| Date |
Title |
First Line of Text ... |
| 6/2/2013 |
A Problem to Ponder Throughout the Summer |
As a way to belay her grading of exams, MJ (Bellingham) sen... |
| 5/26/2013 |
Tile A-While in Style |
Start with a bag...
In the bag, place eight yellow tiles... |
| 5/19/2013 |
Warning: This Problem Sounds Easy...But... |
Observation: Consider the circle with center O. All chord... |
| 5/12/2013 |
De-Trix: Magical Matrix |
This trick was performed on television by the famous magi... |
| 5/5/2013 |
The Mundane Becomes Repeatingly Unmundane |
Sometimes interesting mathematical problems can be found in... |
| 4/28/2013 |
Is This Proof Number 368? |
Seattle-area mathematics Teacher D.E. and his student C.J. ... |
| 4/21/2013 |
"Conversion" Magic Squares |
Two years ago, MathNEXUS shared an unusal problem involving... |
| 4/14/2013 |
Dissection Recreation |
Draw a rectangle...
Dissect (i.e. cut) it into two congr... |
| 4/7/2013 |
Agree or Disagree? |
On behalf of her family and friends, Frances Bobner threa... |
| 3/31/2013 |
Replacing Intuitive Notions With Second-Thought Intutions: Part II |
You draw two balls at random from a bag containing blue a... |
| 3/24/2013 |
Replacing Intuitive Notions With Second-Thought Intutions |
Suppose you have an isosceles triangle with equal sides S... |
| 3/17/2013 |
Five Points Living In a Unit Square |
Suppose you have placed five random points all in, or on,... |
| 3/10/2013 |
The Obliterated Multiplication |
Stu Den did a multiplication problem on his paper, but then... |
| 3/3/2013 |
Doodling With the Stars |
We all like to draw stars with five lines...but, at its bas... |
| 2/24/2013 |
Four "Simple" But "Serious" Problems |
On this week's recommended website MathOverFlow.com, Michae... |
| 2/17/2013 |
Tic-Tac-Toe-Reflect |
I assume you know the rules of Tic-Tac-Toe...
Given this... |
| 2/10/2013 |
It is Your Turn to Throw |
Consider these three dartboards, with their respective dime... |
| 2/3/2013 |
Mathematical Magic That Usually Works |
Mathematical magic tricks are fun, but often they can be ... |
| 1/27/2013 |
When Wrong Becomes Right! |
Too often, students compute by blindly moving symbols aroun... |
| 1/20/2013 |
Two Quickies to Explore Quickly |
Quickie #1: Take 4 dice. Can you place them in a square a... |
| 1/13/2013 |
Domino Chain: Your Play? |
Your friend takes a domino and asks you to build a chain ... |
| 1/6/2013 |
Two Slimy Slithering Snails |
In a garden, two snails are hurrying along on their daily... |
| 12/9/2012 |
Dig Your Way Out of These! |
Stewart's Calculus offers "The Snow Plow Problem&quo... |
| 12/2/2012 |
Extending the Number Trick |
All three of the following magical tricks deal with the i... |
| 11/25/2012 |
A Gentle Introduction to Casting Out 9's |
A mathematics teacher asks a student of her class to choo... |
| 11/18/2012 |
Split the Check, No Tip |
Three men were in a resturant and decided to split the bi... |
| 11/11/2012 |
Who Is the Culprit? |
One of five brothers has broken a window.
John said, &qu... |
| 11/4/2012 |
Huh? Say That Again... |
Polly Dent and Pepso Dent are sisters (one dances and t... |
| 10/28/2012 |
Extending Problems...To Where Students Should Also Go |
Problem 1: How can a farmer plant 10 trees so that she ha... |
| 10/21/2012 |
1983 Oregon Invitational Mathematics Tournament-PART B2 |
Have times (e.g. goals, content focus, etc.) changed in m... |
| 10/14/2012 |
1983 Oregon Invitational Mathematics Tournament-PART B1 |
Have times (e.g. goals, content focus, etc.) changed in m... |
| 10/7/2012 |
Moving From Right to Wrong to Right |
Two weeks ago, attempting to show how times (e.g. goals, co... |
| 9/30/2012 |
Oops...Did You Catch the Error Last Week? |
Last week, attempting to show how times (e.g. goals, conten... |
| 9/23/2012 |
1983 Oregon Invitational Mathematics Tournament-PART A2 |
Have times (e.g. goals, content focus, etc.) changed in m... |
| 9/16/2012 |
1983 Oregon Invitational Mathematics Tournament-PART A1 |
Have times (e.g. goals, content focus, etc.) changed in m... |
| 9/9/2012 |
A Real-Life Problem in Real-Life? |
People who commute are facing a new dilemma, called "c... |
| 9/2/2012 |
Patterns Come in Threes...Or Do They? |
Take a 3-digit number whose digits are all different. For... |
| 6/3/2012 |
Connecting Fibonacci and Pythagoras |
I assume you know about the Fibonacci Numbers: 1,1,2,3,5... |
| 5/27/2012 |
Integrating History and Mathematics? |
Boyd Henry (1926-2009), former mathematics educator in Id... |
| 5/20/2012 |
Multiple-Choice Quandary |
Some standardized exam, now long forgotton, included this... |
| 5/13/2012 |
Don't Fence Me In |
Farmer Chuck purchased a plot of land surrounded by a fen... |
| 5/6/2012 |
Alice Loses a Friend |
Alice and Bob are flipping two coins randomly, with Alice... |
| 4/29/2012 |
Even More Serendipity |
In the Math News for this week, I revisit Beulah I. Shoesmi... |
| 4/22/2012 |
Count Dracula Says 6, You Say.... |
You challenge Count Dracula to play a numbers game: "... |
| 4/15/2012 |
Stu Dent Gets Fired |
This is one of my favorite set theory questions...
Stu... |
| 4/8/2012 |
Is It True What These Students Claim...? |
In 1972, the journal Mathematics Teaching published this Le... |
| 4/1/2012 |
Going Up Until You Go Down...With Surprises |
Unless you are quite proficient with statistics and probabi... |
| 3/25/2012 |
A Test With a Score of Zero |
For this problem, stop and think before rushing into poss... |
| 3/18/2012 |
Always An Integer Or... |
Here is another problem from the website BrainDen.com, wh... |
| 3/11/2012 |
Two Geometrical Think-a-Lots |
For these two problems, stop and think before rushing int... |
| 3/4/2012 |
The Polynomial Hunt |
The website BrainDen.com offers Brain Teasers, that often... |
| 2/26/2012 |
Large Problem From Below |
The context: One of my secondary math student teachers (M.O... |
| 2/19/2012 |
Saga of the Indecisive Insect |
Bill the Bug is about to travel along the number line.
H... |
| 2/12/2012 |
Cut The Cake, Please... |
"Selling It" occasionally is a section in Consume... |
| 2/5/2012 |
Which Is The Quickie and Which Is The Trickie? |
In the 1950's, Mathematics Magazine regularly published t... |
| 1/29/2012 |
Another Problem Begging to Be Extended |
Like a previous problem, the following problem was publishe... |
| 1/22/2012 |
Search For a Convex Example |
This is one of request or problem sent by a former student ... |
| 1/15/2012 |
Parallels to an Equilateral Triangle |
Be forewarned...this may not seem to be an easy problem...b... |
| 1/8/2012 |
Is The Year 2012 Special? |
On Eric Friedman's List of special numbers, the number 20... |
| 1/1/2012 |
A Mod Calendar for the New Year |
Given this is the start of a new year, the following prob... |
| 12/11/2011 |
A Problem Begging to Be Extended |
The following problem was published in Oregon Mathematics T... |
| 12/4/2011 |
Three Classical Problems For All (Ages...or Time) |
In 1982, Rosalie Jensen and David O'Neil (professors at G... |
| 11/27/2011 |
Stu Dent Errors Again! |
Stu Dent solved the following problem incorrectly.
Prob... |
| 11/20/2011 |
Why Is Fraction 1360518655681506310/99999999999999999999 Special? |
For this problem, stop and think before rushing into poss... |
| 11/13/2011 |
When My Dear Aunt Sally Did Not Help! |
When the twins Stu Dent and Polly Dent were caught using th... |
| 10/30/2011 |
The Haunted Castle--A Hallowe'en Logic Puzzle |
A friend gave me a copy of this logic puzzle, constructed b... |
| 10/23/2011 |
A Perfect Surprise |
Consider this rule: N is an integer such that the sum of th... |
| 10/16/2011 |
A Diet of Problems From An Unknown Source |
While cleaning out someone's file cabinet, I found a 13-p... |
| 10/9/2011 |
Think of a Fraction...Any Fraction... |
What is the probability that a random fraction is irreduc... |
| 10/2/2011 |
Understanding "False" Roots |
Some mathematical things that I have wondered about for a l... |
| 9/25/2011 |
The Case of the Special Multiplier to Test Divisibility |
The divisibility tests for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are bo... |
| 9/18/2011 |
Multiple-Choice Lotteries |
You have decided to spend $100 on the lottery.
Is it bet... |
| 9/11/2011 |
Has Marilyn Done It Again? |
Marilyn vos Savant, owner of the world's highest IQ accordi... |
| 9/4/2011 |
People's Court: Do Bald Tires Help You Beat the Rap? |
Ray and Tom Magliozzi, of Car Talk fame, were asked this qu... |
| 6/5/2011 |
Dot-to-Dot for Adult Artists |
Create an N x M rectangular array of dots, where both N a... |
| 5/29/2011 |
M.O.: "A funny thing to find on the shelves at Walgreen's...." |
One of my students (M.O.) made an interesting dicovery on... |
| 5/22/2011 |
Backwards Batting Average |
An American League baseball player noticed that after he ... |
| 5/15/2011 |
Attention! General Eyes |
Consider...
(1+x3)2 = 1+2x3+x6
(1+x2)3 = 1+3x3+3x4+x6
... |
| 5/8/2011 |
How My Students Proved Me Wrong! |
Two men, X and Y, meet on the street. X says: "All t... |
| 5/1/2011 |
Fair Fare |
Columnist Marilyn vos Savant is famous for her takes on t... |
| 4/24/2011 |
A Contest For You...A Dare! |
Try these problems from an old Atlantic-Pacific Mathemati... |
| 4/17/2011 |
Play With These Old "Logic" Classics |
Many problems are repeated to the point that they become ... |
| 4/10/2011 |
Play With These Old "Rate" Classics |
Many problems are repeated to the point that they become ... |
| 4/3/2011 |
6 artel + 2 coombs - 3 frasila = 1 rotl? |
How is your knowledge of measuremenst in countries other ... |
| 3/27/2011 |
Average Impact |
Each of two students in a recently tested class has asked... |
| 3/20/2011 |
CSI Case #4051 |
Detectives investigating a crime find a bullet hole in a ... |
| 3/13/2011 |
Trigonometry Mathematical Word Scrabble |
Some problems are not problems...just fun explorations...th... |
| 3/6/2011 |
Some Sum! |
Find approximate values of the following partial sums, invo... |
| 2/27/2011 |
Magical Products |
You are probably aware of Magic Squares, and how they opera... |
| 2/20/2011 |
What's My Line? |
Two million points are randomly scattered in a circle (al... |
| 2/13/2011 |
Get Ready to Party! |
In the year 1928, the month of February contained five We... |
| 2/6/2011 |
Make Me A Valentine, She Said  |
Two boys, Peter and Steven, are interested in taking Linda ... |
| 1/30/2011 |
Find My Angle, Said the Polygon! |
J.M. (Bellingham) sent me this problem (see original source... |
| 1/23/2011 |
Logic Outside the Box(es) |
Imagine you have three boxes, one containing two blue m... |
| 1/16/2011 |
A New Sport: Melt Racing |
Oh no! It is 8:30 pm on Christmas Eve and Frosty has been... |
| 1/9/2011 |
Area = Perimeter Sans Units? |
This week's Resource involves an interesting presentation b... |
| 1/2/2011 |
Piling On.... |
Eight identical sheets of paper have been placed overlapp... |
| 12/12/2010 |
Three GiftsTo Play With.... |
[Gift 1] A restaurant, whose owner is a puzzle fiend, was... |
| 12/5/2010 |
Merry Christmas, Euclid... |
Though this problem probably can be solved in multiple ways... |
| 11/28/2010 |
A Good Fraction Problem...or Even a Problem At All? |
In selecting problems each week for MathNEXUS, I search thr... |
| 11/21/2010 |
Trust Bruno or Not? |
A former student suggested this week's problem. It also pro... |
| 11/14/2010 |
What's Your Points? |
This week's problem was found via a daily internet feed tha... |
| 11/7/2010 |
Packing a Square With Rectangles |
This problem was asked by Michalia on Yahoo! Answers...
... |
| 10/31/2010 |
The Way to Weigh |
GIVEN: Twelve identically looking coins, except one is im... |
| 10/24/2010 |
Chips Ahoy |
Alice, Bonita, and Carmen have just finished playing thre... |
| 10/17/2010 |
A Way to Be Goal-Oriented |
Start at the number 3. Then, at each step, apply one of e... |
| 10/10/2010 |
Not On My Watch |
Inspector Lee looked once again in at the dead body of Ho... |
| 10/3/2010 |
Wait...Find the Weight? |
On a trip to the corner drugstore, you meet five girls wh... |
| 9/26/2010 |
A Path That Always Ends? |
Stu Dent has red, gray, and blue flagstones for making a ... |
| 9/19/2010 |
Shame on Math Textbooks...Says Mother Nature |
We wonder why our world is in such a sordid mess...foreign ... |
| 9/12/2010 |
Can You Get the Job....? |
Allegedly, this is a question posed to potential Microsoft ... |
| 9/5/2010 |
Professor Matteossian's Memory |
The following was supposed to be a humorous anecdote, makin... |
| 6/6/2010 |
Conquering Perspective Over the Summer |
Converging railroad tracks often are given as the example o... |
| 5/30/2010 |
Three Martin Gardner Posers! |
Poser One
Poser Two
Poser Three
Hope you enjoy the... |
| 5/23/2010 |
Many Questions...Crypto-Style! |
4 ? ?
x 3 ? ?
... |
| 5/16/2010 |
Brain Killers |
After a long career as a mathematics teacher, a good frie... |
| 5/9/2010 |
Lewis Caroll-ism |
THE GIVEN:
The only animals in this house are cats.
... |
| 5/2/2010 |
The Sign Says: Walk Don't Run! |
Twin sisters, Polly Dent and Pepso Dent, were going home ... |
| 4/25/2010 |
One Can Never Have Too Many Problems |
I am always on the lookout for good, interesting problems... |
| 4/18/2010 |
Harmonically Irrational? |
The web site BrainDen.com poses daily problems. The "... |
| 4/4/2010 |
Call Math When You get a Chance (Part III) |
A previous problem offered a phone-number translation gam... |
| 3/28/2010 |
Sherlock Does It Again! |
Sir Arthur Connan Doyle published his A Study in Scarlet ... |
| 3/21/2010 |
A Magical Trick to De-cypher Then Mimic |
Take your house number.
Double it.
Add five.
Multiply ... |
| 3/14/2010 |
A Discrete Plea! |
The original situation: Six groups, each consisting of ni... |
| 2/28/2010 |
Confusing Dice Game |
Two players are needed for this experiment.
Create three... |
| 2/21/2010 |
One Cookie Left...Right? |
John was sent out to buy some cookies.
"You'll have... |
| 2/14/2010 |
Do You Dare? |
This problem was found in the discussion section of the res... |
| 2/7/2010 |
The Morphing Dart Board |
A version of this problem was found in an old workshop pack... |
| 1/31/2010 |
Call Math When You get a Chance (Part II) |
A previous problem offered a phone-number translation gam... |
| 1/24/2010 |
A 95-Year-Old Unsolved Problem? |
While browsing through old newspapers in Garner (IA), I f... |
| 1/17/2010 |
Mensa and Womensa... |
Consider these three questions from a sample Mensa exam, ... |
| 1/10/2010 |
Magical Dominoes |
Suppose I spread out a regular double-six domino set (28 ... |
| 1/3/2010 |
New Year Deserves New Age Problem |
Age problems have always been a staple in mathematics tex... |
| 12/13/2009 |
Buying Cows and Eating at a Restaurant |
Two very unrealistic mathematics problems, yet they can b... |
| 12/6/2009 |
Lick These Limericks |
Limerick Problem #1:
Three different one-digit primes
... |
| 11/29/2009 |
Three Well-Aged Oldies |
Twenty-two years ago, I "published" a newslette... |
| 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... |
| 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... |
