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# Puzzles

## Archive

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## What's the star?

In the Christmas tree below, the rectangle, baubles, and the star at the top each contain a number. The square baubles contain square numbers; the triangle baubles contain triangle numbers; and the cube bauble contains a cube number.
The numbers in the rectangles (and the star) are equal to the sum of the numbers below them. For example, if the following numbers are filled in:
then you can deduce the following:
What is the number in the star at the top of this tree?

## 7 December

Put the digits 1 to 9 (using each digit once) in the boxes so that the three digit numbers formed (reading left to right and top to bottom) have the desired properties written by their rows and columns.
 multiple of 25 today's number all digits even multiple of 91 multiple of 7 cube number
Tags: grids, numbers

## 4 December

Put the digits 1 to 9 (using each digit exactly once) in the boxes so that the sums are correct. The sums should be read left to right and top to bottom ignoring the usual order of operations. For example, 4+3×2 is 14, not 10. Today's number is the product of the digits in the red boxes.
 + ÷ = 2 + ÷ - ÷ - = 5 ÷ - × - × = 4 =3 =5 =6
Tags: grids, numbers

## Square factorials

Source: Woody at Maths Jam
Multiply together the first 100 factorials:
$$1!\times2!\times3!\times...\times100!$$
Find a number, $$n$$, such that dividing this product by $$n!$$ produces a square number.

## Cross diagonal cover problem

Draw with an $$m\times n$$ rectangle, split into unit squares. Starting in the top left corner, move at 45° across the rectangle. When you reach the side, bounce off. Continue until you reach another corner of the rectangle:
How many squares will be coloured in when the process ends?

## More doubling cribbage

Source: Inspired by Math Puzzle of the Week blog
Brendan and Adam are playing lots more games of high stakes cribbage: whoever loses each game must double the other players money. For example, if Brendan has £3 and Adam has £4 then Brendan wins, they will have £6 and £1 respectively.
In each game, the player who has the least money wins.
Brendan and Adam notice that for some amounts of starting money, the games end with one player having all the money; but for other amounts, the games continue forever.
For which amounts of starting money will the games end with one player having all the money?

## Doubling cribbage

Brendan and Adam are playing high stakes cribbage: whoever loses each game must double the other players money. For example, if Brendan has £3 and Adam has £4 then Brendan wins, they will have £6 and £1 respectively.
Adam wins the first game then loses the second game. They then notice that they each have £180. How much did each player start with?

## Exact change

In the UK, the coins less than £1 are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p. How many coins would I need to carry in my pocket so that I could make any value from 1p to 99p?
In the US, the coins less than \$1 are 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢. How many coins would I need to carry in my pocket so that I could make any value from 1¢ to 99¢?
Tags: money, numbers