60 Arithmetic & Algebraic Problemssister, and Jack Robinson four times as many as his sister. Now which of you
can give me the full names of the girls?"- BUYING RIBBON
Here is a puzzle that appears to bear a strong family resemblance to others
given in the past. But it really requires an entirely different method of work-
ing. The author is unknown.
Four mothers, each with one daughter, went into a shop to buy ribbon.
Each mother bought twice as many yards as her daughter, and each person
bought as many yards of ribbon as the number of cents she paid for each yard.
Mrs. Jones spent 76¢ more than Mrs. White; Nora bought three yards less than
Mrs. Brown; Gladys bought two yards more than Hilda, who spent 48¢ less
than Mrs. Smith. What is the name of Mary's mother?
- SQUARES AND TRIANGULARS
What is the third lowest number that is both a triangular number and
a square? Of course the numbers 1 and 36 are the two lowest that fulfill the
conditions. What is the next number?
- PERFECT SQUARES
Find four numbers such that the sum of every two and the sum of all four
may be perfect squares.- ELEMENTARY ARITHMETIC
This is the kind of question that was very popular in Venice and elsewhere
about the middle of the sixteenth century. Nicola Fontana, generally known
as "Tartaglia" (the stammerer) was largely responsible for the invention.
If a quarter of twenty is four, what would a third of ten be?
- TRANSFERRING THE FIGURES
Ifwe wish to multiply 571,428 by 5 and divide by 4, we need only transfer
the 5 from the beginning to the end for the correct answer, 714,285. Can you