Mathematical Brainteasers with Surprising Solutions

by Owen O'Shea, Colm Mulcahy (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633885844
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	104,202
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Owen O'Shea is the author of The Call of the Primes and The Magic Numbers of the Professor (with Underwood Dudley) as well as articles in the Journal of Recreational Mathematics and EdgeScience.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction xv

Easy Puzzles, Easy Teasers 1

1 The Rope Ladder 3

2 The Bottle and the Cork 5

3 The Newspaper Round 7

4 Cigarette Butts 9

5 Which Tank Will Empty First? 11

6 How Long Is the Line AB? 13

7 Blaney to Slaney 15

8 The Case of the Missing Dollar 17

9 How Long Is the Side of the Inner Square? 19

10 The Train Leaving and Returning to the Station 21

11 The Height of the Stack of Paper 23

12 The Caterpillar 25

13 Brooklyn versus Bronx 27

14 The Color of the Bear 29

15 9 Coins 31

16 2 Teenagers 33

17 The Unlucky Storekeeper 35

18 Bacteria in a Jar 37

19 3 Cats 39

20 The Thief in the Store 41

21 Counting Blonde Students 43

22 The Cost of Shoeing a Horse 45

23 The 16-Inch Ruler 49

24 Pay Raise and Pay Cut 51

25 The Cleaning Lady 53

Challenging Teasers 55

26 The Lonely Monk 57

27 The Town Council Clock 59

28 The Books on the Bookshelf 61

29 The Black and White Marbles 63

30 How Far Has the Fly Traveled? 65

31 5 Loaves and 3 Gentlemen 67

32 2 Red Queens and a Black Ace 69

33 The Curious Transaction That Resulted in a Missing Dollar 71

34 Counting the Number of Earrings 73

35 The Bicycle Race 75

36 The Will 77

37 The 2 Crossing Ropes 79

38 The 2 Bullets in a Revolver 83

39 The Bookworm 85

40 How Many Ways Can the 20 Numbers on a Dartboard Be Arranged? 87

41 The Tower of Hanoi Puzzle 89

42 The Kidnapper 93

43 The 5 Letters and Envelopes 95

44 The Rate of Speed That Mary Swims 97

45 The Floating Ice Cube 99

46 The 10 Stacks of Coins 101

47 Signs along the Highway 103

48 Choose 2 Good Eggs from 6 105

49 The Party 107

50 Whom Should Johnny Play First? 109

51 The Engagement Ring 113

52 The 2 Women Selling Apples 115

53 Tommy Takes a Walk 119

54 The Story of Linda 123

55 The Problem of the Average Speed on the Round-Trip 127

56 Bixley to Quixley 129

57 The Boat and Its Cargo 133

58 The Mutilated Checkerboard 135

59 The Rose Garden 139

60 The Deck of Cards Problem 143

61 The Weight of the Potatoes 145

62 Calculating the Width of a River 147

63 The Green and Blue Cabs 151

64 The 3 Dice 153

65 The 3 Vagabonds 155

66 The Tennis Tournament 157

67 2 Footballs 159

68 The Birthday Paradox 161

69 The Second Child Puzzle 165

70 The 4 Bridge Players 169

71 The 2 End Digits of 20 Numbers 171

72 Lewis Carroll's Problem in Probability 173

73 Against the Wind 175

74 The 2 Express Trains 177

75 The Man Packing a Suitcase 179

Slightly More Challenging Teasers 181

76 The Links in the Gold Chain 183

77 The Rotating Coin 187

78 Dividing the Spoils 189

79 Counting the Votes 191

80 The Fence-Post Problem 193

81 Mr. Blueberry's Will 195

82 The Jeweler and the Chain 197

83 The Price of a Book 199

84 Visiting a Friend 201

85 The Typing Teenager 203

86 Mr. Simpson's Influence 205

87 The Potential Employee 209

88 The Price of Books 211

89 The Lady in the Jewelry Store 213

90 Proving Dr. Krieger's Equation Cannot Hold 215

91 The Problem Involving Percentages 217

92 The HIV Test 219

93 The Mammogram Test 221

94 Boys and Girls 223

95 The Distance to the Horizon 227

96 Traversing 50 Miles of Track 231

97 2 Steamboats 233

98 The Bridge Players 237

99 The Most Likely Position of the First Black Ace in a Shuffled Deck 241

100 Gold and Silver Coins 243

101 The Paradox of the Second Ace 245

102 The Pay Raise 249

103 The Daily Commuter 253

104 How Far Is It from Flag D to Flag A? 255

105 The 2 Tennis Players 261

106 The Courier Problem 265

107 The Lake Problem 269

108 The Spot in a Rectangle 273

109 How Should the Investment Be Divided? 277

110 Square Fields and Fence Hurdles 279

111 The Rope around the Earth 283

112 The Rope in the Soccer Playing Field 285

113 Which Scenario Should You Choose? 287

114 What Is the Probability That You Will Get Your Assigned Seat? 289

115 The Floating Hat 291

116 The 2 Riverboats 295

117 What Is the Largest Number That Can Be Expressed Using 3 Digits? 299

118 Lottery Odds 301

119 Water and Brandy 303

120 The Hole through a Sphere 305

121 The Ant on a Rubber Rope 311

Short Biographies 315

Samuel Loyd 317

Henry Ernest Dudeney 321

Martin Gardner 325

Notes 333

Select Bibliography 337