Challenging Math Problems

Description

Two friends wish to meet for breakfast twice a month throughout the year. In how many ways can they choose those two days so that they never meet on consecutive days? You want to measure 30 seconds and you have two pieces of string, each of which burns for 40 seconds. How can you accomplish this without bending, folding, or cutting the strings? A positive whole number is divisible by 3 and also by 5. When the number is divided by 7, the remainder is 5. What is the smallest number that could work? These are but a few of this book's assembly of the most challenging puzzles imaginable-and they require no background in higher math, just good thinking skills. Terry Stickels, a well-known puzzle-maker, has compiled 101 of Dover Publications' best and most entertaining problems. All of the challenges, which range from probability puzzles to dice games, have two things in common: each offers the "Aha!" moment of discovery that puzzle-solvers love, and they're all fun. Complete solutions for all puzzles explain every detail.

Terry Stickels is the author of more than 25 puzzle books as well as two nationally syndicated columns: FRAMEGAMES, appearing in USA Weekend, and STICKELERS, a daily feature that appears in several papers, including The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.