Every few month , a math problem goes viral on social medium . Disappointingly often , it miss mathematical meat . It seems over half of them boil down to the rescript of military operation . Some tweet will get chiliad of the likes of take that the Internet is divide over an arithmetic job like : what does 6÷2(1 + 2 ) equal ? It ’s fine if hoi polloi do n’t think back how to evaluate expressions like this . But it ’s not so interesting when you just have to Google the ordering of operations and keep abreast the instructions ( it equals 9 ) .
In a similar mineral vein , you may have seen “ fruit maths ” memes circulating across your feed in which simple systems of equation have “ x ” and “ y ” replace with bananas and pineapples , usually caption with “ Only genius can lick ” or “ Only 1 % of MIT graduates get this . ” Here ’s a uproarious prank that some cyberspace the Tempter fudge up to lash out at frivolous mathematics clickbait :
I ’ll save you some time and mar the solution :
Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky Leta
Apple = 154476802108746166441951315019919837485664325669565431700026634898253202035277999 ,
Banana = 36875131794129999827197811565225474825492979968971970996283137471637224634055579 ,
Pineapple =
Graphic:Sridhar Ramesh
4373612677928697257861252602371390152816537558161613618621437993378423467772036
Indeed , 95 % of mass can not work this . Despite its simplistic appearance , the problem requires highly ripe mathematics and wasn’tsolveduntil 2014 .
This week ’s puzzler comes from a real problem on a math run given to students in Singapore . It is neither trivial nor a prank , but it go viral for causing severance among solver . It ’s a tricky exercise in system of logic unlike any exam problem from my school days .
Did you miss last workweek ’s puzzle ? Check it outhere , and find its root at the bottom of today ’s article . Be careful not to study too far ahead if you have n’t clear last hebdomad ’s yet !
Puzzle #22: Cheryl’s birthday
Albert and Bernard just became admirer with Cheryl , and they want to have sex when her natal day is . Cheryl gives them a tilt of 10 potential escort .
May 15 , May 16 , May 19
June 17 , June 18
July 14 , July 16
August 14 , August 15 , August 17
Cheryl then severalise Albert the calendar month of her natal day and Bernard the day of her natal day separately . Then the follow conversation assume place :
Albert : I do n’t acknowledge when Cheryl ’s birthday is , but I know that Bernard also does not cognise .
Bernard : At first I did n’t do it when Cheryl ’s birthday is , but I know now .
Albert : Then I also know when Cheryl ’s natal day is .
When is Cheryl ’s natal day ?
You ’ll be relieved to get wind that the solvent does not demand 80 - fingerbreadth numbers . It does , however , require some heedful logic .
I ’ll be back next week with the result and a new puzzle . Do you know a nerveless puzzle that I should cover here ? Message me on Twitter@JackPMurtaghor netmail me at[email protected ]
Solution to Puzzle #21: Impossible Geography
How did you navigate last week’sweird geographics quiz ? If you receive the first two answers arduous to believe , play around withGoogle Earthto see them for yourself . Shout - out to Executor32 for nailing all three .
Which U.S. body politic is closest to Africa ?
Many people think Florida , but it ’s really Maine by a long shot . Africa sits more northward than you might picture . Executor32 points out that if Puerto Rico ever became a U.S. state , it would beat Maine in this competition , because Puerto Rico sits east of Maine .
If you vanish due south from Key West , Florida , which South American country will you hit first ?
You actually wo n’t buy the farm over any South American res publica if you fly in the south from Key West . You ’ll hang glide west of the whole continent .
I am in an East Coast U.S. state and I call my supporter who is in a West Coast U.S. state . It is precisely the same time of day for both of us . How is this possible ?
Typically , there ’s a three - hour time conflict between East Coast and West Coast state . We ’ll close this crack one minute at a time . Although Florida is an East Coast state , the part of the panhandle under Alabama actually dips into the primal time zone . alike , an eastern swath of Oregon ( a West Coast State Department ) observes mountain fourth dimension . So there are region in Florida and Oregon whose clocks only differ by an time of day . To bridge the terminal gap , I aim the call on Daylight Savings Time in the declension when the pin clover roll back an minute . At 1:59 am in parting of Florida on this day ( just before the clock fall back ) , it will be 12:59 am in parts of Oregon . In the next bit , Florida will fall back and it will be 1:00 am in both home . I then have an time of day to place my call before Oregon falls back . This phone call can only occur within this specific hr of the year between these two specific region of the country .
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