March puzzles
You'll need logic for March Math Mania
Ms.
Math Mania has come up with a couple Math Mania
puzzles that will require some logical figuring to figure
out the unknown numbers. There are some puzzles within the
puzzles.
The questions involve pearls, girls and monkeys.
Ms. Amy Ruzicka, a math teacher in South St. Louis, is the
designer for the Math Mania questions. She likes
to vary the questions each month and give you a chance to
try out different math skills.
If you'd like to see the answers to the February Sudoku
puzzles, click here.
The rules for Math Mania remain the same. Entry
in the competition is open to St. Louis metro area kids, ages
8 to 13.
If you get all the answers to the March questions correct,
you are eligible to win a $10 Border's gift certificate.
Be sure to follow the rules below. It's especially important
that you have your entry postmarked by the 15th of March.
March Math
Mania Challenge:
Pearls, Girls, and Monkeys?!
PEARLS FOR GIRLS
Once an old man died, and in his will he stated
that all the pearls he kept in a little bag were to be distributed
among his daughters. To make things fair, the distribution must
be done in the following way:
The older girl should receive one pearl, and
a seventh of the remaining pearls in the bag.
The second girl should receive two pearls, and
a seventh of the remaining pearls in the bag.
The third girl should receive three pearls,
and a seventh of the remaining pearls in the bag.
And so on until all the pearls are exhausted.
Needless to say, the younger girl grew angry,
and went to talk to the Judge because, if distributed that way,
she probably would not get a pearl at all. The wise Judge looked
at her and said: "Don't worry, my child. Your father was a wise
man. He made everything quite right so that, after all the pearls
are given, each one of you will have the same quantity of pearls
and there will be no pearls left."
And so it was.
How many pearls were there in the bag?
How many daughters did the old man have?
How many pearls did each girl get?
Answer: ______ pearls, ______ daughters, ______
pearls for each daughter
MONKEY MADNESS
Three types of monkeys - monkeys of the same
type weigh the same - were amusing themselves in the jungle.
By chance they found a small wobbly tree, where, by varying
the amounts of monkeys on each side they could keep the tree
in an upright position.
They found out that:
2 howler monkeys and 1 squirrel monkey on one
side balanced with 4 spider monkeys on the other side.
2 spider monkeys and 1 squirrel monkey on one
side balanced with 3 howler monkeys on the other side.
Can you determine how many squirrel monkeys
on one side it would take to keep the tree upright with 4 howler
monkeys on the other side?
Answer: ______ squirrel monkeys.
