Puzzles

Only the units digit of the number will affect the last digit of the square and cube. This table shows how the last digits of the square and cube depend on the last digit of the number:

So numbers ending in 0, 1, 5 and 6 will have squares and cubes that end in the same digit. There are 4×9=36 two-digit numbers then end in one of these digits.

How many two-digit numbers are there in binary whose square and cube end in the same digit?

How many two-digit numbers are there in ternary whose square and cube end in the same digit?

How many two-digit numbers are there in base \(n\) whose square and cube end in the same digit?

Let \(a\) be the height of the rectangle and \(b\) be the width.

The length of the red line is \(a+b\). The length of the blue line is \(2\sqrt{a^2+\frac{b^2}4}\). These are equal so:

Therefore the ratio of the sides is 2:3.

Ted's number was 925: \(925\div25=37\).

If Ted had removed the final digit of his number, then he would be looking for a solution of \(ABC = 37\times AB\). But \(ABC\) is between 10 and 11 times \(AB\) (it is \(10\times AB + C\)) and so cannot be 37 times \(AB\). So Ted cannot have removed the final digit.

Therefore, Ted must have removed one of the first two digits: so two- and three- digit numbers have the same final digit (\(C\)). The final digit of the three-digit number (\(C\)) will be the final digit of \(7\times C\) (7 times the final digit of the two digit number). This is only possible if the final digit is \(C\) is 0 or 5.

This only leaves four possible solutions—10, 15, 20 and 25—as \(30\times37>1000\). Of these only \(925=37\times25\) works.

How many three-digit numbers are there that are a multiple of one of the two-digit numbers you can make by removing a digit?

EDCCBA is a multiple of four, so A is even. A cannot be more than 2, as otherwise EDCCBA would have more digits. So A is 2.

E must therefore be 8 or 9 (as 4 times B is less than E) and 3 or 8 (as 4 times E ends in 2). Therefore E is 8.

Carrying on like this, we find:

The triangle is equilateral.

To see why, add a copy of point \(E\) rotated by 90°. This is labelled \(F\) on the diagram below.

Angles \(BDE\) and \(CDF\) are both 75°. Therefore angles \(CDE\) and \(BDF\) are both 15°. This means that angle \(FDE\) is 60°.

Line \(AD\) is a line of symmetry of the diagram, so angles \(DFE\) and \(DEF\) are equal and both 60°. Therefore, triangle DEF is equilateral. This triangle is show in green in the diagram below.

Lines \(EF\), \(DF\) and \(BF\) are all equal length, so triangles \(BFE\) and \(BFD\) are isosceles. Angles \(BDF\) and \(FBD\) are both 15°. Angles \(FBE\) and \(FEB\) are equal, and the angles in triangle \(BED\) add to 180°: this means that angle \(FBE\) is 15°.

Angles \(FBE\) and \(FBD\) are both 15°, and so angle \(EBD\) is 30°. Angles \(EBD\) and \(ABE\) add to 90°, and so angle \(ABE\) is 60°.

By symmetry, angle \(BAE\) is also 60°. Angle \(BEA\) must therefore also be 60°, so triangle \(ABE\) is equilateral.

Consider the top, front, and right sides of the cube.

If the top number is \(a\) more than a multiple of six, then the front and right numbers must both be \(a\) less than a multiple of 6 (so that when added to the top number they make a multiple of 6). But when the front and right numbers are added, they make \(2a\) less than a multiple of 6; but this must also be a multiple of 6.

This is only possible if \(a=0\) or \(a=3\). So the numbers must be either all multiples of 6, or all 3 more than multiples of 6.

The smallest set of numbers that are all 3 more than multiples of 6 is 3,9,15,21,27,33. The sum of these is 108. The smallest set of numbers that are all multiples of 6 is the set with each number three more than these, so 108 is the smallest possible total.

Six numbers are written on the faces of a cube. The sum of the numbers on any two adjacent faces is a multiple of \(n\).

What is the smallest possible sum of the six numbers?

Alex lives in Maidstone, Kent (1) and wants French hens (3).

Ben lives in Leighton Buzzard, Beds (8) and wants gold rings (5).

Carol lives in Burcot, Worcestershire (2) and wants calling birds (4).

If \(p\) and \(q\) are prime numbers, then the number \(p^a\times q^b\) will have \((a+1)(b+1)\) factors. This is because all its factors are of the form \(p^\alpha\times q^\beta\), with \(\alpha=0,1,...,a\) and \(\beta=0,1,...,b\). The same idea can be used on numbers with three or more prime factors; in general the number \(p_1^{a_1}\times...\times p_n^{a_n}\) has \((a_1+1)\times...\times(a_n+1)\) factors.

28 can be written as: 28, 14×2, 7×4, or 7×2×2. Therefore the following numbers have 28 factors:

and any other number with 28 factors will have larger prime factors, so will be larger.

These numbers are 134217728, 24576, 1728 and 960. Therefore the smallest number with 28 factors is 960.