mscroggs.co.uk
mscroggs.co.uk
Click here to win prizes by solving the mscroggs.co.uk puzzle Advent calendar.
Click here to win prizes by solving the mscroggs.co.uk puzzle Advent calendar.

subscribe

Puzzles

Light work

"I don't know if you are fond of puzzles, or not. If you are, try this. ... A gentleman (a nobleman let us say, to make it more interesting) had a sitting-room with only one window in it—a square window, 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. Now he had weak eyes, and the window gave too much light, so (don't you like 'so' in a story?) he sent for the builder, and told him to alter it, so as only to give half the light. Only, he was to keep it square—he was to keep it 3 feet high—and he was to keep it 3 feet wide. How did he do it? Remember, he wasn't allowed to use curtains, or shutters, or coloured glass, or anything of that sort."

Show answer & extension

If you enjoyed this puzzle, check out Sunday Afternoon Maths XI,
puzzles about 2d shapes, or a random puzzle.

Archive

Show me a random puzzle
 Most recent collections 

Advent calendar 2023

Advent calendar 2022

Advent calendar 2021

Advent calendar 2020


List of all puzzles

Tags

star numbers balancing expansions cubics polynomials lines consecutive integers mean probabilty tiling elections odd numbers christmas algebra gerrymandering squares decahedra folding tube maps doubling advent sum to infinity people maths cube numbers differentiation money factorials division scales chocolate integration cards shapes surds crossnumber speed 3d shapes irreducible numbers number binary graphs determinants perimeter quadratics factors combinatorics integers arrows remainders dodecagons symmetry median square roots percentages products spheres menace multiples ave circles means addition rugby chalkdust crossnumber trigonometry prime numbers dominos digits games square numbers dates crossnumbers sets logic tournaments taxicab geometry digital clocks even numbers triangle numbers crosswords coordinates calculus probability sums angles averages colouring volume palindromes fractions pentagons consecutive numbers books albgebra ellipses digital products planes perfect numbers unit fractions parabolas dice shape sequences clocks hexagons wordplay axes bases regular shapes area the only crossnumber time proportion rectangles numbers triangles quadrilaterals polygons partitions sport grids floors tangents multiplication coins functions routes pascal's triangle chess matrices geometric mean geometry geometric means cryptic clues cryptic crossnumbers indices range 2d shapes complex numbers

Archive

Show me a random puzzle
▼ show ▼
© Matthew Scroggs 2012–2024