In the following puzzle, each number indicates the distance (vertically, horizontally, or a combination of both) this tile needs to move. A solution is a rearrangement of all the tiles in the grid that satisfies all the numbers where none of the tiles overlap.
Consider the set of natural numbers 1 to 8. For this set of numbers, 6 is called the balance because the numbers before 6 add up to the same sum as the numbers after 6. In other words, 1+2+3+4+5 = 7+8.
Consider the subtraction game that goes like this: Write down one whole number at each corner of the square below, then fill in each side with the positive difference the two neighbouring corners and connect the four new numbers in a smaller square. Repeat the subtraction to continue forming new squares in the middle.
The original problem asks for a combination of 1x2 and 1x3 rods that can tile a 5x5 square. Tiling problems have a tendency to get complicated quickly, so let’s start small.
We start with a polygon and a number of points inside it. We are asked to draw line segments between the points to subdivide the entire polygon into triangles.
The original problem asks to cut a square by drawing straight lines between any number of midpoints of sides and corners of the square such that a resulting region is 1/5 of the area of the whole square.
Imagine instead of a two dimensional grid, we are now filling a 3D grid made up of nxnxn unit cubes with numbers 1 to n such that every row, column, and depth has exactly one of each number.
This problem is inspired by this geometry puzzle on Twitter. The original problem asks to find the ratio between two equilateral triangles fitted into a square. Let’s generalize it.
Today let’s explore one of the deviations from the standard sudoku rules that every row, column, and subgrid (excluded so we can generalize to non-perfect-square side lengths) must have exactly one of each number from 1 to n, where n is the side length of the sudoku puzzle. Let’s include the new rule that a valid solution to a sudoku puzzle must also have one of each number in each of its two diagonals.
Now let’s consider the surfaces we obtain by stretching and gluing the sides of a square together.