Puzzle # 130

Rising sun All the circles and semi-circle are tangent to each other and are inscribed in a square. The 3 small circles are the same size, with radius r. R is the radius of the red circle. Prove that r = 3R/8 Sol levante I cerchi e il semicerchio sono tangenti tra di loro e iscritti in un quadrato. I 3 cerchi minori hanno lo stesso perimetro di raggio r. R il raggio del cerchio rosso. Dimostra che r = 3R/8 Soleil levant Les cercles et le demi-cercle sont tangents entre eux et inscrits dans un carr. Les trois petits cercles ont le mme primtre de rayon r. Rest le rayon du cercle rouge. Dmontrez que r = 3R/8 http://www.archimedes-lab.org/monthly_puzzle.html#

Puzzle # 129

Steam locomotive puzzle The 3 wheels with center O1, O2and O3 are of the same size and tangent to each other. TO3O1 is a right triangle. If the radius of the wheels is 6 cm long what is then the length of the segment AB?

AB is a chord of the circle with center O2 MO2 is perpendicular to AB. In a circle, a radius perpendicular to a chord bisects the chord (and the arc). Thus, AM = MB = AB/2 From the similarity of triangles TO1O3 and MO2O3 : MO2 / TO1 = O2O3 / O1O3 = 1/2 MO2 = 1/2 x 6 = 3 [cm] Applying Pythagorean theorem on the triangle MO2B : MB = (62 - 32) = 33 AB = 2 x MB = 63 [cm]

Beyond the challenge

A problem, sometimes known as Moser's circle problem, asks to determine the number of regions into which a circle is subdivided if n points on its circumference are joined by chords. The answer is: (n4 - 6n3 + 23n2 - 18n + 24)/24

The first values are then 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 57, 99, 163, 256, 386, 562, ... (This is often given as an example of what happens if you attempt to guess a sequence from the first few terms since this sequence starts with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, but the next term is 31 and not 32 as expected) Discuss the problem on our FaceBook page! The 5 Winners of the Puzzle of the Month are: Serhat Duran, Turkey - Evis Hoxa, Albania - Ramnarayan Panda, India - Marlon Manto, USA - Shashank Rathore, India Congratulations!

Puzzle # 128

Xmas tree geometric puzzle Find the value of h.

This is not a one-solution puzzle, as according to the information given there is a range of possible solutions. a) The shape delimited on the Xmas tree forms a trapezium/trapezoid. b) The opposite angles of the lower base add together and equal 90 degrees. Then, if we extend the legs of the trapezium/trapezoid they will meet at an angle of 90 degrees. All the possible 90-degree angles are inscribed in a semicircle (Thales theorem, see diagram above). In consequence, the height h is maximum when any of the angles of the lower base equals 45 degrees. c) In this case, hmax = (54 21)/2 = 16.5 [cm] Thus, the value x of h is: 16.5 [cm] > x > 0 [cm]
Geometric terms Trapezoid: N. Amer. a quadrilateral with only one pair of parallel sides. Trapezium: Brit. a quadrilateral with only one pair of parallel sides. Base: one of the parallel sides of the trapezium/trapezoid. Every trapezium/trapezoid has two bases. Leg: one of the sides of the trapezium/trapezoid that are not parallel. Every trapezium/trapezoid has two opposite legs.

Beyond the challenge (#128bis)

A small change has been made to the statement of the above-mentioned math problem: ABCD is a trapezium/trapezoid 45 AB = 21 [cm] DC = 54 [cm] AJ = JB and DK = KC Now, find the value x of JK (this is a one-solution puzzle! See diagram below).

Puzzle # 127

Square vs Annulus In mathematics, an annulus is a ring-shaped geometric figure. Find a very simple way to calculate the area of the yellow annulus shown below using the following datas: a) K is the center of the square ABCD, b) Vertices A and C are on the larger, circonference of the annulus, c) The area of the square ABCD is 80 cm2.

The area A of the annulus can be obtained from the chord of the outside circle, that is the length of the longest interval that lies completely inside the annulus, 2d in the diagram opposite. This can be proven by thePythagorean theorem; the chord of the larger circle is tangent to the smaller circle and form a right angle with its radius at that point. Therefore, d and r are the sides of a right angled triangle with hypotenuseR and the area is given by: A = (R2 - r2) = d2 Knowing that d is half the diagonal AC of the blue square ABCD: d2 = 80/2 = 40 [cm2] Thus, the area of the annulus is: 40 x = 125,66... [cm2]

Math fact behind the puzzle

In mathematics, an annulus (the Latin word for "little ring", with pluralannuli) is a ring-shaped geometric figure, or more generally, a term used to name any ring-shaped object. Or, it is the area or region between two concentric circles. The adjectival form is annular (for example, an annular eclipse). The open annulus is topologically equivalent to an open cylinder: S1 x (0,1). In the figure below, the area of any circle whose diameter is tangent to the inner circle of an annulus and has endpoints at the outer circle is equal to the area of the annulus.

A solid annulus is a region of a Euclidean space of the dimension n >= 3 comprised between two concentric spheres

Puzzle # 126

A troublesome sequence A number sequence is a set of numbers arranged in an orderly fashion, such that the preceding and following numbers are completely specified. Sometimes it is very easy to find in a series what number comes next, but usually it is not! Here is a tough example: try to replace the X in the following sequence with the most appropriate number: 1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 4, 8, 1, 9, 5, 10, 3,11, 6, 12, 2, 13, 7, 14, 4, 1 5, 8, 16, 1, 17, 9, 18, 5, 19,10, 20, 3, 21, 11, 22, X, ... Can you guess the secret rule and the magic of the sequence above?

The answer is X = 6. Remove every alternating (second) number of this special sequence, what do you have left? 1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 4, 8... Exactly the same sequence! Which means if you remove every second term again, you get the same sequence. Over and over. This sequence has in fact the property to contain itself as a proper subsequence, infinitely. This is why it is called fractal sequence or sandwich sequence. Vivisection of the sequence Curiously enough, there are actually infinite positive integer subsequences embedded in this fractal sequence (see table further below): Subsequence a: Starts from position n = 1 and increments by 1 while moving 2 numbers ahead in the sequence. Subsequence b: Starts from position n = 2 and increments by 1 while moving 22=4 numbers ahead in the sequence. Subsequence c: Starts from position n = 4 and increments by 1 while moving 23=8 numbers ahead in the sequence. Subsequence d: Starts from position n = 8 and increments by 1 while moving 24=16 numbers ahead in the sequence. Etc... As you can see in the table below, each integer subsequence starts on the 2m1 position and jumps ahead in the fractal sequence by 2m (withm0) positions and increments by 1. n 1 2 3 4 5 6 k 1 1 2 1 3 2 a 1 2 1 3 2 b 1 c d e f

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

4 1 5 3 6 2 7 4 8 1 9 5 10 3 11 6 12 2 13 7 14 4 15 8 16 1 17 9 18 5 19 10 20 3 21 11 22 6 23 12 24 2 25 13 26 7 27 14 28 4 29 15 30

4 1 5 3 6 2 7 4 8 1 9 5 10 3 11 6 12 2 13 7 14 4 15 8 16 1 17 9 18 5 19 10 20 3 21 11 22 6 23 12 24 2 25 13 26 7 27 14 28 4 29 15 30

60

Math fact behind the puzzle

Properties of the sequence This particular fractal sequence is obtained from powers of 2. In fact, every number of the sequence occurs at 2m(2k - 1) position, with m0. For instance, the number 6 occurs at the following positions (n): n1 = 20(2x6 - 1) = 11 n2 = 21(2x6 - 1) = 22 n3 = 22(2x6 - 1) = 44 Etc... Here is a simple program in "bc" (available on Unix, Linux, and Cygwin) sent by Larry Bickford that generates the sequence:

With i < 50, we obtain the following output: 1 1 2 1 3 2 4 1 5 3 6 2 7 4 8 1 9 5 10 3 11 6 12 2 13 7 14 4\ 15 8 16 1 17 9 18 5 19 10 20 3 21 11 22 6 23 12 24 2 25 13

Puzzle # 125

A mathematical shield Once upon a time, Mars, the God of war, intended to test the IQ of the goddess Minerva. So, showing his shield, he told her: "Darling, on my shield, there are 3 equal circles which represent the qualities of the warrior: strength, flexibility, and decisiveness. As you can see, one of the circles has been scratched by a sword, and the resulting score is three inches long (line AB in the illustration). Can you then tell me what is the area of my shield?".

The centers of the small green circles are equidistant from each other, and thus form the vertices of an equilateral triangle with midpoints A, Band C (see image below). It follows that the small triangles ABC and AC'B are also equilateral and identical to each other. The radii r of the small circles are congruent to the sides of the triangles ABC and AC'B, then r = C'B = AB. As shown in the image, the radius R of the large circle can be calculated by adding r + h + NM together. We can calculate the height h of the triangle AC'B by multiplying its sideAB by 3/2: h = (AB3)/2 = (33)/2 Since the heights of an equilateral triangle meet at a point (here, pointM) that is two thirds of the distance from the vertex of the triangle to the base, we can also calculate MN with this simple formula: MN = h x 1/3 = (33)/2 x 1/3 = (33)/2 x 3 = 3/2 Therefore, the area of large yellow circle (which represents the shield) is: [3 + (33)/2 + 3)/2]2 = (3 + 23)2 131.27 square inches