/2007 |
See Tom Fly |
Tom Swift took off in his new experimental airplane and f... |
| 2/4/2007 |
My Name Is (Was)... |
Suppose a magician has N people write their full names on ... |
| 1/28/2007 |
A Sliding Ladder Problem...Thanks to Doug Shaw |
It is a beautiful Spring evening. You and your friends are si... |
| 1/21/2007 |
Doctcom Bubble Trouble |
Students need to hear stories about the bursting of the dot... |
| 1/14/2007 |
Rescramble Game: Where LAB GEAR becomes ALGEBRA |
Use the given clue to find the missing word. As a check on yo... |
| 1/7/2007 |
Table of Pennies, a Blindfold, and Mittons |
A table has an unknown quantity of pennies lying on it. Exa... |
| 12/31/2006 |
Fred the Frog Climbs the Walls |
While walking in the woods, Fred the frog fell into a hol... |
| 12/17/2006 |
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box Mathematics |
The dimensions of a rectangular box also happen to be the... |
| 12/10/2006 |
Zeroes On My Mind |
Find the smallest integer N such that N! terminates in 50... |
| 12/3/2006 |
$1,000,000 Word |
In the September 1987 issue of the Arithmetic Teacher, Donn... |
| 11/26/2006 |
Six Quickies |
While attempting the following six "quick" problems... |
| 11/19/2006 |
Some Sums ala Mini-Soduko |
Find six different natural numbers and arrange them in this... |
| 11/12/2006 |
Intermediate Hoop Dreams? |
Suppose a basketball player shot below 80% in free-throw ... |
| 11/5/2006 |
Monty Hall Problem Extended |
The Monty Hall Problem is quite famous: Behind one of three... |
| 10/29/2006 |
23 Hours and Counting! |
The United Kingdom has a television show called Countdown (... |
| 10/22/2006 |
Math Guessing Game |
Two whole numbers m and n have been chosen but are unknown.... |
| 10/15/2006 |
Name Game: Set B |
This is part two of the test of your knowledge of a lexicon... |
| 10/8/2006 |
Sun, Camera, Action! |
A friend sent me the following photo, which is a real-eyebe... |
| 10/1/2006 |
A Problem From an Article on Arithmetic Anxiety |
A train leaves Colorado Springs at 9 a.m. bound for Bou... |
| 9/24/2006 |
How a Father Can Become a Best Friend |
Consider this problem, written by a third grader (in 1957!)... |
| 9/17/2006 |
Name Game: Set A |
Differing from past problems, this week's puzzler tests y... |
| 9/10/2006 |
Age-Old Problem |
Consider this problem:
Jane is 1/2 as old as Tom.
Mary ... |
| 9/3/2006 |
Bowl for a Car |
During a special promotion, a charity has set up a bowling ... |
| 8/27/2006 |
Eight Eights, Ay! |
My neighbor A.D., a retired Canadian electrician originally... |
| 6/25/2006 |
Dicey Die |
Consider this problem from the 1995 American Junior High ... |
| 6/18/2006 |
Trig Magic |
Do you like magic tricks? The following trick is appropri... |
| 6/11/2006 |
Game of Deja Vu... |
Each of the letters A, D, E, I, N, O, P, R, S is written ... |
| 6/4/2006 |
Bon Appetite! |
Eight volumes of a mathematics encyclopedia are standing ... |
| 5/28/2006 |
Alphabet Reversed |
ABCDE x 4 = EDCBA
Each of the five letters (A, B, C, D, E) s... |
| 5/21/2006 |
Getting to the Root of Things |
Take a number, such as 25. Now subtract the odds in seq... |
| 5/14/2006 |
Loosing Your Marbles? |
A hat contains two blue marbles and three red marbles. ... |
| 5/7/2006 |
Age-Old Old Age Problem |
A man (living now) states that he was x years old in th... |
| 4/30/2006 |
Making Sense of Cents |
If only our forefathers and foremothers had been wise enough ... |
| 4/23/2006 |
Weight vs. Length? |
Which would you choose: a ton of pennies or five miles of... |
| 4/16/2006 |
The Puzzle Book |
Wayne and Reg wrote:
We have this puzzle book and one day ... |
| 4/9/2006 |
Weird Numbers |
Definition: A natural number n is an "abundant number&qu... |
| 4/2/2006 |
Test Your Geometric Intuition |
Visualize the five Platonic Solids--Tetrahedron, Cube; Oc... |
| 3/26/2006 |
Paraskavedekatriaphobia, A Special Case of Triskaidekatriaphobia |
This year (2006), two Friday-the-13ths will occur (i.e. i... |
| 3/12/2006 |
Some Sum! |
Find approximate values of the following partial sums, involv... |
| 2/27/2006 |
The Armchair |
A very heavy armchair needs to be moved, but the only possi... |
| 2/20/2006 |
Thoughts About an Ugly Bathroom Floor |
A rectangular floor is composed of congruent square tiles, ... |
| 2/10/2006 |
Make Me A Valentine, She Said  |
Two boys, Peter and Steven, are interested in taking Linda to... |
| 2/4/2006 |
Back Seat Mathematician |
A math teacher ... was driving along a country road ...when s... |
| 1/29/2006 |
Two Trains of Thought |
A passenger train takes three times as long to pass a fre... |
| 1/22/2006 |
Could You Repeat That? |
Jim gave Jill as many dollars as Jill already had.
When Jill... |
| 1/22/2006 |
Tangled Words and Messages |
Consider these two statements:
The percentage of men who... |
| 1/15/2006 |
A Limerick A Day... |
Improper, I'm prime down below;
And on top, two digits I... |
| 1/8/2006 |
Even Horses Can Become Odd |
Put nine horses into four rectangular pens so that each... |
| 1/1/2006 |
Animal Menagerie |
Gina and Tom raise cat and birds. They counted all of their ... |
| 12/16/2005 |
Pascal's Chrismas Gift |
Use Pascal's Triangle to find the number of items given each ... |
| 12/4/2005 |
Chaotic Confusion |
There are three men that each are on a business trip and deci... |
| 11/27/2005 |
Ups and Downs on a Mountain |
From her base camp on the lower edge of Mt. Baker, Polly De... |
| 11/20/2005 |
The Earth's Waist-Line |
Imagine that the earth is a perfect sphere with a metal wir... |
| 11/13/2005 |
Breaking News: 0 = 4 |
Consider this proof that 4 = 0. Since cos2(x) = 1 - sin2(x... |
| 11/6/2005 |
Circular Racing |
On a circular cycle track, two cyclists are preparing for t... |
| 10/23/2005 |
It Was Sum Picnic |
Suppose your school PTA sponsored a picnic and covered most... |
| 10/16/2005 |
The Car Dashed By |
"I was walking along the road at 3 1/2 miles/hour,&quo... |
| 10/9/2005 |
Splitting Cow Heirs |
In the reading of a rancher's will, his herd of cows was di... |
| 10/2/2005 |
Lester's Code |
Lester had a secret code where letters are used for digits. ... |
| 9/25/2005 |
Age-Old Age Problem |
Teresa is 13-years-old, and twelve children (including Teresa... |
| 9/18/2005 |
Couple Doubles |
Three women--Laura, Beth, and Tina--are married to three ... |
| 9/11/2005 |
Double Jeopardy |
It is obvious that 2 + 2 = 2 x 2. But, it there a number you... |
| 9/4/2005 |
Magical 45 |
The problem as originally stated in "Uncle Art's Funland... |
| 8/28/2005 |
Golden Oldie: Four 4's |
You are given four 4's. Write expressions equal to the... |
| 8/21/2005 |
Boxes of Fruit |
You are given three boxes, one contains two apples, one... |
| 8/14/2005 |
Guppies Galore |
You have 200 fish in a bowl such that 99% are guppies.
... |
| 8/7/2005 |
Number Names |
Think of a positive integer (e.g. 23).
Count the number of... |
| 7/31/2005 |
Climbing Stairs |
Suppose you are running up a staircase that involves th... |
| 7/24/2005 |
Star Angles |
After some geometry play with doodles and a protractor, Stu... |
