Distances to Vertices

In the square below, points that are closer to the center than one of the vertices is coloured yellow.  The area of the yellow region is 1/2 of the area of the square.

Continue ReadingDistances to Vertices

Number Line Mirrors

Starting with some points on a number line, if we put a mirror somewhere on the number line, it will reflect all existing points in itself so that the resulting set of points are symmetrical around it.

Continue ReadingNumber Line Mirrors

Area-Bisecting Lines

Every line going through the center of a square bisects its area. Does every line going through the center of an equilateral triangle bisect its area too?

Continue ReadingArea-Bisecting Lines

Chord-bisecting Chords

A circle of radius 5 has chord AB with length 6.  A second chord is drawn here and is bisected by AB.

Continue ReadingChord-bisecting Chords

Friendly Factor Pairs

The number 6 has two pairs of factors: 2x3 and 1x6.  These two pairs of factors are called friendly because the sum of one pair is equal to the difference of the other pair, ie. 2+3 = 6-1 = 5.

Continue ReadingFriendly Factor Pairs

Sierpinski Pyramid

Let’s remove the central portion of a regular tetrahedron such that what remains are 4 tetrahedrons each with half of the side length of the original.

Continue ReadingSierpinski Pyramid

Digit Sum Divisors

Consider a natural number N and the sum of its digits S.  Let’s call a divisor of S a Digit Sum Divisor of N.

Continue ReadingDigit Sum Divisors

Beads in a Bracelet

We have a bracelet made of yellow and green beads, and we want to divide each coloured beads evenly among friends with the least number of cuts.

Continue ReadingBeads in a Bracelet

Finding Paths

In this 4x4 grid, if we choose two squares, for which pairs of squares can we find a path from one square to the other, moving only vertically or horizontally at each step, and visiting every square in the grid exactly once?

Continue ReadingFinding Paths