15 January 2022 | New Scientist | 53The back pages Puzzles
Quick quiz #134
1 Which naturally occurring isotope
of uranium is the most abundant?2 What was the first UK satellite
to be launched by a UK rocket?3 Jan Janský was credited with the
designation of what into four major groups?4 Along with John Bardeen and William
Shockley, who invented the point-contact
transistor in 1947?5 What is the only living species in
the raptor family Sagittariidae?Answers on page 55Puzzle
set by Rob Eastaway
#150 A jigsaw puzzleLogan pulled an old jigsaw box off the shelf
and gazed at the picture of a carousel on
the lid. Under the picture in big, bold type
it stated “468 pieces”.He tipped out the contents. It didn’t look like
468 pieces. He started to count, but realised
it would take a long time. What if he just
counted the edge and corner pieces? That
might be quicker, and if any of those pieces
were missing, that would confirm that it
wasn’t a complete jigsaw.If only Logan knew how many edge pieces
there were, including corners. Since there
was nothing unusual about the shape of the
jigsaw, how many should he expect to find?Solution next weekQuick crossword #99 Set by Richard Smyth
Scribble
zoneAnswers and
the next cryptic
crossword
next weekACROSS
1 Ca (7)
5 Inflammation of part of the bowel (7)
9 Am (9)
10 Alkyl with nine carbon atoms (5)
11 Ga (7)
12 Mushroom rib (7)
13 Fatty skin secretion (5)
15 Sound reflection (9)
17 Seventh prime number (9)
19 Poisonous (5)
21 Clam, limpet or squid, for example (7)
23 Tube inserted into the body for
medical purposes (7)
25 Molars, incisors and canines (5)
26 Outliers; aberrations (9)
27 Wax derived from ozokerite (7)
28 Ear bone also called the hammer (7)DOWN
1 Manufactured fuel comprising H₂, CO, CH 4 ,
ethylene and volatile hydrocarbons (4,3)
2 Charles ___ , 19th-century
Scottish geologist (5)
3 Ir (7)
4 Software function based
on a form letter (4,5)
5 Humped ungulate (5)
6 Series of science-fiction novels
by Edward E. Smith (7)
7 Minimal computer operating system (9)
8 Complex formed by a dissolved substance
and its solvent (7)
14 Machine with conical toothed parts (5,4)
16 Noise associated with
faster-than-sound travel (5,4)
17 Bodily; of or relating to the body (7)
18 Zeroes (7)
19 John ___ , a 19th-century Irish physicist (7)
20 Load-bearing frame of a car (7)
22 Series of links (5)
24 Liquid by-product of metabolism (5)Our crosswords are now solvable online
newscientist.com/crosswords