31/01/2013 - Zero (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Create a triangle with 4 squares on each side (9 squares in total) like the one shown above.

Puzzle
Put the number -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 into the squares so that each side equals 0.

Check the solutions page for the correct solution.

30/01/2013 - Four in a Row (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

For this puzzle you need to draw or visualise a 4 by 4 grid.

Puzzle
On the gird, how many squares can be shaded without having 4 shaded squares connected in a straight line (either horizontally, vertically or diagonally)?

Check the solutions page for the correct solution.

29/01/2013 - Guess My Number (*)

This puzzle is rated 1-star (easy).

Description

1. I am a three digit number.
2. I am divisible by 5.
3. My digits add up to 8.
4. The tens digit is smaller than hundreds digit.
5. I am less than 300.

Puzzle
Find the number from the above clues.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

28/01/2013 - Bridge Walk (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

A group of 4 people are walking through the jungle and come across an old wooden bridge.

It is dark and they only have one torch between them all, and they need to light the path when crossing the bridge.

Unfortunately, as it is an old bridge, no more than 2 people can walk on the bridge at any one time - otherwise it will collapse.

Some walkers are faster than others at crossing the bridge:

• Amie takes 1 minute to cross
• Ben takes 2 minutes to cross
• Clare takes 5 minutes to cross
• Dean takes 10 minutes to cross

Puzzle

Have all four people cross the bridge in the quickest time possible.

Check the solutions page for the correct solution.

27/01/2013 - Pool Balls (**)

This puzzle is rated 2-star (medium).

Description

A cloth bag contains a single red pool ball. 

A second pool ball is chosen at random in such a way that it is equally likely to be a red or a yellow ball. The ball is added to the bag, the bag is shaken, and a ball is drawn at random. 

The withdrawn ball proves to be a red.

Puzzle

What is the probability that the ball remaining in the bag is also a red?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

26/01/2013 - Connected Circles II (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).

Description
Build the grid shown below.

Puzzle
Place the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into the six circles so that the numbers next to each circle are the sum totals of all of the connected circles.

For example:
The diagram shown below, can be completed, by using the numbers 1,2 and 3.

With the correct answer being.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

25/01/2013 - 24 from 8, 8, 3 and 3 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 stars (medium).

Description

You can use add, subtract, multiply, divide, and parentheses.

Puzzle
How can I get the answer 24 by only using the numbers 8,8,3,3.



Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

24/01/2013 - Square Triangles (*)

The puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

There's no real description with this puzzle, but one hint is to make sure you know the properties of a triangle.

Puzzle
Construct a triangle where all of the angles are square numbers.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

23/01/2013 - Switcharoo (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

The picture above shows a 3 by 3 board with two missing corners. 

There are 3 blue chips on the yellow part of the board and 3 yellow chips on the blue part of the board.

The rules are as follows:

• You can move a chip from one square to a square next to it if the square is empty.
• You can jump a chip over a different coloured chip next to it as long as you land in an empty space.
• You cannot move or jump diagonally.

Puzzle
The problem is to put the blue chips on the blue part and the yellow chips on the yellow part, i.e. switch the chips' positions.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer. 

22/01/2013 - Numbers 2 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 stars (medium).


Description

For these number puzzles, you can only use the addition, subtraction, multiply and divide operations.

Puzzle
Place any of the allowed mathematical operators in between each of the numbers 4, 7, 9, 5 and 6 to make the numbers 79, 78 and 48.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

21/01/2013 - 5 Digit Number (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).

Description

If we put the digit 1 at the beginning of a 5 digit number we will get a number three times smaller than if we put the digit 1 at the end of the 5 digit number.

Puzzle
What is the 5 digit number?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

20/01/2013 - Flipping Coins (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 stars (medium).

Description

Four coins are laid out in a row, all with the "heads" showing.

You take any 3 coins and flip them over, so that 1 coin remains with the "heads" showing and 3 now have the "tails" showing.  This is classed as turn number 1.

Puzzle
Making sure that you always flip exactly 3 coins each turn, how many turns in total (including the one completed in the description) will it take to have all the coins showing their "tails"?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

19/01/2013 - Numbers 1 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 stars (medium).

Description

For these number puzzles, you can only use the addition, subtraction, multiply and divide operations, as well as brackets.

Puzzle
Place any of the allowed mathematical operators in between each of the numbers 5, 4, 7, 6 and 7 (in that order) to make the numbers 55, 25 and 19.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

18/01/2013 - Pencils in Jars (***)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

I have a set number of pencils and jars.

If I put 9 of the pencils divided equally into each jar, I will have two jars left over.
If I put 6 of the pencils divided equally into each jar, I will have three pencils left over.

Puzzle
How many pencils and how many jars?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

17/01/2013 - Average Darts (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

An amateur darts player is looking to improve his average dart score.  He notices that if he aims at a particular number he has a 1 in 3 chance of landing in that numbered sector, a 1 in 3 chance of landing in the sector one place clockwise of his aim and a 1 in 3 chance of landing in the sector one place to the left of his aim.

Puzzle
Where should he aim to maximise his average score?

Hint: in order the numbers are - 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5 and then back to 20 again.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

16/01/2013 - Heavy Apples (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard)

Description

Someone has mixed up some apples:

• There are 10 baskets containing apples.

• There are various amounts of apples in each basket ranging from 10 to 20.

• 9 of the baskets contain apples weighing 4 ounces each.

• 1 of the baskets contains apples weighing 5 ounces each.

• All the apples look the same.

• The equipment you have is a set of scales and an empty basket.

• It is late and the lorry is waiting to take the apples to market. You only have time to make one measurement using the scales.

Puzzle

How can you tell which basket has the 5 ounce apples in it?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

15/01/2013 - Spoke (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description
Draw the spoke diagram as shown below, placing the number 7 in the centre circle.

Puzzle
Using the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, place one number in each circle so thevery three numbers on a straight line equal each other.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

14/01/2013 - Chess Board (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (easy).

Description

I do like my vintage puzzles and here is another,,,

The humble chessboard is basically an 8 by 8 grid.  Many people refer to it as having 64 squares, but on an 8 by 8 grid I could very easily draw squares that are 2 by 2 and 3 by 3... even some that are larger!

Puzzle
In total, how many squares are there on a chessboard?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

13/01/2013 - Maths and Arrows (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

A rather strange archery competition took place using the target above - a board where the archer can score 16, 17, 23, 24, 39 or 40 - no other scores are possible.

Puzzle
One competitor scored 100.  How many arrows did it take to score 100, exactly?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

12/01/2013 - Die Hard Jugs (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

This puzzle is taken from the film Die Hard With A Vengeance, where the characters John McClane and Zeus Carver open a briefcase only to discover that in doing so they have armed a powerful bomb. It will explode in a matter of minutes unless they can disarm it. Inside the briefcase there is a scale. They have at their disposal two jugs, like the ones shown above.  1 jug can hold exactly 5 litres of water and the other exactly 3 litres of water.  The water can be obtained from a nearby fountain.

Puzzle
Fill the 5 litre jug with exactly 4 litres of water.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

11/01/2013 - Four 4s (0-9) (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

During this puzzle you can only use the following mathematical functions:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division
• Decimal point
• Square-root
• Brackets
• Power (e.g. 4 to the power 4 is 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 256)
• The number of 4 exactlyf 4 times.

Puzzle
Using only the mathematical functions and the number 4 (EXACTLY 4 times) construct the numbers from 0 to 9.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

10/01/2013 - Pardoner's Tale (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).

Description

Here is a classic puzzle from the Canterbury Tales, where a prisoner has to come up with a puzzle to be pardoned for his crime - and this was his creation.

Draw the grid above, making sure to leave the gap (missing line) at the bottom centre of the grid.

Puzzle
Starting at the prisoners location (the black square) make 15 connecting lines that do not cross and pass through all the other blank squares.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

09/01/2013 - Gardeners (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

It takes two gardeners 8 days to mow all the lawns at a country manor estate.  One gardener is lazy and the other is energetic.

The energetic one would only take 12 days to mow the gardens if he had to do it on his own.

Puzzle
How many days would it take for the lazy gardener to mow all the lawns on his own?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

08/01/2013 - Even Chocolates (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium)

Description

A box of chocolates is laid out in the mathematics department staff room.  There are 6 members of staff, who all take 1 chocolate each from the box, without moving any of the others.

Puzzle
Remove the 6 chocolates so that there is still an even number of chocolates on every horizontal, vertical and corner-to-corner diagonal.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

07/01/2013 - Bug Jump (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).
 
Description

 

Three red bugs and three green bugs are playing a game on the board shown above. The red bugs and green bugs have to change places.

They are allowed to do the following:

• A bug may move from its spot along a line to an empty space as long as it doesn't pass over another bug.
• A bug that is in one of the corner spots may jump over another bug of a different colour provided it jumps in a straight line and lands in an empty space.

However, a bug cannot jump over a bug of the same colour.

Puzzle
What is the minimum number of moves to have the red and green bugs change places?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

06/01/2013 - Catch The Thief (***)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (hard).

Description

There is a thief (T) and a detective (D) as shown in the grid above. To catch the thief, the detective can move from one square to a square next to it either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

However, the detective must change his direction every time he moves one square. For example, if the detective has just moved diagonally north-east, then his next move cannot be diagonally north-east.

The thief does not move, and the detective catches the thief by ending up on the same square as the thief.

The detective needs to collect gold coins the thief has dropped from as many of the squares as possible.

Puzzle
How many coins can the dective collect on his way to catch the thief?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

05/01/2013 - Connected Circles (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).

Description
Build the grid shown below.

Puzzle
Place all of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into the six circles so that the numbers next to each circle are the sum totals of all of the connected circles.

For example:
The diagram shown below, can be completed, by using the numbers 1,2 and 3.

 With the correct answer being.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

04/01/2012 - Magic Square (**)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (medium).

I thought it best to include this puzzle now, rather than later, because it is so famous it will be expected to be on here somewhere.  If you have seen this before it will be easy, but otherwise I think a medium rating is most appropraite.

Description

Draw a 3 by 3 grid.

Puzzle
Using the grid described above, place the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the grid so that all the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines add up to exactly 15.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

03/01/2013 - Rope Around The World (**)

This puzzle is rated 2-stars (medium).

Description

Lets image the equator of the Earth to be 40,000 kilometers long (in actual fact it is 40,075.16 kilometers!) and that the surface of the equator is perfectly flat.

I take a 40,000 kilometre piece of rope and tightly wrap it around the equator.  There are no gaps and the two ends of the rope meet perfectly.

Puzzle
However, I don't want the rope to be tightly wrapped around the equator but be lifted 1 metre above the surface of the equator all the way around.

Clearly I will need more rope... how much extra rope will I need?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

02/01/2013 - Triangles (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 stars (medium).

Description

A triangle is created using 10 tokens in the layout shown above.

Some tokens are moved to re-arrange the triangle in the layout shown below.

Puzzle
What is the minimum number of tokens to change from one layout to the other?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

01/01/2013 - Tents (*)

Welcome to the first "Daily Maths Puzzle".

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy)..

Description
If...
TEE = 4
TEN = 6
NEST = 10

When each letter is worth a positive integer* number of points and the points are added up to make the shown total.

Puzzle
Work out... the total value for TENTS.
TENTS = ?

*Integer = whole number

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.