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SYMBOLS RIDDLEINDEX
M C P >=P CPU
Needsmathpastarithmeticandbasicprobability. Requiresknowinghowtoplaychess. Physicsknowledgeishelpful. Idon'tknowthesolutiontothisproblemmyself. Requirescalculator/computerpower.

relativelyeasy

easy

relativelymedium

med

relativelyhard

hard

FORUM
Stuck?Havecomplimentsorcriticisms? Wanttotest driveanewriddleofyourown? Whoarewe,andwhatdowedo? Visitthefantabulousriddleforum! Thousandsofpostsbyreallycleverpeople.

microsoft

m$

computerscience

cs

putnam

putnam

RECENTADDITIONS
Checkoutlatestpuzzlesbyperusingthe forumandthe 10mostrecentposts. Latestadditionstocoversitecanbeseenbyclickinghere.

relativelymedium
howmanyplacesarethereontheearththatonecouldwalkonemilesouth,thenonemilewest,thenonemilenorth andendupinthesamespot?tobeprecise,let'sassumetheearthisasolidsmoothsphere,sooceansand mountainsandothersuchthingsdonotexist.youcanstartatanypointonthesphere.also,therotationoftheearth hasnothingtodowiththesolutionyoucanassumeyou'rewalkingonastaticsphereifthatmakestheproblemless complicatedtoyou. Hint1:thinkyou'vefigureditout?doyouknowthatthere'smorethanone?infact,therearemorethantwo.also notethatwalkingnorthfromthenorthpole(orsouthfromthesouthpole)isillogicalandthereforedoesnotenter intotheproblem.allnormalassumptionsaboutdirectionswillbeused. Hint2:christophercolumbus.

GLOBE TRAVERSAL

Youwanttosendavaluableobjecttoafriendsecurely.Youhaveaboxwhichcanbefittedwithmultiplelocks,and youhaveseverallocksandtheircorrespondingkeys.However,yourfrienddoesnothaveanykeystoyourlocks,and ifyousendakeyinanunlockedbox,thekeycouldbecopiedenroute.Howcanyousendtheobjectsecurely? Alternative,moreprecisephrasing:AndyandGrantarestayingindifferentroomsinthesamehotel.Andyneedsto

GHETTO ENCRYPTIONI

giveagoldpendanttoGrant,butspiesaretryingtoassassinateAndyandGrantsoneitherofthemcanleavetheir room.Theonlywaytheycantransferobjectsisbyusingthebellhops.BothAndyandGranthaveasafewithalarge claspthatcanbesecuredwithapadlock.BothAndyandGranthaveapadlockandacorrespondingkey.(So1gold pendant,2safes,2padlocks,and2keys.)Butthebellhopsarethieves.Anythingthatisnotpadlockedinthesafewill bestolenbythebellhops includinganyunlockedpadlocks,thekeysorthependant.HowcanAndytransferthegold pendanttoGrantwithoutitbeingstolen?(wherebothsideshaveencryptioncapability,andwhereunsecureditems aretakenawayratherthanjustcopied?)

GHETTO ENCRYPTIONII

Threecoworkerswouldliketoknowtheiraveragesalary.However,theyareself consciousanddon'twanttotell eachothertheirownsalaries,forfearofeitherbeingridiculedorgettingtheirhousesrobbed.Howcantheyfindtheir averagesalary,withoutdisclosingtheirownsalaries?

aretakenawayratherthanjustcopied?)

GHETTO ENCRYPTIONII

Threecoworkerswouldliketoknowtheiraveragesalary.However,theyareself consciousanddon'twanttotell eachothertheirownsalaries,forfearofeitherbeingridiculedorgettingtheirhousesrobbed.Howcantheyfindtheir averagesalary,withoutdisclosingtheirownsalaries?

arrangethenumbers1to8inthegridbelowsuchthatadjacentnumbersarenotinadjacentboxes(horizontally, vertically,ordiagonally).

ADJACENCYGRID

6 2

1 4 7 8

3 5

thearrangementabove,forexample,iswrongbecause3and4,4and5,6and7,and7and8areadjacent.

youdieandthedevilsayshe'llletyougotoheavenifyoubeathiminagame.thedevilsitsyoudownataround

FAUSTIAN ROUNDTABLE COINGAME

table.hegiveshimselfandyouahugepileofquarters.hesays"ok,we'lltaketurnsputtingquartersdown,no overlappingallowed,andthequartersmustrestonthetablesurface.thefirstguywhocan'tputaquarterdown loses."youguysareabouttostartplaying,andthedevilsaysthathe'llgofirst.however,atthispointyou immediatelyinterject,andaskifyoucangofirstinstead.youmakethisinterjectionbecauseyouareverysmart,and youknowthatifyougofirst,youcanguaranteevictory.explainhowyoucanguaranteevictory.

using31dominoes,whereonedominocoversexactlytwosquares,canyoucoveralltheemptysquaresonthis chessboard(whichhasonly62spaces,sincetwooppositecornersquaresareremoved).ifso,how?ifnot,why? proveyourclaim.

DOMINOESONA CHESSBOARD

Whyaremanholesround?

MANHOLES
Note:ThisisafamousMicrosoftquestion.Yetamusingly,theMicrosoftcampususessquaremanholes.

SQUARE DIVISION

drawasquare.divideitintofouridenticalsquares.removethebottomlefthandsquare.nowdividetheresulting shapeintofouridenticalshapes.

EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE DIVISION

drawanequilateraltriangle(allsidessamelength).divideitintofouridenticalshapes.removethebottomlefthand shape.nowdividetheresultingshapeintofouridenticalshapes.

Youareinaroomwiththreelightswitches,eachofwhichcontrolsoneofthreelightbulbsinthenextroom.Yourtask

LIGHTBULBS ANDSWITCHES

istodeterminewhichswitchcontrolswhichbulb.Alllightsareinitiallyoff,andyoucan'tseeintooneroomfromthe other.Youareallowedonlyonechancetoentertheroomwiththelightbulbs.Howcanyoudeterminewhich lightswitchgoeswithwhichlightbulb?

Addpunctuationtothefollowingphrasetomakesomethinggramaticallyandlogicallycoherent:

PUNCTUATIONI
isisnotnotnotisnotisisisisnotisnotisitnot

Youhavea5x5pieceofpaper.Twodiagonallyoppositecornersofthispaperaretruncatedasshowninthediagram below.Youalsohavescissors.Showhowtocutupthe5x5paperintotwopieces,sothatthetwopiecescanthenbe interlockedtoforma6x4rectangle.

PAPERCUTTING

InthecityofFunkytown,thefollowingfactsaretrue:

InthecityofFunkytown,thefollowingfactsaretrue:
l l

Notwoinhabitantshaveexactlythesamenumberofhairs. Noinhabitanthasexactly483,207hairs. Therearemoreinhabitantsthantherearehairsontheheadofanyoneinhabitant.

POPULATIONOF FUNKYTOWN

WhatisthelargestpossiblenumberofinhabitantsofFunkytown? Note:Irecently(11/24/20028:00PM)readthispuzzleinabookbyHenryErnestDudeney,England'sgreatestpuzzle creator.Sowritingcreditstohim.

CHOCOLATE MILK

Youhavetwothermoses.Thefirstcontainsaliterofmilk,thesecondcontainsaliterofpurechocolatesyrup.You pouronecupofmilkoutfromthefirstthermostothesecondone.Then,aftermixingthat,youtakeonecupofthe mixturefromthesecondthermos,andpouritbackintothefirstthermos.Aftercompletingthesetwooperations, whichthermosismorepure?

Thereisanislandofmonkswhereeveryonehaseitherbrowneyesorredeyes.Monkswhohaveredeyesare cursed,andaresupposedtocommitsuicideatmidnight.However,nooneevertalksaboutwhatcoloreyesthey have,becausethemonkshaveavowofsilence.Also,therearenoreflectivesurfacesonthewholeisland.Thus,no oneknowstheirowneyecolortheycanonlyseetheeyecolorsofotherpeople,andnotsayanythingaboutthem. Lifegoeson,withbrown eyedmonksandred eyedmonkslivinghappilytogetherinpeace,andnooneever committingsuicide.Thenonedayatouristvisitstheislandmonastery,and,notknowingthathe'snotsupposedto talkabouteyes,hestatestheobservation"Atleastoneofyouhasredeyes."Havingacquiredthisnewinformation, somethingdramatichappensamongthemonks.Whathappens? Hint:Firstconsiderthecasewherethereareonlyafewmonksontheisland,somewithbrownandsomewithred.

BROWNEYES ANDREDEYES

Workthroughthelogicandfindoutwhathappensovertime.ThengeneralizeforthecaseofMmonksontheisland, Nofwhichhaveredeyes.

Update10/15/200212:14AM:Whathappensifwechangethetourist'sstatementtoeachofthefollowing? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. "Thereare10BrownEyedMonks" "ThereareatlesattwoRedEyedMonks" "ThereisanoddnumberofRedEyedMonks" "ThereisanevennumberofRedEyedMonks" "ThereismorethanoneRedEyedMonk"

WHERE'STHE FATHER?

Themotheris21yearsolderthanthechild.In6yearsfromnow,themotherwillbe5timesasoldasthechild. Question:Where'sthefather?

Comparethenumbers0.99999...(infinitelymany9s)and1.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?Why?
l l

0.99999... <1 0.99999...=1 0.99999... >1

.999...

Forumthread:Clickhere.CheckoutIcarus's(ourlocalmathematician)insightfulexpositiononthisproblem.

COLOREDDISK SPINSENSORS

Imagineadiskspinninglikearecordplayerturntable.Halfofthediskisblackandtheotheriswhite.Assumeyou haveanunlimitednumberofcolorsensors.Howmanysensorswouldyouhavetoplacearoundthedisktodetermine thedirectionthediskisspinning?Wherewouldtheybeplaced?

amanhasagoldchainwith7links.heneedstheserviceofalaborerfor7daysatafeeofonegoldlinkperday. however,eachdayofworkneedstobepaidforseparately.inotherwords,theworkermustbepaideachdayafter

GOLDCHAIN

workingandifthelaboreriseveroverpaidhewillquitwiththeextramoney.alsohewillneverallowhimselftobe owedalink.whatisthefewestnumberofcutstothechaintofacilitatethisarrangementandhowdoesthat guaranteepayment?

DUMBCSJOKE M

WhydocomputerprogrammersalwaysgetChristmasandHalloweenmixedup?

WATERBUCKETS

Usingonlya5gallonbucketanda3 gallonbucket,putexactlyfourgallonsofwaterinthe5 gallonbucket.(Assume youhaveaninfinitesupplyofwater.Nomeasurementmarkingsonthebuckets.)

DUMBCSJOKE M

WhydocomputerprogrammersalwaysgetChristmasandHalloweenmixedup?

WATERBUCKETS

Usingonlya5gallonbucketanda3 gallonbucket,putexactlyfourgallonsofwaterinthe5 gallonbucket.(Assume youhaveaninfinitesupplyofwater.Nomeasurementmarkingsonthebuckets.)

ThisisthelogicgameofMastermind.Ifyouhaven'tplayeditbefore,here'showitworks.Thereisaboardthatis sectionedoffintomanyrows,eachrowhavingfourslotsinwhichpegscanbeinserted.Therearesixdifferentcolors ofpegs:green,red,yellow,brown,dark blue,lightblue.Therearetwoplayers,AandB.First,Amakesupsome arrangementoffourpegsalongarow,thecolorsandorderingofwhicharehisorherchoice.ThenBspendstherest ofthegametryingtoguesswhatA'sarrangementis.ForeveryguessthatBmakes,Awillrespondbyputtingsome blackand/orwhitepegsrightnexttoA'sguesstheblackandwhitepegsareinterpretedasfollows:

l l

Blackkeypeg=oneofB'spegsisthecorrectcolorandinthecorrectposition Whitekeypeg=oneoftheB'spegsisthecorrectcolorbutinthewrongposition

SoifBmanagestoguessallfourcolorsandpositionscorrectly,Awillrespondwithfourblackkeypegs,andthegame isover.ThegoalistodetermineA'ssecretarrangementintheminimumnumberofguesses.Below,weseea completedgameofMastermind.ApparentlytheplayerwasabletodetermineA'sarrangementbyusingonlyfour guesses.What'sisA'sarrangement?

MASTERMINDI

TWOCHILD FAMILYI

Inatwo childfamily,onechildisaboy.Whatistheprobabilitythattheotherchildisagirl?

TWOCHILD FAMILYII

Inatwo childfamily,theolderchildisaboy.Whatistheprobabilitythattheotherchildisagirl?

"Proof"that2=1: a=b a 2 =ab a 2 b 2 =abb 2

2=1

(ab)(a+b)=b(ab) a+b=b b+b=b 2b=b 2=1 Doesthisargumentmakesense?

Fourpeople,A,B,C,andD,areononesideofabridge,andtheyallwanttocrossthebridge.However,it'slateat night,soyoucan'tcrosswithoutaflashlight.Theyonlyhaveoneflashlight.Also,thebridgeisonlystrongenoughto supporttheweightoftwopeopleatonce.Thefourpeopleallwalkatdifferentspeeds:Atakes1minutetocrossthe bridge,Btakes2minutes,Ctakes5minutes,andDtakes10minutes.Whentwopeoplecrosstogether,sharingthe flashlight,theywalkattheslowerperson'srate.Howquicklycanthefourcrossthebridge? Note:SupposedlyaclassicMicrosoftquestion.

BRIDGE CROSSING

Ifyoudrewadotontheedgeofawheelandtracedthepathofthedotasthewheelrolledonecompleterevolution alongaline,thenthepathformedwouldbecalledacycloid(showninredbelow),combiningbothforwardandcircular motion.Whatisthelengthofthepathformedbyonecompleterevolution?Assumethewheelhasaradiusof1.

CYCLOID M

Ifyoudrewadotontheedgeofawheelandtracedthepathofthedotasthewheelrolledonecompleterevolution alongaline,thenthepathformedwouldbecalledacycloid(showninredbelow),combiningbothforwardandcircular motion.Whatisthelengthofthepathformedbyonecompleterevolution?Assumethewheelhasaradiusof1.

CYCLOID M

Tenpeoplelandonadesertedisland.Theretheyfindlotsofcoconutsandamonkey.Duringtheirfirstdaythey gathercoconutsandputthemallinacommunitypile.Afterworkingalldaytheydecidetosleepanddividetheminto tenequalpilesthenextmorning.Thatnightonecastawaywakesuphungryanddecidestotakehisshareearly.After dividingupthecoconutshefindsheisonecoconutshortoftenequalpiles.Healsonoticesthemonkeyholdingone morecoconut.Sohetriestotakethemonkey'scoconuttohaveatotalevenlydivisibleby10.Howeverwhenhetries totakeitthemonkeyconkshimontheheadwithitandkillshim.Lateranothercastawaywakesuphungryand decidestotakehisshareearly.Onthewaytothecoconutshefindsthebodyofthefirstcastaway,whichpleaseshim becausehewillnowbeentitledto1/9ofthetotalpile.Afterdividingthemupintoninepilesheisagainonecoconut shortandtriestotakethemonkey'scoconut.Again,themonkeyconksthemanontheheadandkillshim.Onebyone eachoftheremainingcastawaysgoesthroughthesameprocess,untilthe10thpersontowakeupgetstheentire pileforhimself.Whatisthesmallestnumberofpossiblecoconutsinthepile,notcountingthemonkeys?

COCONUT MONKEY

Youandyourpartnerincrimearebotharrestedandquestionedseparately.Youareofferedachancetoconfess,in whichyouagreetotestifyagainstyoupartner,inexchangeforallchargesbeingdroppedagainstyou,unlesshe testifiesagainstyoualso.Yourlawyer,whomyoutrust,saysthattheevidenceagainstbothofyou,ifneither

PRISONER DILEMMAREDUX

confesses,isscantandyoucouldexpecttotakeapleaandeachserve3years.Ifoneimplicatestheother,theother canexpecttoserve20years.Ifbothimplicateeachotheryoucouldeachexpecttoserve10years.Youassumethe probabilityofyourpartnerconfessingisp.Yourhighestpriorityistokeepyourselfoutofthepokey,andyour secondarymotiveistokeepyoupartnerout.Specificallyyouareindifferenttoyouservingxyearsandyourpartner serving2xyears.Atwhatvalueofpareyouindifferenttoconfessingandnotconfessing?

Findthesidelengthoftheinternalsquareandtheradiioftheinternalcircles,intermsofa.

JAPANESE TEMPLE GEOMETRYI

Note:Thisgeometryproblemcomesfromthetraditionofsangaku.Duringtheperiodbetween1639and1854,many Japanesesamuraiapparentlyadoptedgeometryasaseriousmentaldiscipline!Theywouldsolvemanydifficult geometricproblems,andcarefullyinscribethesolutionsintobeautifulwoodentablets,oftenwithcolor.Thenthey wouldhangtheirsolutionsunderroofsforpublicviewing,eithertoshowrespectfortheeleganceofmath,orperhaps justtoshowofftheirintelligenceandchallengeotherpractitionersofsangakuaJapanesewordthatliterallymeans mathematicaltablet.SangakuproblemsareusuallyjustEuclideangeometry,butothersseemalmostimpossibletodo withoutcheatingandusinghigherlevelmath(e.g.calculus,affinetransformations).Alsonotableisastrongemphasis onellipsesandcircles,anemphasisnotfoundinWesternstudiesofgeometry. Note2:Forahardcopyoftheaboveimageonly,clickhereandprint.Hardcopiesareusefulfordrawinglinesand labelingverticesandwhatnot. Problemsource:Fukagawa,H.andD.Pedoe.JapaneseTempleGeometryproblems.CharlesBabbageResearch Foundation:Winnipeg,1989.

Note2:Forahardcopyoftheaboveimageonly,clickhereandprint.Hardcopiesareusefulfordrawinglinesand labelingverticesandwhatnot. Problemsource:Fukagawa,H.andD.Pedoe.JapaneseTempleGeometryproblems.CharlesBabbageResearch Foundation:Winnipeg,1989.

Findtheradiioftheinternalcircles,intermsofa.

JAPANESE TEMPLE GEOMETRYII

Note:Forahardcopyoftheaboveimageonly,clickhereandprint.Hardcopiesareusefulfordrawinglinesand labelingverticesandwhatnot. Note2:ThanksalottoJasvirNagraforsendingmesuchaclearsolution,evenwithdiagramsdrawnwithPostscript! Problemsource:Fukagawa,H.andD.Pedoe.JapaneseTempleGeometryproblems.CharlesBabbageResearch Foundation:Winnipeg,1989.

Findtheradiioftheinternalcircles,intermsofa.

JAPANESE TEMPLE GEOMETRYIII

Note:Forahardcopyoftheaboveimageonly,clickhereandprint.Hardcopiesareusefulfordrawinglinesand labelingverticesandwhatnot. Problemsource:Fukagawa,H.andD.Pedoe.JapaneseTempleGeometryproblems.CharlesBabbageResearch Foundation:Winnipeg,1989.

ThisisthelogicgameofMastermind.Ifyouhaven'tplayeditbefore,here'showitworks.Thereisaboardthatis

labelingverticesandwhatnot. Problemsource:Fukagawa,H.andD.Pedoe.JapaneseTempleGeometryproblems.CharlesBabbageResearch Foundation:Winnipeg,1989.

ThisisthelogicgameofMastermind.Ifyouhaven'tplayeditbefore,here'showitworks.Thereisaboardthatis sectionedoffintomanyrows,eachrowhavingfourslotsinwhichpegscanbeinserted.Therearesixdifferentcolors ofpegs:green,red,yellow,brown,dark blue,lightblue.Therearetwoplayers,AandB.First,Amakesupsome arrangementoffourpegsalongarow,thecolorsandorderingofwhicharehisorherchoice.ThenBspendstherest ofthegametryingtoguesswhatA'sarrangementis.ForeveryguessthatBmakes,Awillrespondbyputtingsome blackand/orwhitepegsrightnexttoA'sguesstheblackandwhitepegsareinterpretedasfollows:

l l

Blackkeypeg=oneofB'spegsisthecorrectcolorandinthecorrectposition Whitekeypeg=oneoftheB'spegsisthecorrectcolorbutinthewrongposition

SoifBmanagestoguessallfourcolorsandpositionscorrectly,Awillrespondwithfourblackkeypegs,andthegame isover.ThegoalistodetermineA'ssecretarrangementintheminimumnumberofguesses.Below,weseea completedgameofMastermind.ApparentlytheplayerwasabletodetermineA'sarrangementbyusingonlyfour

MASTERMINDII

guesses.What'sisA'sarrangement?

Addpunctuationtothefollowingphrasetomakesomethinggramaticallyandlogicallycoherent:

PUNCTUATIONII
ihadhadhadtomhadhadhadhadhadhadhadhadthepraiseoftheteacher

Myfancynewdigitalalarmclockisbroken!Thetime'jumps'around. WhenIresetit,itreads12:00:00.Thenitrunsasitshould,butafter12:04:15itresetsbackto12:00:00.Itcounts upto12:04:15againandthenitjumpsto...12:08:32!Weirdstuff.Doyouknowwhat'swrongwithmyalarmclock? Note:Thecontributor,RemcoHartog,actuallyconstructedthisriddlehimself!

BROKENCLOCK

WHATHAPPENED I

There'samanlyingdeadinatelephoneboothbesideariver.Thephoneisoffthehook,andthereissmashedglass onthefloorofthephonebooth.Whathappened? Note:I'vealwaysfeltuncomfortablewiththese"whathappened"riddles,becauseitseemslikeyoucoulddesigna widevarietyfantasticexplanations.Indeed,theofficialanswerI'vebeene mailedforthisriddleisquitefantastic.

BUS PASSENGERS

TheUCBerkeleybushadaminimalnumberofpassengers.WhenitarrivedatTelegraphAvenue,3/4ofthe passengersgotout,and7peoplegoton.Atthenexttwostops,ShattuckandHearst,thesamethinghappened. HowmanygotoffatHearst?

Takeoneofthosespinningsprinklerseveryonehasseenbefore,thekindthathastwopipesstickingoutwiththe endsslightlybenttothesideinoppositedirections.Let'ssaythesprinklernormallyturnsclockwisewhenshooting water.Hookahosefromthesprinklertoawaterpump.Submergethesprinklerinwater,sothatnowwhenyouturn onthepump,waterisdrawnthroughthesprinkler'spipes.Whathappenstothesprinkler?

SPRINKLERAND PUMP

Note:FromSurelyYou'reJoking,Mr.Feynman!byRichardFeynman.Originallyaproblemhotlydebatedamong Princetonphysicistsinthe1940s.Feynmanresolvedtheproblembyconductinganexperimentthatresultedinthe shatteringofaglasstankandultimatelygettingbannedfromalab. Forumthread:clickhere

SOLDERCUBE

Sayyouhavesomebendablewires(anynumber,anylength).Whatistheminimumnumberofsolderconnections neededtomakeacube?Proveit.Also,whatistheminimumnumberofwiresnecessary?Proveit.

Considerananalogclockfaceonwhichthehourandminutehandsmovesmoothly.Ifweswapthepositionofthe hourandminutehands,weusuallyendupwithaninvalidclockfacewhichneveroccursduringtheday(thehour handpointingdirectlyat12andtheminutehandat3,forinstance).Buttherearesometimeswhentheseswitched hands*do*tellavalidtime:specifically,whenthetwohandsarepointinginthesamedirection.Arethereanyother suchtimes?

ANALOGCLOCK III

Considerananalogclockfaceonwhichthehourandminutehandsmovesmoothly.Ifweswapthepositionofthe hourandminutehands,weusuallyendupwithaninvalidclockfacewhichneveroccursduringtheday(thehour handpointingdirectlyat12andtheminutehandat3,forinstance).Buttherearesometimeswhentheseswitched hands*do*tellavalidtime:specifically,whenthetwohandsarepointinginthesamedirection.Arethereanyother suchtimes? Note:FromJohnLeen,oneofmyCS170TAsfromSpring2002atUCBerkeley.Anexcellentteacher.

ANALOGCLOCK III

ThemasterofacollegeandhiswifehasdecidedtothrowapartyandinvitedNguestandtheirspouses.Onthenight oftheparty,allgueststurnedupwiththeirspouse,andtheyallhadagreattime.Whenthepartywasconcluding, themasterrequestedallhisguests(includinghiswife,butnothimself)towritedownthenumberofpersonsthey

PARTY HANDSHAKES

shookhandswith,andtoputthenumbersinabox.Whentheboxwasopened,hewassurprisedtofindallintegers from0to2Ninclusive. Assumingthatapersonnevershakehandswiththeirownspouseandthatnoonelied,howmanyhandsdidthe mastershake?

Avendorishandingoutfreeicecreamconesinalphabeticalorderofflavor,eachconebeingadifferentflavor.Kids arelinedupattheicecreamtruck,andyou'refirstinline!Thevendorwillhandyouicecreamconesoneatatime, andyoumustdecidewhethertokeeptheconeorpassitontothenextkidinline.Thefirstconeisguaranteedtobe chocolate.

RANDOMIZEDICE CREAM

Youlikeallflavorsequally,soyouwanttorandomlyselectaconewitheachflavorhavinganequalchanceofbeing chosen.Unfortunately,youdon'tknowthetotalnumberofflavors,butbeingthelittlehipsterthatyouare,youare carryingapocketcalculatorwhichcangeneraterandomnumbersfrom1toX,whereXisavalueyoupunchin.How canyoudecidewhichflavortokeep? Note:ProblemmadebyYosenLinandWilliamWu! 2002.Specialthankstotheforumregularsforproofreadingit.

Consideranansweringmachinewithremoteinquiryfacility,whereyoucancalltheansweringmachineandentera4 digitpasscodeintoyourtelephonekeypad,soyoucanlistentothemessagesfromanywhereyoulike.Manyofthese machineswillletyouinifyouenterthecorrectconsecutivesequenceofdigits,regardlessofwhatprecededthat sequence. Example:Passcodeis 1234.

ANSWER MACHINE HACKING

ifyoufeedthemachine1234,you'rein ifyoufeedthemachine01234,you'rein ifyoufeedthemachine0121234,you'rein ifyoufeedthemachine9412983870 1234,you'rein Tobruteforcehackthemachine,youcouldtryallnumbersfrom0000to9999,sending40000soundsacrossthewire. Butsinceyouareasmarthacker,youseethatthere'sroomforoptimization.Whatistheshortestseriesofdigitsyou havetosendtotheansweringmachineinordertobreakthecodeinanycase?

Youarepresentedwithaladder.Ateachstage,youmaychoosetoadvanceeitheronerungortworungs.Howmany differentpathsaretheretoclimbtoanyparticularrungi.e.howmanyuniquewayscanyouclimbtorung"n"?

LADDERRUNGS

Afteryou'vesolvedthat,generalize.Ateachstage,youcanadvanceanynumberofrungsfrom1toK.Howmany waysaretheretoclimbtorung"n"? Note:thenon generalizedquestionwasaskedataM$interview.

RACETRACKLAPS

YouareatatrackdayatyourlocalracecourseinyournewPorsche.Becauseit'sacrowdeddayatthetrack,youare onlyallowedtodotwolaps.Youhaven'tdrivenyourcaratthetrackyet,soyoutookthefirstlapeasy,at30miles perhour.Butyoudowanttoseewhatyourridiculoussportscarcando.Howfastdoyouhavetogoonthesecond laptoendthedaywithanaveragespeedof60milesperhour?

Allpatientsatthed'OralianNationalHospitalrequireconstantcare.Atleastonenursemustbebesideapatient'sbed atanytimeandanursecanonlycareforonepatientsimultaniously. Thenurseswon'tworkmorethateighthourswithinany24hourperiod,butdon'tcarewhentheirshiftstarts.Their shiftslooklikethis:workfivehours,onehourbreak,workanotherthreehours. Howmanynursesdoyouneedforonepatient?Howmanynursesdoyouneedfornpatients? Note:Designedbythecontributor,RemcoHartog!

IMPATIENT PATIENTS

EVSPI

Withoutcomputingtheiractualvalues,whichisgreater,e^(pi)or(pi)^e?

COINFLIPGAME WORTHII

Game:Youcontinueflippingacoinuntilyougetatails.Ithenawardyouprizemoneyequalto$2^(numberofheads). Howmuchareyouwillingtopaymetoplaythisgame?

EVSPI

Withoutcomputingtheiractualvalues,whichisgreater,e^(pi)or(pi)^e?

COINFLIPGAME WORTHII

Game:Youcontinueflippingacoinuntilyougetatails.Ithenawardyouprizemoneyequalto$2^(numberofheads). Howmuchareyouwillingtopaymetoplaythisgame?

COINFLIPGAME WORTHIII

Game:Youcontinueflippingacoinuntilthenumberofheadsequalsthenumberoftails.Ithenawardyouprize moneyequaltothenumberofflipsyouconducted. Howmuchareyouwillingtopaymetoplaythisgame?

271

Write271asthesumofpositiverealnumberssoastomaximizetheirproduct.

GivenacylindricaltowerwithadiameterofDandadoorofheightHfromtheground,whatisthelongestladderof

LADDERINTO TOWER

lengthLthatyoucouldmoveintothetowerandcompletelyenclose?Ignorethethicknessoftheladder. Note:WhilethecontributorwasservingintheGermanmilitary,asuperiorranktriedtooutsmarthimwiththisriddle. Itdidn'twork:)

6PERSON ACQUAINTANCE

Provethatinanygroupof6people,atleast3mustbeeithermutuallyacquaintedwitheachother,ormutually unacquaintedwitheachother.

XX

Ifxisapositiverationalnumber,provethatx^xisirrationalunlessxisaninteger.

Whilewillywutangwastryingtobecleverbyusingonly twocondomstosatisfythreewomen,increasedfriction betweenoverlappedlatexlayersproducesatearandadangerousaccident!Hethenbecomesveryworriedabout havingcontractedanSTD,especiallysinceoneofthewomenwasreallyskankylooking.Althougharandomperson hasonlyprobability0.001ofhavinganSTD,poorwillywutangjustcan'tsleepoverthoseodds.Franticallyhehustles tothenearestdrugstore,topurchasetheACMEAll PurposeSTDChecker.Thepackagingboastsa0.93correctness probability.Thatis,iftheuserhasanSTD,theACMESTDCheckerwillreturnpositive93%ofthetimeiftheuserdoes nothaveanSTD,itwillreturnnegative93%ofthetime.Willywutangreturnshomeandusesthecheckerinhis bathroom. Tohisdismay,theresultsarepositive. Assumingthatwillywutang'spromiscuityonaverageisidenticaltothatofarandomlychosenperson,whatisthe probabilitythatwillywutanghasSTDs?

WILLYWUTANG HASSTDS?

Kabouters:verysmall(upto10cm)peoplelivingintheforests,inmushroomsandroots.Wearingoldfashioned clothesANDtheyallwearapointedhat.Thosearekabouters... IntheforestsoftheNetherlandslivealargenumberofkabouterswearingtwodifferentcolorsofpointyhats.

KABOUTERS

Kaboutersconsideritveryrudetotalkaboutthecolorofthehattheyarewearing,somuchsothattheydon'teven knowthecoloroftheirownhat.Theyareabletolookanddistinguishthecolorofthehatsonotherkabouters.(They justwon'ttalkaboutit.)Noweveryyearallkaboutersneedtobecountedandtraditionallytheypresentthemselves intwogroupsdividedbythecoloroftheirhats.Howdotheydothiswithouttalkingorcommunicatingthecolorof theirhatstoanyoftheotherkabouters?

Considerthecircuitshownbelow.IfallcomponentsalongapathfromIntoOutareworking,thenthewholesystem isconsideredtobeworking. Throughappropriateexperimentationandmodelling,ithasbeendeterminedthatattimeT,componentC k failswith probabilityp k .Alsoassumethatcomponentfailureareindependent.

CIRCUITFAILURE ANALYSIS

a. b.

WhatistheprobabilitythesystemhasfailedattimeT? YourmaintenancetechnicianreportsthatattimeT,componentC khasfailed,butshehasn'tbeenabletocheckany othercomponentsyet.Whatistheprobabilitythesystemisworking?Repeatfork=1,2,3,4.

a. b.

WhatistheprobabilitythesystemhasfailedattimeT? YourmaintenancetechnicianreportsthatattimeT,componentC khasfailed,butshehasn'tbeenabletocheckany othercomponentsyet.Whatistheprobabilitythesystemisworking?Repeatfork=1,2,3,4.

Youarepartofagroupof10people.All10peopleareintheirrespectiveandSEPERATEhouses,waitingbythe phone.Youhavearumor.Youpickupthephonetostartspreadingitandyoucallsomeone,beginningachainsuch thatthenthpersontobecalledwillthencallandtellittooneotherperson,exceptthathewillnotcallhimselfnor wouldhe(naturally)callthepersonwhojusttoldhim(assume,forsimplicity,thatheWOULDcallsomeonewhohas

RUMOR SPREADING

toldhimtherumorbefore,aslongasitwasnotthepersonwhojustcalledhim). Soyoumakethefirstcall.Whatistheprobabilitythatthe5thcallistoyou? Now,canyoureworktheproblemsuchthatapersonwillNEVERcallanyonewhohasevertoldhimtherumorbefore (morerealistic,figuringtheyalreadyknowtherumorsowhycall)?Finally,canyougeneralizetheformulatocalculate theprobabilitythatthen thcallistoyou?

TREESFOR WILLYWUTANG

So,Willywutanghas(somehow)managedtogethimselfanicebigmansion.Themansionhasanicehugeyardin front.However,theyardiscompletelyflatandboring,soWillydecidesit'dlooknicewithafewtreesinfront.So,he hasalandscapercomeintoputinsometrees.Beingthepuzzlemeisterthatheis,Willydecidestogivethe landscaperariddle:Plant9treesintheyard,sothatthereare10rowsofthreetreeseach.Helpthepoorlandscaper decidehowtoplacethetrees.

Agroupofprisonersaretrappedinaforcefield.Theseprisonersareperfectlybrave,meaningthattheywouldattempt

FORCEFIELD DETAINMENT

anescapeonanypositiveprobabilityofsuccess.Theprisonersaremonitoredbyaguardwhohasonlyonebulletin hisgun,butwhoalsohasperfectmarksmanshipskills(henevermisses).Amaintenancetechnicianneedstotuneup theforcefieldgenerator,andsoforonesecond,theforcefieldisreleased.Howcantheguardstillkeepallthe prisonersdetained?

WHATHAPPENED II

Ablackman,dressedinblack,iscrossingaroad.He'sblindanddeaf.Atruckisspeedingtowardshim,withitslights turnedoff.Thestreetlampsarealsooffandthere'snomoonlight.Whenthetruckisabouttohittheman,thedriver hitsthebrakesandmanagestostopjustafewcentimetresfromhim.Howdidthedriverseetheman?

WHATHAPPENED III

Amanwalksintoabarandsays"Iwantacoffeeandaglassofwater.Butmakesurethecoffeeisboilinghotandthe waterisicecold."Thebarmansays"Surething,mr.fireman."Thebarmanhadnevermethimbefore.Howdidhe knowthemanwasafireman?

Mathematicsdepartmentsatsomesouth westernuniversitiesreceivedMr.H.N.sslylettersaskingfortheonereal solutionxofthefollowingtwoequations: 18=((1+x) 18 /x) 17=((1+x) 17 /x) ProfessorA.S.atoneofthosedepartmentssentMr.H.N.thefollowingbriefsolution: 18/17=((1+x) 18 /x)/((1+x) 17 /x)=1+x,sox=1/17 Arethereanyotherrealsolutionsx?Why?

ONEREAL SOLUTION

Hereisa"proof"thaty=0: Definef(x,y):=(x+y)^2.Nowsubstitutex=uv,andy=u+v.Takingpartialderivatives,weseethat f/ x= f/ y=2(x+y) x/ v=1 y/ v=+1

PROOFTHATY=0

NowtheChainRuleimplies f/ v=( f/ x)( x/ v)+( f/ y)( y/ v)=2(x+y)(1)+2(x+y)(1)=0 Butthedefinitionoff(u,v)=(u+v)^2impliesalsothat f/ v=2(u+v)=2y.Thereforey=0.Thusweshouldnever dividebyvariablesnamed"y"whilemanipulatingequations,becausey=0.

COINSSAME WEIGHT M

Supposeanoddnumber(atleastthree)ofcoinshavethepropertythat,ifanyonecoinisremoved,therestcanbe partitionedintotwogroupseachwiththesamenumberofcoinsandalsothesametotalweight.Showthatallthe coinsmusthavethesameweight. Note:Linearalgebracanbeusefulhere,butIdon'tknowifit'sabsolutelynecessary.

PAPERFOLD

Arectangularsheetofpaperisfoldedsothattwodiagonallyoppositecornerscometogether.Thecreasethusformed

COINSSAME WEIGHT M

Supposeanoddnumber(atleastthree)ofcoinshavethepropertythat,ifanyonecoinisremoved,therestcanbe partitionedintotwogroupseachwiththesamenumberofcoinsandalsothesametotalweight.Showthatallthe coinsmusthavethesameweight. Note:Linearalgebracanbeusefulhere,butIdon'tknowifit'sabsolutelynecessary.

PAPERFOLD RATIO

Arectangularsheetofpaperisfoldedsothattwodiagonallyoppositecornerscometogether.Thecreasethusformed isaslongasthelongersideoftherectangle.Whatistheratioofthelongersideoftherectangletotheshorter?

FARMER'S ENCLOSURE

Afarmerhasfourstraightpiecesoffencing:1,2,3,and4yardsinlength.Whatisthemaximumareahecanenclose byconnectingthepieces?

YouhaveNcomputersonaspacestation.Anaccidenthappens,andsomeofthecomputersaredamaged,butyou knowthenumberofgood(undamaged)computersisgreaterthanthenumberofbad(damaged)ones.Yourgoalisto find*one*computerthat'sstillgood. Youronlymethodoftestingisthefollowing:Useonecomputer(say,X)totestanother(Y).IfXisagoodcomputer,it

GOODANDBAD COMPUTERS

tellsyoucorrectlythestatusofY.IfXisbad,itmayormaynotgivethecorrectstatusofYassumeitwillgive whateveranswerisleastusefultoyourtestingstrategy. Inworst case,howmanytestsmustyouusetofindonecomputerthat'sstillgood?(intermsofN) You'repermittedanycombinationoftests,thoughkeepinmindthebadmachinesmaynotbeconsistentintheresults theygiveyou.

Whitetomove.WhatisoptimalplayforWhite?

CHESSSTUDYI C

Note:AveryfamousstudybyRichardReti,datingallthewaybackto1921.Retiwasaprofessionalinboth mathematicsandchesshefoundthelattermoreinterestingbecausehecouldforcepeopletobelievethetruthofhis ideas.Hebecamequitefamousin1924forbeingthefirsttodefeatCapablancainadecade.

Whitetomove.WhatisoptimalplayforWhite?

CHESSSTUDYII C

Note:AnotherRichardReticlassicstudyinvolvingtheendgameandthesurprisingpowerofKings.

Manyofushavehadexperiencewithslidepuzzles,inwhichtherearetilesnumberedfrom1through15,andyou havetoslidethetilessuchthatthenumbersareinincreasingsequencewhenreadfromlefttoright,toprowto bottom.Othervariantshavefragmentsofapictureprintedonthetiles. Canyousolvethefollowingslidepuzzles?Ifso,listasequenceofmovesthatproduceasolutionifnot,explain rigorously.Wewantthefirstpuzzletoread"123456789101112131415",andwewantthesecondpuzzleto read"RateYourMindPal."

1514SLIDE

havetoslidethetilessuchthatthenumbersareinincreasingsequencewhenreadfromlefttoright,toprowto bottom.Othervariantshavefragmentsofapictureprintedonthetiles. Canyousolvethefollowingslidepuzzles?Ifso,listasequenceofmovesthatproduceasolutionifnot,explain rigorously.Wewantthefirstpuzzletoread"123456789101112131415",andwewantthesecondpuzzleto read"RateYourMindPal."

1514SLIDE PUZZLES

ThereareNpeopleinoneroom.HowbigdoesNhavetobeuntiltheprobabilitythatatleasttwopeopleintheroom

BIRTHDAY PARADOX

havethesamebirthdayisgreaterthan50percent?(Samebirthdaymeanssamemonthandday,butnotnecessarily sameyear.) Note:Thisproblemisnotreallyaparadox,butitisgiventhislabelbecausetheanswerishardtobelieve.

YoudarenotoffendnordisappointGreatUncleWillylesthedisownyou.Hehasplaced$2000inyourhandstobeton theoutcomeoftheworldseries,whichisabaseballcontestwonbywhicheveroftwoteamsfirstwins4games. Willys$2000wasgiventoyouinadvanceoftheseries.Attheendoftheseriesheexpectsyoutoreturntohim either$4000iftheteamhechosewins,ornothingifitloses.

WORLDSERIES BETTING

Butyoucanfindnobodywhowillacceptbetsontheentireworldseries.However,therearewagererswhowilltake oneven oddsbets,inanyamount(s),oneachgameindividually.Whatstrategyforplacingbetsonindividualgames willachievethecumulativeresultWillyexpects?

Note:ThistaskwasreputedlysetbeforejobseekersataWallStreetbrokeragein1994.

You'replayingagamewithyourfriendonaninfinitelylargepieceofgraphpaper.Youandafriendeachhavea differentcolorpen.Youtaketurnsmarkingintersectionsofthegrid.Thewinneristhefirstpersontocolor4

SQUARESONA GRID

intersectionsthatformasquare.Thesquaremaybeofanysize,butitmustbeorientedinthedirectionofthegrid thatis,somethinglikethemidpointsofeachsideofa2x2squarewon'tqualify. Whatistheoptimalstrategyforeachplayer?

Anobtusetrianglehasoneofitsanglesgreaterthan90degrees.Anacutetrianglehasallofitsangleslessthan90 degrees.(Arighttriangleisneitheracutenorobtuse.) Eitherfindawaytocutupanyobtusetriangleintopieces,eachofwhichisanacutetriangle,orprovethatitcan'tbe done.

OBTUSE TRIANGLES

Note:"ThisoneisfromanoldMartinGardnerbook.Gardnerclaimsprofessionalmathematicianshavebeenknownto getitwrong.Thenagain,professionalmathematiciansgettheMontyHallproblemwrongsometimestoo."TimMann

Crapsisa1playerdicegamethatisplayedasfollows:Rolltwo6 sideddicetheirsumbecomesyour"initial"roll.If thisinitialrollis2,3,or12,youlose.Iftheinitialrollis7or11,youwin.Otherwise,keeprollingthediceuntilyou rerollyouinitialnumber(andwin)oruntilyourolla7(andlose). You'rebettingthatyouradversaryisgoingtolosehisgameofcraps,whichshouldbeafavorablebetforyou.Butyou

LOADEDCRAPS DICE

receiveananonymoustipthathe'ssecretlyloadedoneofthedice,sothatitwillalwayscomeup5.Thisincreaseshis chancesofwinningto2/3. Havinglearnedofhisevildeed,you'regoingtosecretlyloadhisotherdiesoastominimizehischanceofwinning. Withwhatprobabilityshouldyouloadeachofthesixfaces?Andhowdoesthatchangehisprobabilityofwinning?

Note:WritingcreditstoMattLahut.

Therearethreeone dimensionaltracks,oflength12,7,and5spacesrespectively.Youstartwithpenniesinthefirst spaceofeachtrackyouropponentstartswithpenniesinthelastspaceofeachtrack.Onyourturn,youmaymove anyoneofyourpenniesanynumberofspacesineitherdirectionalongatrack(asachessrook),howeveryouare notpermittedtobypasstheotherplayer'spennyoroccupyitsspace.Ifaplayerhasnolegalmove,heloses.

PENNYTRACK GAME

Whatshouldyourfirstmovebe?

Therearethreeone dimensionaltracks,oflength12,7,and5spacesrespectively.Youstartwithpenniesinthefirst spaceofeachtrackyouropponentstartswithpenniesinthelastspaceofeachtrack.Onyourturn,youmaymove anyoneofyourpenniesanynumberofspacesineitherdirectionalongatrack(asachessrook),howeveryouare notpermittedtobypasstheotherplayer'spennyoroccupyitsspace.Ifaplayerhasnolegalmove,heloses.

PENNYTRACK GAME

Whatshouldyourfirstmovebe?

Note:Hardcorepuzzlerswillprobablysolvethisimmediately,butnewerpeoplemighttakequitesometime.Forthe newerpeople,thesolutiontothisisausefultricktohaveinyourrandompuzzle solvingarsenal.Asasub problem, youmaywanttotrysolvingitwithoutthe5lengthtrack.

POSITIVEMATRIX SUMS

Youhaveanmxngridwithsomerealnumbersineachcell.Youcanmultiplyanyrowby1,oranycolumnby1. Showthatbymakingmultiplicationsofthiskind,thesumofthenumbersineveryrow,andthesumofthenumbersin everycolumn,canallbemadenonnegativesimultaneously.

Showntothebelow leftisacheckerboardmutilatedbytheremovaloftwosquaresfromeachoftwoopposite corners.Showntothebelow rightaretwoTshapedtiles,eachofwhichcancoverfoursquaresofthecheckerboard exactly.

TETRAMINOES ONA CHECKERBOARD

Iftilesofbothkindsareabundant,andiftilesmayberotated,canthemutilatedcheckerboardbecoveredexactly withnonoverlappingtilesthatmatchthecolorsofcoveredsquares?Why?

InanpresidentialelectionbetweenWillywutangandBillybutane,thewinningcandidateWillywutanghasreceivedn+k

ALWAYSAHEAD

votes,whereasBillybutanehasreceivednvotes.(nandkarepositiveintegers.)Ifballotsarecountedinarandom order,whatistheprobabilitythatWillywutang'saccumulatingcountwillalwaysleadhisopponent's,andwhy? Note:Cuteeh?Alsoapracticalcalculation...well,maybe.

Adeckof26redand26blackcardsisshuffledintorandomorderandplacedfacedown.Thenthecardsareturnedup

CALLINGA CARD'SCOLOR

onebyoneandobservedbyaguesser.Hegetsoneguess:Atamomentofhischoicehemayassertthatthenext cardwillturnupred.Afterthiscardisturnedupthegameendsandhewinsifhisassertionwascorrect,loses otherwise.Andifhedoesn'tguessatallbythetimeallcardshavebeendealt,helosesbydefault.Whatguessing policychoseninadvancemaximizeshischanceofwinning?

Considercomputingtheproductoftwocomplexnumbers (a+bi)and(c+di).Byfoilingthepolynomialsaswelearned ingradeschool,weget

a+bi c+di a d i bd ca+cbi ca bd+ad+cbi

COMPLEX MULTIPLICATION

Notethatthisstandardmethoduses 4multiplicationsand2additionstocomputetheproduct.(Theplussignin between(ca bd)and(ad+cb)idoesnotcountasanaddition.Thinkofacomplexnumberassimplya2tuple.) Itisactuallypossibletocomputethiscomplexproductusingonly3multiplicationsand3additions.Fromalogicdesign perspective,thisispreferablesincemultiplicationsaremoreexpensivetoimplementthanadditions.Canyoufigure outhowtodothis?

Alittlewhileago,WillyWutangwasthinkingaboutthe SprinklerandPumppuzzle.Willy,havingacreativemind(or atleastawell developedsenseofmischief)hadaflashofinspiration,andcameupwithaverynovelsprinklerdesign. However,beforehecanpatenthisnewsprinkler,Willymustfigureoutwhatitdoes hislawyersaysit'sanecessary partofthepatentprocess.

Alittlewhileago,WillyWutangwasthinkingaboutthe SprinklerandPumppuzzle.Willy,havingacreativemind(or atleastawell developedsenseofmischief)hadaflashofinspiration,andcameupwithaverynovelsprinklerdesign. However,beforehecanpatenthisnewsprinkler,Willymustfigureoutwhatitdoes hislawyersaysit'sanecessary partofthepatentprocess.

CRAZY SPRINKLER

1. 2. Firstofall,doesthesprinklerturn?Ifso,inwhichdirectiondoesitturn? Second,whatdothejetsofwaterdo?Inthepictureabove,thesprinklerisshownattheinstantjustbefore thejetsofwatercollide.However,inthepicturethesprinklerisbeingheldstill,sothatevenifitwantstoturn, itcannot. Third,doesthebehaviourofthejetsofwaterdependonwhetherornotthesprinklerisallowedtorotate? Doesitmaybedependonhowfastthesprinklerrotates?

3.

Note:WritingcreditstoJamesFingas!

Whatrowofnumberscomesnext?

CONWAY SEQUENCE

1 11 21 1211 111221 312211 13112221

Note:MathematicianJohnConwayspentconsiderabletimestudyingthissequence.

WillyWutangiswritingtohisoverseassweetheart.Hewritesasteamyloveletter,sealstheenvelope,andthen inscribesthefollowingcrypticaddressonthefront:

CRYPTIC ADDRESS

Wood,S April England

Strangelyenough,theletterreachesitsintendedrecipient.WhatisWilly'ssweetheart'saddress?

Note:WritingcreditstoJamesFingas:)

WillyWutangismakingarobot,andhehasboughthimselfasetof24fingergauges.Forthoseofyouwhohave neverseenasetofthese,eachgaugeisastripofmetalabout1/2"wideandaboutonefootlong.Eachisadifferent thickness(0.001"upto0.024").Eachhasaholeinoneend,andtheyarefastenedtogetherwithanutandbolt,in orderofthickness. Willy'scalculationsindicatethat,withtheflamethrowerattachmentextended,hemustadjustthesparkplugtobe 0.086"fromthejelliedgasolinenozzle.Hepullsouthistrustyfingergaugeset,andrealizestheyonlygoupto 0.024".Howcanheaccuratelysetthesparkplugdistance? Ifyou'vefiguredouthowWillymeasured0.086",whatisthesmallestmeasurement(inthousandthsofaninch)that Willycan'tmakeusinghissetoffeelergauges?Whatisthesmallestmeasurement(inthousandthsofaninch)that Willycan'tapproximateto+/ 0.001"?

FINGERGAUGES

Note:WritingcreditstotheprolificJamesFingas.

Anacrobatthiefentersanancienttemple,andfindsthefollowingscenario:

Note:WritingcreditstotheprolificJamesFingas.

Anacrobatthiefentersanancienttemple,andfindsthefollowingscenario: 1. 2. 3. 4. Theroofofthetempleis100metershigh. Intherooftherearetwoholes,separatedby1meter. Througheachholepassesasinglegoldrope,eachgoingallthewaytothefloor. Thereisnothingelseintheroom.

ACROBATTHIEF ANDGOLD ROPES

Thethiefwouldliketocutandstealasmuchoftheropesashecan.However,heknowsthatifhefallsfromheight thatisgreaterthan10meters,hewilldie.Theonlythinginhispossessionisaknife. Howmuchlengthofropecantheacrobatthiefget?Andhow?

SUMOF RECIPROCALS

Showthatthesumofthereciprocalsofthefirstnpositivenumbersisnotanintegerforn>1.

Willywutangisholdingabirthdayparty.Eitherporqpeoplearegoingtoshowup,wherepandqarerelativelyprime numbers.Willywantstocutthecakebeforehand,sohisguestswillnotwastetimewaitingforslicestobecarvedout. WhatisthesmallestnumberofslicesWillymustcutoutsuchthateveryguestcanbegiventhesameamountofcake, regardlessofwhetherporqpeopleshowup?Theslicesdonothavetobeequallysized,andeachguestcould receivemorethanoneslice.Also,Willyisnotallowedtoeatthewholecakeandgivenothingtoalltheguests.Also, theentirecakemustbedistributedamongsttheguests therecanbenoleftovers.

CAKEDIVISION

Note1:Twonumbersarerelativelyprimeiftheysharenocommonfactors.Soforexample,thenumbers4and9are relativelyprime,butthenumbers10and15arenotbecausetheysharethenumber5asacommonfactor. Note2:(5/27/20032:17PM)Editedtospecifythattheentirecakemustbegivenaway.

1/27/20038:30PM SomewhereinNorthernEurasia,agroupof20lemmingsisplanningaspecialgroupsuicidethisyear.Eachofthe lemmingswillbeplacedinarandompositionalongathin,100meterlongplankofwoodwhichisfloatinginthesea. Eachlemmingisequallylikelytobefacingeitherendoftheplank.Attimet=0,allthelemmingswalkforwardataslow speedof1meterperminute.Ifalemmingbumpsintoanotherlemming,thetwobothreversedirections.Ifalemming fallsofftheplank,hedrowns.Whatisthelongesttimethatmustelapsetillallthelemmingshavedrowned?

LEMMING DROWNINGS
Author:WilliamWu Note1:Ifyoumakeacertainobservation,thecalculationsrequiredbecomeverytrivial! Note2:Yes,IknowLemmingsdon'treallycommitgroupsuicides.Problemandstorylinewasinspiredbythe Lemmingsvideogame.

1/27/20038:30PM

RESISTORCUBE

Imagineacubewhereeachedgeisa1ohmresistor.Findtheresistancebetweenoppositecornersofthecube. Therearemanywaystosolvethisproblem,butsomewaysaremorecleverthanothers.

1/27/20038:30PM Twoastronautsarestandingonaspinningspacestationshapedlikeadisk.Theyarethesameradialdistanceaway fromthedisk'scenter,andstandingoppositetoeachotheracrossfromthecenter(e.g.,ifyoudrawalineconnecting thetwoastronauts,thelinecrossesthedisk'scenter.)Oneastronautwantstotossawrenchtotheother.Among theinfinitudeoftrajectorieswhichwillaccomplishthisgoal,characterizeoneofthetrajectorieswithoutwritinga singleequation.

ASTROWRENCH P

Note:Bewarygrasshopper.Thereareseveralcommonwronganswerstothisproblem!

2/2/20033:31AM Whatarethenextfewtermsinthesequence? /\ /\

2/2/20033:31AM Whatarethenextfewtermsinthesequence? /\ /\ //\\ /\ /\/\ /\ ///\\\ //\\ /\/\

SLASHAND DASHSEQUENCE

Hint1:Maybeit'llgoeasierifyoureplacewith0,andthe/and\with(and).Ornot. Hint2:Thesearejustthenumbers1through10,expresseddifferently.Anddespitethepresenceofzero,youcan't expresszerothisway. Hint3:Allyourbasearebelongtoprimenumbers.

2/2/20033:31AM Twothievesconspiretostealavaluablenecklacemadeofdiamondsandrubies(evenlyspaced,butnotnecessarily alternatingorsymmetric).Aftertheytakeithome,theydecidethattheonlywaytodividethebootyfairlyisto physicallycutthenecklaceinhalf. Provethat,ifthereisanevennumberofdiamondsandanevennumberofrubies,it'spossibletocutthenecklace intotwopieces,eachofwhichcontainshalfthediamondsandhalftherubies.

JEWELTHIEVES

3/9/20034:11AM Inaclicheefforttoillustratetheimportanceofteamworkorientedproblemsolving,theBosshaschainedDilbertto CarolTheSecretaryviawirewrappedaroundtheirwrists,asshowninthefollowingsnapshot:

WIRECUFFS

ThegoalisforDilbertandCaroltounlinkthemselvesfromeachotherconsideringwhatahorriblewomanCarolis, Dilbertwouldn'thaveitanyotherway.Thewireisunbreakable,andasmuchasDilbertwouldliketosawoffCarol's limbs,that'sagainstcompanypolicy.HowcanDilbertandCarolgetawayfromeachother?

4/7/200312:47AM WhilerecoveringfromwoundsintheAmericanCivilWar,aCaptainFoxthrewneedlesatasurfaceruledwithparallel lines,andwasthusabletoexperimentallyinferthevalueofpi.Truestory!Tofindoutexactlyhowpiplaysintothis scenario,solvethefollowingproblem:Asurfaceisruledwithparallellines.ThelinesareatdistanceDapartfromeach other.SupposewethrowaneedleoflengthLonthesurfaceatrandom.Whatistheprobabilitythattheneedlewill intersectoneofthelines?

BUFFON'S NEEDLE M
Note1:Afamousproblemposedandsolvedin1777byFrenchnaturalistBuffon.Ithaslongsincefascinated scientists,andmarkstheoriginofgeometricalprobability theanalysisofgeometricalconfigurationsofrandomly placedobjects. Note2:These19thcenturyexperimentsbegandevelopmentoftheMonteCarlomethod,whichusesrepeated simulationtoapproximatetruestatistics. Note3:Thisisn'tmuchofariddle...morelikejustaninterestingmathematicalexercise.Themostchallengingpartis settinguptheproblem.

4/7/200312:47AM SamwiseGamgeehasasquareplotofland,eachsidebeing1unit.Oneday,SamfindsoutthatthedarkLordSauron hasatelephonelinethatheusestospeakwithatraitoramongstthehobbits. Gandalfinformshimthatthetelephonelinerunsinastraightlineparalleltothegroundandpassesbeneaththe squareplotofland,buthedoesnotknowitslocation.Samdecidestodiguparoundtheperimeterofhislandto discoverthetelephoneline,butGandalfsaysitisnotnecessarytodigaroundtheentirelengthof4units.

SAMWISEAND GANDALF

SamwiseGamgeehasasquareplotofland,eachsidebeing1unit.Oneday,SamfindsoutthatthedarkLordSauron hasatelephonelinethatheusestospeakwithatraitoramongstthehobbits. Gandalfinformshimthatthetelephonelinerunsinastraightlineparalleltothegroundandpassesbeneaththe squareplotofland,buthedoesnotknowitslocation.Samdecidestodiguparoundtheperimeterofhislandto discoverthetelephoneline,butGandalfsaysitisnotnecessarytodigaroundtheentirelengthof4units. Sambrightensup,andsays"Iknowwhatyoumean.Icanjustdig3sidesandstilldiscoverit.Forevenifthephone linerunsalongthefourthside,Iwillstilldetectitattheendpoints!" Gandalfshakeshishead."No,Sam.Youareontherighttrack,butyoucandobetterthanthat." WhatsolutiondoesGandalfhaveinmindfortheoptimumlengthofthe"diggingcurve"?

SAMWISEAND GANDALF

4/7/200312:47AM

RETROGRADE CHESSI C

Whatwasthelastmovemade?

Note:FromKarlFabel's1955bookRundumdasSchachbrett.

5/11/200310:44PM

PATHCOLLISION
ConsideranNxNgrid.DenoteonecorneraspointA,andtheoppositecorneraspointB.GeorgeiswalkingfromAto B,andLennieiswalkingfromBtoA.Allpathsareequallylikely,aslongastheyfollowthegridandnevermoveaway fromthedestination.(HenceGeorge'spathcannevermovedownorleft,andLennie'spathcannevermoveupor right.)
l l

WhatistheprobabilitythatGeorgeandLenniecollide? IfGeorgerunsandthusmovesthreetimesfasterthanLennie,whatistheprobabilityofcollision?

5/11/200310:44PM

ROPEAROUND THEEARTH

AssumetheEarthisaperfectsphereofradiusrandsupposearopeofzeroelasticityistiedtightlyaroundit.One metreisnowaddedtotherope'slength.IftheropeisnowpulledatonepointashighaspossibleabovetheEarth's surface,whatheightwillbereached?

5/11/200310:44PM Twournscontainthesametotalnumbersofballs,someblacksandsomewhitesineach.Fromeachurnaredrawnn ballswithreplacement,wheren>=3.Findthenumberofdrawingsandthecompositionofthetwournssothatthe probabilitythatallwhiteballsaredrawnfromthefirsturnisequaltotheprobabilitythatthedrawingfromthesecond iseitherallwhitesorallblacks.

MOLINA'SURNS

Author:E.C.Molina.

5/27/20032:24PM

Author:E.C.Molina.

5/27/20032:24PM ConsideragamblingmachineA.Whenyouputin$Xandpullthehandle,itwillspitout(equallylikely)either$0.7*X, $0.8*X,$0.9*X,$1.1*X,$1.2*X,or$1.5*X.

TWOGAMBLING MACHINES

Nowconsiderthefollowingtwowaysofplayingthismachine: 1. 2. Putin$1,pullthehandle,andkeepwhateveryouget.Repeat. Initially,putin$1.Pullthehandle,thenputinwhateveryouget.Repeat.

Canyouwinmoneywiththismachine?Whichisthebetterwaytoplay?Howcanthisbe?

HEXAGONIN CIRCLE

5/11/200310:44PM Ahexagonwithsidesoflength2,7,2,11,7,11isinscribedinacircle.Findtheradiusofthecircle.

Contributor:MarkNewheiser

5:15PM8/3/2004

Youhave1000pirates,whoareallextremelygreedy,heartless,andperfectlyrational.They'realsoawarethatallthe otherpiratessharethesecharacteristics.They'reallrankedbytheorderinwhichtheyjoinedthegroup,frompirate onedowntoathousand. They'vestumbledacrossahugehordeoftreasure,andtheyhavetodecidehowtosplititup.Everydaytheywillvote toeitherkillthelowestrankingpirate,orsplitthetreasureupamongthesurvivingpirates.If50%ormoreofthem votetosplitit,thetreasuregetssplit.Otherwise,theykillthelowestrankingpirateandrepeattheprocessuntilhalf ormoreofthepiratesdecidetosplitthetreasure. Thequestion,ofcourse,isatwhatpointwillthetreasurebesplit,andwhatwilltheprecisevotebe? Afterthat,considersolvingtheproblemwhenatwo thirdsorthree fourthsmajorityisrequired.Trytogeneralizethe result.

ELEGANTLY GREEDYPIRATES

Contributor:WilliamWu

9:00PM8/19/2004

Startingwith0dollars,yourepeatedlyflipafaircoin,earning$1eachtimeheadsappears,andlosing$1eachtime tailsappears.WhenyournetcashreacheseitherAor B,youstopgambling. 1. 2. AsafunctionofAandB,computetheexpectednumberofflipsuntilthegamestops. Nowconsidertheunstoppedversionofthisprocess,inwhichyougambleindefinitelyregardlessofyourcurrent profitordebt.Provethattheexpectedtimetillyournetcashis+$1isinfinite.Likewise,theexpectedtimetill yournetcashis$1isalsoinfinite.Andyetoneofthesetwoeventsmustoccuruponthefirstcoinflip!

FAIRCOIN GAMBLING

Forumthreads:MoreHeadsThanTailsandLazyhuntercatchtherabbit.

Contributor:WilliamWu

9:00PM8/19/2004

JUMPINGFROG ONLADDER

Imagineauprightladderwithnrungs.Ateachtimestep,afrogjumpstooneofthenrungsuniformlyatrandom. (Thefrogcouldjumpinplace.)Assumetimestartscountingfrom1,andtheinitialrungpositionisalsochosen uniformlyatrandom. Asthenumberofrungstendstoinfinity,whatistheexpectedtimetillthefrogfirstjumpsdownwards?Proveit.

Author:WilliamWu

Contributor:Eigenray

9:00PM8/19/2004

LetQdenotethesetofrationals.HowmanycolorsarerequiredtocoloreverypointofQ^kinsuchawaythatnotwo

COLORINGTHE RATIONALPLANE

pointsaunitdistanceapartarethesamecolor? 1. 2. 3. Easy:k=1 Medium:k=2,3 Hard:k>3

Contributor:JocKoelman

9:00PM8/19/2004

RANDOMPOINTS ONSPHERE

Twopointsonthesurfaceofaspherearedrawnuniformlyatrandom.Whatisthemaximumlikelihoodestimateofthe distancebetweenthesetwopoints?Theanswermaybeshockingatfirst.Aftergettingtheanswer,trytoexplainit

3.

Hard:k>3

Contributor:JocKoelman

9:00PM8/19/2004

RANDOMPOINTS ONSPHERE

Twopointsonthesurfaceofaspherearedrawnuniformlyatrandom.Whatisthemaximumlikelihoodestimateofthe distancebetweenthesetwopoints?Theanswermaybeshockingatfirst.Aftergettingtheanswer,trytoexplainit intuitively.

Contributor:Aryabhatta

9:00PM8/19/2004

Youaregivenn>=2pointsinthe2 Dplane.Foreachpairofpoints(P,Q)fromthenpoints,markthemidpointofPQ

NUMBEROF MIDPOINTS

red.Showthatthereareatleast2n 3distinctredpoints.Foreachn,showanarrangementofnpointsforwhich thereareexactly2n 3distinctredpoints.

Source:IranianMathematicalOlympiad

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