536 Puzzles and Curious Problems

(Elliott) #1

90 Geometrical Problems


so Sir Hugh showed him our Figure B, which is quite correct. But he added,
"I did not tell thee that the window must be square, as it is most certain
it never could be."
Now, an ingenious correspondent, Mr. George Plant, found a flaw in Sir
Hugh's conditions. Something that was understood is not actually stated, and
the window may, as the conditions stand, be perfectly square. How is it to be
done?



  1. THE SQUARE WINDOW


Crackham told his family that a man had a window a yard square, and it
let in too much light. He blocked up one half of it, and still had a square
window a yard high and a yard wide. How did he do it?


272. DIVIDING THE BOARD

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AI ,
10 Jut

A man had a board measuring lO feet in length, 6 inches wide at one end,
and 12 inches wide at the other, as shown in the illustration. How far from B
must the straight cut at A be made in order to divide it into two pieces
of equal area?


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110

ydS. .D


  1. A RUNNING PUZZLE


ABCD is a square field of forty
acres. The line BE is a straight path,
and E is llO yards from D. In a race
Adams runs direct from A to D, but
Brown has to start from B, go from
B to E, and thence to D. Each keeps
to a uniform speed throughout, and
when Brown reaches E, Adams is 30
yards ahead of him. Which wins the
race, and by how much?
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