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    Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles
    Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles
    Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles
    Ebook182 pages2 hours

    Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles

    By Dick Hess

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    About this ebook

    Divide a rectangular cake into five even pieces, calculate the cost of running a successful casino, figure out the maximum number of losses on the road to winning the U.S. Open Tennis Championship, and solve other amusing and challenging puzzles — including a mathematical brainteaser involving a couple of holes of golf on the surface of the moon.
    In addition to logical puzzles and mathematical paradoxes, this original collection features a variety of word problems and sports-related riddles. The puzzles, which vary in complexity from playful propositions to tough mathematical conundrums, are suitable for ages 12 and up. Detailed solutions appear at the end.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateAug 21, 2013
    ISBN9780486315706
    Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles

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      Book preview

      Golf on the Moon - Dick Hess

      GOLF

      ON THE

      MOON

      Entertaining Mathematical

      Paradoxes and Puzzles

      DICK HESS

      DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

      MINEOLA, NEW YORK

      To my progeny with love and affection.

      Helen, Ed and Nancy

      Nina, Rebecca, Kylie and Toby

      Long may they prosper.

      Copyright

      Copyright © 2014 by Dick Hess

      All rights reserved.

      Bibliographical Note

      Golf on the Moon: Entertaining Mathematical Paradoxes and Puzzles is a new work, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2014.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Hess, Dick.

      Golf on the moon : entertaining mathematical paradoxes and puzzles / by Dick Hess.

      pages cm

      eISBN-13: 978-0-486-31570-6

      1. Mathematical recreations. 2. Mathematics—Problems, exercises, etc.

      I. Title.

      QA95.H476 2014

      793.74—dc23

      2012050344

      Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

      49738001 2014

      www.doverpublications.com

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Chapter 1

      Playful Puzzles

      Chapter 2

      Digital Puzzles

      Chapter 3

      Geometrical Puzzles

      Chapter 4

      Logical Puzzles

      Chapter 5

      Analytical Puzzles

      Chapter 6

      Probability Puzzles

      Chapter 7

      Physics Puzzles

      Chapter 8

      Modest Polyomino Puzzles

      Chapter 9

      MathDice Puzzles

      Solutions

      Acknowledgments

      INTRODUCTION

      This book is a sequel to Mental Gymnastics: Recreational Mathematical Puzzles, written by me and published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2011. The puzzles in both volumes are for the reader’s enjoyment and should be passed on to others for their enjoyment as well. They are meant to challenge mathematical thinking processes including logical thought, insight, geometrical, analytical and physical concepts, and may require considerable perseverance. While most of the puzzles can be solved by pencil-and-paper analysis, there are some that are best tackled with a computer to search for or calculate a solution.

      I often encounter the ideas for many of these puzzles in publications or online sources that offer problem columns or puzzle sections. These include Crux Mathematicorum with Mathematical Mayhem, Journal of Recreational Mathematics, Pi Mu Epsilon Journal, Puzzle Corner in Technology Review, Ponder This, and PuzzleUp. Other puzzle ideas were introduced to me by word of mouth through a delightful community of puzzle solvers. I owe a debt of gratitude to all enthusiasts who love to share their latest challenges and listen to mine.

      —Dick Hess

      CHAPTER 1

      PLAYFUL PUZZLES

      Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.

      —Tom Robbins

      1

      RELATIONS PUZZLE

      Nieces and nephews have I none but that man’s father is my father’s son. What is the gender of the speaker? To whom is the speaker referring?

      2

      BIRTHDAY 1

      Twin brothers, Brian and Ryan, born 5 minutes apart, turned 21 in 2008. Each celebrated his birthday on the actual day he was born, but Brian celebrated 3 days before Ryan. Explain.

      3

      SHOPPING PROBLEM

      Penny and Nick wish to buy a computer game and each has a positive whole number of dollars. Penny finds she is $2 short; Nick finds he is $32 short. If they pool all their money they still are unable to buy the computer game. What is the price of the computer game if it costs a whole number of dollars?

      4

      FAST THINKING

      Quickly state 30 English words that don’t contain the letter a.

      5

      ISOSCELES TRIANGLE

      Two sides of an isosceles triangle are 3 and 7. What is its perimeter?

      (a)16

      (b)13

      (c)17

      (d)Can’t tell for sure

      6

      LOGICAL QUESTION

      The figure on the next page shows squares of areas 9, 16 and 25. Is area A larger or smaller than area B?

      7

      BIRTHDAY 2

      Several years ago Nick stated: Sometime last year I was still 21. In two days I’ll be in my 25th year. What day of the year is Nick’s birthday and on what day of the year is he speaking?

      8

      PET PROBLEM

      Bill: All of my pets but two are cats; all of my pets but two are dogs; all of my pets but two are birds.

      Alice: How many pets does Bill have?

      Find and explain two different correct answers to Alice’s question.

      9

      GOLF BALLS

      Two manufacturers of golf balls arrange the circular dimples on the surface in a triangular pattern. This is accomplished by possibly having dimples of different sizes. Some dimples are surrounded by 6 others and other dimples are surrounded by 5 others. Manufacturer A places a total of 384 dimples on the ball and Manufacturer B places a total of 396. Which ball has more dimples surrounded by only 5 others?

      10

      HAIRY QUESTION

      The average number of hairs on a person’s head is about one hundred thousand (10⁵). The number of Americans is about 300 million (3 × 10⁸). Let S be the sum of the number of hairs on each head for all Americans. Let P be the product of those 300 million numbers. What is your best estimate of S and P?

      11

      FIVE LOGICIANS

      Five logicians are seated at the restaurant and the server asks, Do all of you want either tea or coffee?

      The first logician answers: I don’t know.

      2nd logician: I don’t know.

      3rd logician: I don’t know.

      4th logician: I don’t know.

      5th logician: No.

      At this point the server is needed by another table and the 5th logician uses the time to use the gent’s room. The server reappears to ask the remaining four Do all four of you want tea?

      The first logician answers: I don’t know.

      2nd logician: I don’t know.

      3rd logician: I don’t know.

      4th logician: No.

      The 5th logician now returns to the table. Assuming no customer wants both tea and coffee, what should the server serve to each of the five logicians and why?

      12

      BRIDGE ENDING

      South’s on lead with spades trump. How will he guarantee taking all seven tricks?

      13

      SLAM CHANCE

      You are playing south in a ♠6 slam and get the ♣J lead. How can you guarantee the contract?

      14

      SMALLEST PRIME DIVISOR

      Consider the sums S1 = 1¹, S2 = 1² + 2¹, S3 = 1³ + 2² + 3¹, S 4 = 1⁴ + 2³ + 3² + 4¹, …. Find the smallest prime divisor of

      (a)S6

      (b)S10

      (c)S22

      (d)S100

      15

      PULLEY QUESTION

      The ideal pulley system below has weightless and frictionless elements except for the weights shown. In the first instant after release from rest will the 99-weight go up or down?

      CHAPTER 2

      DIGITAL PUZZLES

      Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin.

      —John von Neumann

      16

      PUMPKINS

      Having sorted them by weight a farmer takes his crop of pumpkins to the wholesale market. He sells the 42 lightest pumpkins to customer A and notes that they account for 25% of the total weight. He sells the 50 heaviest pumpkins to customer B and notes that they account for 30% of the total weight. How many pumpkins were originally in the crop?

      17

      YEAR PROBLEM

      Find all integer pairs, (m, n), with m < n such that m + n + mn = 2012.

      18

      EXTREME SINES

      Josh and Andy are computing f = sin(nm), where nm is given in degrees and both n and m are positive integers under 50. (a) What are the extreme values they can achieve for f? (b) Suppose m and n are allowed to be positive integers under 100? (c) Suppose nm is taken in radians; what now are the answers to (a) and (b)?

      19

      PANDIGITAL POWERS

      Find a number such that if its square and its cube are written down, each digit from 0 to 9 appears exactly once.

      20

      POWERFUL NUMBERS

      Suppose n = abcd in decimal notation and define f(n) = aa + bb + cc + dd. For example, f(1125) = 1¹ + 1¹ + 2² + 5⁵ = 3131. (a) Find a four-digit number, n, such that f(n) = n. (b) If we define 0⁰ = 0 then find a larger number, N, such that f(N) = N.

      21

      MAKE IT PYTHAGOREAN

      The example triangle below can be made Pythagorean by inserting the single digit 2 in some manner to each side length as shown. In each of the subsequent triangles, insert the same single digit of your choice to each side to make it a Pythagorean triangle.

      22

      SQUARE DIGITS

      Take the number abcd in decimal notation and split it into two pieces such as a and bcd; abc and d; or ab and cd. We can ask whether it is possible that abcd = a² + (bcd)², abcd = (abc)² + d² or abcd = (ab)² + (cd)². Clearly, numbers like 10,000 and 10,001 have this property, so such easy solutions don’t count. (a) Find two four-digit numbers with this property. (b) Find numbers with 6, 7, and 8 digits having this property. It’s OK for any digit other than a to be 0.

      23

      CUBIC DIGITS

      Take the number abcd in decimal notation and split it into two pieces such as a and bcd; abc and d; or ab and cd. We can ask whether it is possible that abcd = a³ + (bcd)³, abcd = (abc)³ + d³ or abcd = (ab)³ + (cd)³. Clearly, numbers like 1000 and 1001 have this property, so such easy solutions don’t count. Find an infinite set

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