Mathematical Brainteasers with Surprising Solutions

Description

Proves that math can be serious fun!If you like any kind of game at all, you'll enjoy the amazing mathematical brainteasers in this entertaining book. No special mathematics training is needed. With an emphasis on puzzling word problems with surprising solutions, the author presents his mathematical hurdles in order of increasing difficulty. Many appear deceptively simple, such as: How many quarter-inch marks are on an unusual sixteen-inch ruler? Or: If the cost of a bottle and a cork is $1.10 and the bottle costs $1.00 more than the cork, how much did the bottle alone cost? Check the answers before you decide that these are too easy. You may be surprised.Novices may want to begin with some of the teasers in the first "easy" section. More experienced math-heads may want to test their wits with the "challenging" or even the "difficult" sections (some are fiendishly difficult). Including word problems by famed mathematical puzzle geniuses Sam Loyd (1841 - 1911) and Henry Ernest Dudeney (1857 - 1930), which have entertained recreational math aficionados for more than a century, this book has something for puzzle solvers at any level. And for the math phobic, it may whet your appetite to delve into a subject you thought could only be boring. Contents Foreword Introduction Easy Puzzles, Easy Teasers 1 The Rope Ladder 2 The Bottle and the Cork 3 The Newspaper Round 4 Cigarette Butts 5 Which Tank Will Empty First? 6 How Long Is the Line AB? 7 Blaney to Slaney 8 The Case of the Missing Dollar 9 How Long Is the Side of the Inner Square? 10 The Train Leaving and Returning to the Station 11 The Height of the Stack of Paper 12 The Caterpillar 13 Brooklyn versus Bronx 14 The Color of the Bear 15 9 Coins 16 2 Teenagers 17 The Unlucky Storekeeper 18 Bacteria in a Jar 19 3 Cats 20 The Thief in the Store 21 Counting Blonde Students 22 The Cost of Shoeing a Horse 23 The 16-Inch Ruler 24 Pay raise and Pay cut 25 The Cleaning Lady Challenging Teasers 26 The Lonely Monk 27 The Town Council Clock 28 The Books on the Bookshelf 29 The Black and White Marbles 30 How Far Has the Fly Traveled? 31 5 Loaves and 3 Gentlemen 32 2 Red Queens and a Black Ace 33 The Curious Transaction That Resulted in a Missing Dollar 34 Counting the Number of Earrings 35 The Bicycle Race 36 The Will 37 The 2 Crossing Ropes 38 The 2 Bullets in a Revolver 39 The Bookworm 40 How Many Ways Can the 20 Numbers on a Dartboard Be Arranged? 41 The Tower of Hanoi Puzzle 42 The Kidnapper 43 The 5 Letters and Envelopes 44 The Rate of Speed That Mary Swims 45 The Floating Ice Cube 46 The 10 Stacks of Coins 47 Signs along the Highway 48 Choose 2 Good Eggs from 6 49 The Party 50 Whom Should Johnny Play First? 51 The Engagement Ring 52 The 2 Women Selling Apples 53 Tommy Takes a Walk 54 The Story of Linda 55 The Problem of the Average Speed on the Round-Trip 56 Bixley to Quixley 57 The Boat and Its Cargo 58 The Mutilated Checkerboard 59 The Rose Garden 60 The Deck of Cards Problem 61 The Weight of the Potatoes 62 Calculating the Width of a River 63 The Green and Blue Cabs 64 The 3 Dice 65 The 3 Vagabonds 66 The Tennis Tournament 67 2 Footballs 68 The Birthday Paradox 69 The Second Child Puzzle 70 The 4 Bridge Players 71 The 2 End Digits of 20 Numbers 72 Lewis Carroll’s Problem in Probability 73 Against the Wind 74 The 2 Express Trains 75 The Man Packing a Suitcase Slightly More Challenging Teasers 76 The Links in the Gold Chain 77 The Rotating Coin 78 Dividing the Spoils 79 Counting the Votes 80 The Fence-Post Problem 81 Mr. Blueberry’s Will 82 The Jeweler and the Chain 83 The Price of a Book 84 Visiting a Friend 85 The Typing Teenager 86 Mr. Simpson’s Influence 87 The Potential Employee 88 The Price of Books 89 The Lady in the Jewelry Store 90 Proving Dr. Krieger’s Equation Cannot Hold 91 The Problem Involving Percentages 92 The HIV Test 93 The Mammogram Test 94 Boys and Girls 95 The Distance to the Horizon 96 Traversing 50 Miles of Track 97 2 Steamboats 98 The Bridge Players 99 The Most Likely Position of the First Black Ace in a Shuffled Deck 100 Gold and Silver Coins 101 The Paradox of the Second Ace 102 The Pay Raise 103 The Daily Commuter 104 How Far Is It from Flag D to Flag A? 105 The 2 Tennis Players 106 The Courier Problem 107 The Lake Problem 108 The Spot in a Rectangle 109 How Should the Investment Be Divided? 110 Square Fields and Fence Hurdles 111 The Rope around the Earth 112 The Rope in the Soccer Playing Field 113 Which Scenario Should You Choose? 114 What Is the Probability That You Will Get Your Assigned Seat? 115 The Floating Hat 116 The 2 Riverboats 117 What Is the Largest Number That Can Be Expressed Using 3 Digits? 118 Lottery Odds 119 Water and Brandy 120 The Hole through a Sphere 121 The Ant on a Rubber Rope Short Biographies Samuel Loyd Henry Ernest Dudeney Martin Gardner Notes Select Bibliography