mscroggs.co.uk
mscroggs.co.uk

subscribe

Sunday Afternoon Maths XXV

 Posted on 2014-08-17 

Polya strikes out

Write the numbers 1, 2, 3, ... in a row. Strike out every third number beginning with the third. Write down the cumulative sums of what remains:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ...
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ...
1, 2, 4, 5, 7, ...
1=1; 1+2=3; 1+2+4=7; 1+2+4+5=12; 1+2+4+5+7=19; ...
1, 3, 7, 12, 19, ...
Now strike out every second number beginning with the second. Write down the cumulative sums of what remains. What is the final sequence? Why do you get this sequence?

Show answer & extension

Tags: numbers

Whist

Messrs. Banker, Dentist, Apothecary and Scrivener played whist last night. (whist is a four player card game where partners sit opposite each other.) Each of these gentlemen is the namesake of another's vocation.
Last night, the apothecary partnered Mr. Apothecary; Mr. Banker's partner was the scrivener; on Mr. Scrivener's right sat the dentist.
Who sat on the banker's left?

Show answer & extension

Tags: logic, cards
If you enjoyed these puzzles, check out Advent calendar 2023,
puzzles about chess, 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

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

Archive

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