GIANT^BOOK OF

Challenging^
Thinking Puzzles
Here are tons of puzzles tough enough to pit your nnental powers against for

days and days.

Do you have what it takes to master the critical thinking challenge? Be

sure you don't just accept the facts. You must uncover connections and

identify the often hidden cause-and-effect relationships, it's just you, a pen-

cil or pen, and some of the most stimulating mindbenders you've probably

ever seen.

Can you imagine the mirror image of a given object, or the best way to

connect a series of geometrical shapes? Are you able to figure out the

shortest distance between any two points, the number of salami slices that

fit on a pizza, or the amount of coffee a pot can hold? Then you're a pro at

visual thinking puzzles.

Start right now:

Examine each of these hands carefully. Then decide which one of the nine

is unlike ail the others.

^^
^^^
Got it? Good, consider yourself pointed in the right direction!
 Giant Book of

[J^UZZLES
MICHAEL A. DISPEZIO

/I
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
New York
 Material in this collection was adapted from:

Critical Thinking Puzzles,

Great Critical Thinking Puzzles,
Challenging Critical Thinking Puzzles, and
Visual Thinking Puzzles
© Michael A. DiSpezio

468 10 9753
Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
© 2003 by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing

7o Canadian Manda Group, 1 65 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6
Books Group PLC
Distributed in Great Britain by Chrysalis
The Chrysalis Building, Bramley Road, London WIO 6SP, England
Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
RO. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia

Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica

All rights reserved

Sterling ISBN 1-4027-1090-9

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and

corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales
Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpub.com
 CONTENTS
SECTION
INTRODUCTION 6

PUZZLES 7

ANSWERS : 65

SECTION
INTRODUCTION 86
PUZZLES 87
ANSWERS 141

SECTION
INTRODUCTION ....168

PUZZLES 169
ANSWERS 229

SECTION
INTRODUCTION .......254

PUZZLES 255
ANSWERS 335

INDEX 377
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2013

http://archive.org/details/giantbookofchallOOmich
 Introduction
when we think critically we are engaging in intellectual strat-

egies to probe the basic nature of a problem, situation, or puzzle.

By these strategies, we mean making observations, predictions,
generalizations, reasonings by assumptions, comparisons and con-
trasts,uncovering relationships between the parts to the whole,
and looking for sequences, it sounds like a lot, but everyone has
these skills and the puzzles in this book are designed to challenge,
exercise, and stretch the way you interpret the world.
Some of the puzzles here are old favorites that have enter-
tained people for years. Several of them are presented in their time-
tested way. Most of the standards, however, have a new twist or up-
dated story added. Other puzzles require some inventive solutions,
so don't be afraid to be creative. Most of them can be done with a
pencil or pen.
Some require inexpensive materials that can probably be
found around the house: a pair of scissors, markers, tape, tooth-
picks, and a yardstick. Even though some puzzles can be solved
using algebra, they were selected for their ability to be visualized
and figured out this way. Therefore, in addition to being fun to do,
they offer an arena to practice thinking skills.

Statements such as "I want you to memorize this list" or

"That's a good answer, but it wasn't the one I expected" help to ex-
tinguish critical thought. Although you'll never have to measure an
ant's path or alter a flag, the process of creating and evaluating a
reasonable answer is a worthwhile experience. By the time you fin-
ish this section, those powerful be back on track, probing
skills will

your everyday experiences for a more thorough and deeper under-

standing.
Ready to start? Great, because the fun is about to begin.

—Michael
 Pyramid Passage
Ancient Egyptian pyramids were built as royal tombs. Within these
massive stone structures were rooms, halls and connecting passage-
ways. Look at the figure below. Can you draw four paths that connect
the matching symbols? The paths may not cross, they may not enter a
non-matching pyramid, nor may they go outside the large pyramid
boundary.

B
H
II

m
m

7
 Magic Pyramid
numbers 1 ,2,3,4,5, and 6 in the cir-
For this pyramid, can you place the
cles shown below? Only one number may be placed in a circle and all
numbers must be used. When the final arrangement is complete, the
sum of each side's three numbers must all be the same number.

Pyramid Builders
The Egyptian pyramids at Giza are incredible structures that took many
years to complete. They were constructed out of large rectangular
stone blocks, each weighing about as much as a car. The two largest
pyramids contain over two million of these blocks!

8
Now, it's your turn to work. Can you build a three dimensional pyrannid
using two odd-shaped blocks?

Copy the figurebelow onto two pieces of stiff paper. Fold along
the inner lines as shown and use tape to secure the edges.

Now arrange the blocks to form a pyramid with four sides.

1S0 Trial by Triangle
Take a look at these two identical triangles. They are made with six

sticks.

Can you rearrange the sticks so that they form four triangles? All of
the new triangles must be the same size as these original two!

By the way, here's a triangle that you can draw but can't build. It's

called an impossible triangle. See why?

10
 Before you go on to the next puzzle, take a look at these strange
objects. Do you think that they can also be built? Or do you think there
may be some sort of trick?

11
 2 Triangle
Here's another triangle whose only problem is that it isn't built yet.

You'll have to assemble it from these three trapezoids!

Spare My Brain

To move their armies, the Romans built over 50,000 miles of roads.
Imagine driving all those miles! Now imagine driving those miles in

the first gasoline-driven car that has only three wheels and could reach
a top speed of about 1 miles per hour.
For safety's sake, let's bring along a spare tire. As you drive the
50,000 miles, you rotate the spare with the other tires so that all four
tires get the same amount of wear. Can you figure out how many miles
of wear each tire accumulates?

Wliirling Paradox
Let's take a closer look at those tires. If a car with spoke wheels drives
by, we will see that when the spinning spokes get to the top of the
wheel, they are moving so fast that they become blurred. At the same
time, the spokes on the bottom half of the wheel appear to be moving
much slower. In fact, they are so slow that you may be able to count
them, if the spokes are connected to the same wheel, how can this be?
HINT: There may be a connection between this observation and
the sound of a speeding car as it zooms by.

12
Now we're on foot. Imagine that you and several friends have hiked
into a remote region of the countryside. Your final destination is the
land of Ultima. After leaving the village of Skullara, you continue fol-

lowing the trail and come across an important intersection. There is,

however, one slight problem. :

The sign showing which way to go has been knocked down. How
can you figure out what is the right direction you need to go?

13
 Sand Traps
As you continue on your hike, you're handed a map of the terrain
ahead. This is not a safe place. In fact, the entire region is filled with
quicksand, which is shown on the map as black splotches. Contrary to
belief, quicksand does not suck or pull you under. Instead, it's your

weight that makes you sink in this water and fine sand mixture.

Your challenge is to discover a path from any point on the bottom

edge of the map to any point on the top edge without running into
quicksand (black splotches). To make it more challenging, the path
must consist of only two straight lines.
To start, place your pencil anywhere on the bottom border of the
map. Then draw a straight line. When you stop, don't lift the pencil.
Complete your trip using one more straight line.

14
 Which Mountain?
Now that you've made it past the quicksand, it's time to do some
climbing. You have a choice of climbing one of three geometrically
shaped mountains, which are 10,000 feet high. One of the moun-
all

tains is a perfect cylinder, another is in the shape of a cone, and the

third looks like the top half of a sphere. Several out-of-work math
teachers have constructed roads that go from the base to the summit of
each mountain. All three roads are built so that you climb 1 vertical
foot every20 horizontal feet. If you wish to walk the shortest distance
from base to summit, which mountain would you choose?

Compass Caper
A compass is a reliable tool that always point north —or does it? There
are many reports of compass needles that unexpectedly turn away from
north.The strangest natural cause for this disturbance may be a shoot-
ing As the meteor streaks across the sky, it upsets the electrical bal-
star.

ance of the air and produces a magnetic force that some believe affects
the compass reading.

15
 We, however, will work with a compass that always gives a true
heading. Suppose you start a hike by traveling directly south for 500
paces. Then, you turn and go due east for another 1 00 paces. You turn
once more and go due north for 500 paces. You are now in the exact
same spot where you started from, but in front of you is a bear. What
color is it?

A Cut Above
With all that hiking, you've probably now worked up an appetite. So
how about some pizza?
Suppose this is the early 1 900's and you're in New York City's Little

Italy getting a Pizza Margherita, named in honor of a pizza-loving Ital-

ian princess. Can you divide the pie into eight equal slices in only three
straight cuts? All the pieces must be identical: each with an upper sur-
face covered with sauce, lower baked crust, and a crusty edge.
HINT: Don't worry about the mess. You won't have to clean it.

16
 Kitchen Cups
Have you ever seen the written form of the Sanskrit language? If so, you
probably are amazed at how different this ancient language from India
looks from ours. Some English words, however, are based on Sanskrit.
For example, cup comes from the Sanskrit word kupa, which means
water well. This puzzle requires several water wells.
Suppose you need to measure exactly 1 cup of water. All that you
have in your kitchen are two containers. The smaller container holds 3
cups and the larger holds 5 cups. How can you use these two contain-
ers to measure exactly 1 cup of water?

17
 Moldy Math
Now let's talk about something else that you might have, but not want,
in your kitchen. While you are raiding the you look behind
refrigerator,

the stove and discover a slice of bread that you misplaced several
weeks ago. Needless to say, it is covered with mold. Since the mold
started growing, the area it has covered has doubled each day. By the
end of the eighth day, the entire surface of the bread is covered. When
was the bread half-covered with mold?

18
 And a Cut Below
Have you ever heard of the cheesemobile? It's a giant refrigerated truck
that was built to carry a piece of Cheddar cheese. Why, then, all the
fuss? Simple. The cheese weighed over 40,000 pounds!
Take a look a the smaller barrel of cheese below. If you make these
three complete and straight cuts, how many pieces of cheese will you
have?

19
 Egg Exactly
Suppose you have only two egg timers, a 5-minute and a 3-minute.
Can you use these two measuring devices to time an egg that must be
boiled for exactly 2 minutes?

Losing Marbles?
Marbles have been around for a long time. In fact, archaeologists have
discovered marbles buried alongside an Egyptian child who died over
4000 years ago! The word "marble," however, comes from the Greek
word marmaros, which is a white polished stone made from the min-
eral agate.

20
 Now your turn to play with them. Place a marble in a cup and
it's

carry it to the opposite side of the room. Too easy, huh? To make this
more challenging, the cup must be turned upside down. This may take
a little bit of creative problem solving, but it can be done.

A Puzzle of Portions
Did you know that 3 ounces plus
ounces doesn't always equal
3
6 ounces? As illogical as this may sound,
its true because of the behav-

ior of the small particles (and spaces) that make up liquids. When dif-

ferent liquids are mixed, the particles tend to fill in some of the open
spaces. As a result, the liquid becomes more compact and occupies
less volume. It's only a small difference, but it is measurable.

Let's try mixing something whose volume does not change. Your

challenge is to split some apple juice into three equal portions. The
juice comes in a 24-ounce container. You have only three other con-
tainers, each holding 5, 11, and 13 ounces. How can you divide the
juice into three equal portions?
HINT: At the very least, it will take four steps.

21
 Mixed Up?
Root beer, not cola, is the oldest-marketed soft drink in America. Be-
fore it was sold in the United States, root beer was brewed in many
colonial homes. It contained many ingredients including molasses,
licorice, vanilla, and the bark from birch trees. It was going to be called
was later changed to root beer to attract the tavern crowd.
root tea but
Here is one 8-ounce cup filled with root beer and another 8-
ounce cup filled with cola. Take 1 tablespoon of root beer and add it to
the cola. Stir the mixture. Now take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and
add it to the root beer. Is there more root beer in the cola or cola in the
root beer?

22
 Toothpick Teasers
For the puzzles in this group, you can also use pieces of straws or small
sticks if you don't have toothpicks.

These six toothpicks are arranged in a hexagon. Starting with this

arrangement, can you form two identical diamonds by moving only
two toothpicks and adding just one more?

These sixteen toothpicks form eight identical triangles. Can you

remove four toothpicks so that four of these triangles are left? All of the
toothpicks that remain must be a side of the triangles with no loose
ends sticking out.

A
AA
\/\/

23
 Form four (and only four) identical squares by removing eight
toothpicks. *

Move only three of the toothpicks (and the eye) to make the fish
swim in the opposite direction.
 Going to the Movies
1
Let's take a break from these puzzles and go to the movies. The map
below shows an assortment of routes from your home (H) to the
movie theater (M). If you can only travel in a north, east, or northeast
direction, how many possible routes are there from your home to the
theater?

Now Seating?
Suppose two boys and three girls go to the movie theater and they al

sit in the same row. If the row has only 5 seats:

1 . How many different ways can the two boys and three girls be
seated in this row?
— 2. What are the chances that the two children at the ends of the
row are both boys?
3. What are the chances that the two children at the ends of the
row are both girls?

25
 Weighing in

The movie playing in the theater is about a scientist who changes into a
fly. Before she transforms herself, she carefully weighs a jar of sleeping
flies. Then, she shakes the jar to wake them up. While they are flying,
the scientist weighs the jar again. Does the weigh less
jar full of flies

when the insects are flying?

26
 The Strangest Eyes
The scientist has transformed herself into a fly. One of her eyes is made
up of one loop coiled into a spiral-like design. The other eye is made
up of two separate loops shaped into a similar design. Can you tell
which eye is the single loop and which one is the double without trac-
ing the lines with a pencil?

27
10 Monkey Business
The theater shows a double feature. The second movie is about Tarzan
going into the moving business.
For his first job, Tarzan must raise a 35-pound crate into his neigh-
bor's tree house. To do this, he first attaches a pulley to a tree branch.
He then passes a rope through the pulley and ties it to the crate. Just as
he is about to lift the crate, he is called away to help a nearby elephant.
A passing chimp observes the situation and decides to help. The
chimp also weighs 35 pounds. As the chimp pulls down on the rope
what happens to the crate?

Head Count
In the final scene, a pet store owner is counting the birds and lizards
that Tarzan has delivered to her store. For some odd reason, she de-
cides to tally only the heads and scaly legs of these animals. When she
has finished, she has counted thirty heads and seventy legs. FHow many
birds and how many lizards are there?

Mobius Strip
FHere is one of the strangest loops you'll ever see. It's called a Mobius
strip in honor of the German mathematician who first investigated its

properties.

28
wide and
To build a Mobius
1
you need a strip of paper about 1 inch
strip,

inches long. Coil the paper into a simple loop. Then put a
1
single twist in the loop before securing the ends together with a piece
of tape. Use a marker to color one and the other
side of the strip red
side blue. You'll soon discover that this loop has only one side!
Mobius strips are used in manufacturing. Many machines have
belts that are used to connect different spinning parts. By using a belt
sewn into a Mobius strip, the belt wears evenly on both sides.
Suppose you divide right down the middle of the Mobius strip.
What shape would you get? Make a guess; then use a pair of scissors to
carefully divide the strip.

Aunt Mobius?
THINK ABOUT IT! we
place two ants side by side on a Mobius strip
If

and start them off in opposite directions, they will first pass each other
on opposite sides of the paper. Then one ant will be walking on the top
side of the strip, while the other will be on the bottom side!

Ant Walk
Let's pick up an ant from the strip and placeon one corner of a sugar
it

cube. This cube has sides all measuring 1 If the ant can
centimeter.
only walk along the edges of the cube, what is the total distance it can
travel without retracing any part of its path?

29
 Cubic Quandaries
A wooden cube is painted red. Suppose it is divided with six equal cuts
into the smaller cubes as shown.

1. How many smaller cubes are there?

2. How many of these smaller cubes
a. have only one side that is painted red?
b. have two sides that are painted red?
c. have three sides that are painted red?
d. have no sides that are red?

Squaring Off
Make a copy of these four rectangles. Cut out the shapes and then
arrange them to form a perfect square.

30
 Saving Face
How good are you at visualizing things? These next few puzzles test

your ability to rotate and construct objects in your mind.

These blocks below represent the same block. What figure is miss-
ing on the upper face of the last block?

r^^^n <^W\

Which of the four cubes below can be created by folding this

design?

31
i Finally, if you fold
figure represents the result?
up this flat sheet along the inner
•
ines, which

cxxxxxxxxxxxxx
nc Axxirxxxacx xxxxim
nc9oc jocxxiraxx XX XX XX
nc XX XXXXXX XX XX XX
fx 3CX XXXXXXXX XX XX
UXXXXiutxxxxxx a»
CX XX 90CXXXXXXXXXX A
CX XX XXXX XX XX XX 9^
CXXX XXXXXX XX XX XX
exxxxxxxxx]» )u
CX90CXXXXXXXX xxxx >^

32
 Cut the Cards
Have you ever played cards and wished you had a different hand? Sup-
pose you need a heart instead of a spade. Well, here's your chance to
change one suit into another.
Photocopy the spade below. Then use a pair of scissors to cut it
into three pieces so that the pieces can be fitted together to form a
heart. Can you do it?

33
 stripped Stripe
There is a legend about a king who had six brothers and six sisters. His
country's flag reflected this family structure with twelve bold stripes.
When two of his brothers moved out of the kingdom, the king had two
of the stripes removed.
Can you figure out how to cut the flag into as few pieces as possi-
ble so that the pieces can be put back together to make the same type
of flag, but with two less stripes? No part of the flag can be discarded.

34
 Missing Square
Count the number of blocks that make up this pattern. If you don't
want to count each block, you can multiply the number of rows by the
number of columns to get a total of sixty-four blocks.

Now photocopy the pattern.

Using a pair of scissors, separate the checkerboard along the inner
lines. Reassemble the pieces as shown below.

B
D
c
r _

Now count the blocks, or, if you'd rather, just multiply again. The
new figure is thirteen blocks long and five blocks high. That gives us
sixty-five blocks. Where did the extra block come from?

35
 Tipping tiie Scales
What whole animal(s) must be added to balance the fourth scale?

36
 .....Jk
Snake Spread lir
These hungry snakes are swallowing each other. Since they began this
odd dining experience, the circle they formed has gotten smaller. If
they continue to swallow each other, what will eventually happen to
the circle of snakes?

Falcon Flight
Two bicyclists are situated 60 miles apart. One has a falcon on his
shoulder. The bicyclists start riding toward each other at the same time,
both maintaining a constant speed of 30 mph. The moment they begin,
the falcon flies off the first cyclist's shoulder and toward the other. The
falcon flies at mph. When the falcon
a constant ground speed of 45
meets the other rider, he reverses direction and flies back to the first
cyclist (who is now considerably closer). The falcon continues this
back and forth pattern until the riders final'y meet. How far did the
falcon fly?

37
1S0 A Question of Balance
Place two fingers at the ends of a yardstick. Slowly move the fingers to-
ward each other. As you'll discover, your fingers always meet in the
middle of the yardstick.
Now place both fingers in the middle of the stick. Slowly try mov-
ing the two of them out to the opposite ends. This time you'll find that
one finger remains in the middle while the other moves to the end. Can
you explain this behavior?

38
 Well-Balanced Plate
Here's a game that you are guaranteed to win as long as you let your
opponent go first. Start with a plate on the exact center of a table. Your
opponent must place another plate on the table. Then, it's your turn.
During each turn, both of you must continue placing plates until no
more plates will fit, but, don't worry, you'll win. Can you figure out the
secret?

Double tt NtTHi»i& OKI

M, tou Co Fi«T.

39
 Robot Walkers
Have you ever seen a robot walker? It is designed to move over various
types of terrain so that scientists can use it to explore nearby planets.
Our robot walkers are positioned at the corners of a square plot of
land. Each robot programmed to follow the robot directly ahead of
is it.

If all the robots move at the same speed, what will happen to the
square pattern? Will the robots ever meet?

40
 Chain Links
Suppose you own four pieces of chain. One chain has 5 links, two
chains have 4 links, and one chain has 3 links.

You go and ask her to make a bracelet using all of

to the jeweler
these chains. She says it would cost $.50 to break a link and $1 .00 to
weld a link together. You calculate that it would cost $6.00 to build the
bracelet. The jeweler, however, says that it would only cost $4.50. Can
you figure out how she can assemble your bracelet for less?

Rope Ruse
There is an old legend about an ancient magician who could tie a rope
into a knot while holding on to each end of the rope. Can you?

41
 Money Magic
Look at the picture below. Can you guess what will happen when the
bill is pulled from both ends?
After you've made your prediction, use a dollar bill and two paper
clips to assemble this puzzle. Make sure that each paper clip grips only
two of the three side-by-side sections. Slowly pull the bill apart. What
happens to the clips? How is it possible?

42
 Revolutionary Thoughts
Different things orbit the earth at various speeds and distances. For ex-
ample, satellitesand space instruments released by the space shuttle
are only several hundred miles away from the earth, while commu-
nications satellites circle at a distance of about 22,300 miles!
In this puzzle. Satellite X-1 orbits our planet once every 9 hours.

Satellite Beta once every 472 hours, and Satellite Parking once every 3

hours.
At time zero, the satellites are positioned in a straight line. How
long will it take for all three objects to position themselves again in a
straight line?

43
 Baffling Holes

Black holes are celestial objects created by collapsedThese holes

stars.

have tremendous concentration of matter and produce such a strong

gravitational field that even light can't escape from it. If a black hole
was placed on the surface of the earth, our entire planet would be
sucked into it!

The hole in this puzzle is not as large as a black hole, but finding
its solution can be a big challenge. Do you think a quarter can pass

through a hole that is the size of a nickel? You can't tear, cut, or rip the
hole. Impossible, you say? Trace the outline of a nickel onto an index
card. Carefully cut out this outline.

HINT: Bends and twists can open up a whole new geometry.

44
 A Giant Step
Passing a quarter through a nickel-sized hole is nothing when you can
step through an index card.
Carefully use a pair of scissors or a modeling knife to cut out the
pattern of slots shown here. When you are finished, the hole will open
in an accordian-like style and allow you to step through it!

/I

45
 A Fair Solution

Two teenagers are deciding how to share the last piece of pizza. One
of them must divide the slice. Both are afraid that the other will cut the
slice unfairly and take the larger piece. Can this conflict be resolved by
these teenagers so that both will be satisfied by the other one's cut?
After finishing their pizza, the happy teenagers bring out a box of
toothpicks and arrange the toothpicks as follows:

Can you remove four toothpicks and leave ten on the table?

Sock it to Me
Did you know that a sock-like garment was first worn by Greek
women? This soft leather covering appeared around 600 B.C. and was
called a "sykhos." Roman women copied the style and changed the
name to "soccus."
open your "soccus" drawer. Suppose you have four pairs of
Let's

black socks, three pairs of white socks, and a pair of red socks. It is
nighttime and you can't see the colors of the socks. You need to select
one pair of matching socks. Any color will do.
What is the least number of socks you need to remove from the
drawer to ensure that you have at least one matching pair?

46
 Nuts!
When you rotate a bolt clockwise, it travels into the threads of a nut.
When that same bolt is rotated counterclockwise, the nut and bolt will
separate.
Suppose you have two bolts aligned within each other's threads. If

both bolts are rotated clockwise, will they move together, separate, or
remain the same distance apart?

Here's something else to think about. In many large cities, the light
bulbs used in places such as subway stations are unique. Instead
of screwing into the socket with a clockwise motion, they require
counter-clockwise turns. What sense does it make to have these differ-

ent from most other bulbs?

47
 Doubtful Dimensions »

John want to ship a baseball bat to his sister. The bat is 4 feet, 1 1 inches
long. He places it in a rectangular box that is 5 feet long. When he
takes it to the shipper, they can't send the package because it is too
long. All dimensions of the package must be 4 feet or less in order to be
shipped.
When John returns home, he figures out how he can repack the
bat. What does he do?

48
 Machine Madness
The identical wheels of this machine are connected by a series of belts.
The outer rim of each wheel has a circumference of 8 centimeters. The
rim of each wheel's inner shaft has a circumference of 4 centimeters. If
the crank is rotated up one-quarter turn, what hour would the clock's
hand point to?

49
 Putting It Together
Suppose you have a list of numbers from one to one hundred. How
quickly can you add them all up without using a calculator?

HINT: There is a swift add these numbers. Think about how

way to
the numbers at the opposite ends of the list relate to each other.

50
 The Heat Is On
The next time you drive under a highway bridge, take a close look at its
ends. It is most likely that one end of the bridge will be attached di-
rectly to the road. The other end, however, will probably have a small
gap. The gap is there on purpose. When the temperature rises, the
bridge expands. If the gap wasn't there, the expanding metal bridge
might shatter the roadway!
How about holes? Do they also expand when heated? Suppose a
metal washer is placed in a flame. What happens to the size of its hole?

City Pipes

Beneath almost every city is an intricate system of large water-carrying

pipes. These pipes transport runoff that falls through sewer openings
and keep the city streets from flooding when there'a a rainstorm.
The pipes are connected to the surface through manhole open-
ings. Manhole covers fit over the openings. How does their shape pre-

vent them from falling into the hole?

HINT: Think of how the bat from the "Doubtful Dimensions" puz-
zle on page 48 was packaged!

51
 Magic Square
Take a look a the grid below. Like the "Magic Pyramid" puzzle pre-
sented on page 8 of this book, the Magic Square is created when the
right numbers are placed in the empty boxes.

Place a number from 1 to 9 in each of the boxes. Don't repeat any

of the numbers. Their arrangement must result in any row of three num-
bers (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) adding up to 1 5.

Anti-Magic Square
Like the Magic Square, the Anti-Magic Square uses the same grid as
above, except you have to place the numbers 1 to 9 to create a square
where each row's sum is different.
Think that's easy? Give it a try. Remember, you can't repeat any of
the numbers.

52
 Numbers Game
Here's another game that you're bound to win as long as you let your
opponent go first.
The object of the game is simple. The first one to reach 1 00 wins!
Each round involves adding a number from 1 to 1 to the previous
number. Your opponent goes first and identifies a number from 1 to 1 0.
You add to that number and announce the sum. The turns continue
until 00 is reached.
1

The winning strategy is for you to always produce the key num-
bers, which are 1 2, 23, 34, 45, 56, 67, 78, 89, and the winning 1 00.
So if your opponent says 8, you add 4 to get to the first key num-
ber 1 2. You continue adding to the keys, and within nine rounds you'll
be a winner.
Now
suppose you can only add a number from 1 to 5 to your op-
ponent's number until you reach 50.

What would the key numbers now be?

What's Next?
Take a look at the pattern below. These symbols have a logical order.
Can you draw the next symbol in the sequence?

HINT: A little reflection with your thinking skills may help you
solve this puzzle.

53
 Connect the Dots
Starting at the top center dot, can you connect all of the other nine dots
with only four straight lines? The four lines must all be connected and
your pencil can't leave the paper while drawing the answer.

• O •

Another Ant Walk

A queen ant finds herself climbing onto the metal framework of a
bridge at the spot marked by the arrow.
Can you trace the path she'd need to follow in order to walk
across every piece of frame only once and end up at the top of the
bridge (marked by an X)?
Her path must be a continuous line.

t
In Order
Examine the set of pictures on the next page. Can you place them in

their most logical order?

54
55
 Tangrams
In Asia, tangrams are known as "the seven plates of wisdom." No won-
der, since this Chinese puzzle, probably one of the most famous dis-
section games, has been around for at least several hundred years.
A tangram consists of five triangles, a square, and a rhomboid.
To get these shapes, copy the lines shown below onto a square
sheet of heavy stock paper. Use a pair of scissors to cut out each of the
seven sections.

Another way you can make the seven shapes is to start with a
square sheet of paper.
1 . Cut the square in half to make two large triangles.

56
2. Cut one of the triangles in half to make two equal triangles (Sections
I and II).

3. Fold back the corner of the other triangle and cut along this fold to
get another triangle (Section III).

4. Cut the remaining piece into two equal halves.

5. Fold and cut one of the pieces to get a square and right triangle (Sec-
tions IV and V).

6. Fold and cut the other piece like this (Sections VI and VII).

57
58
 Fractured Farmland
While flying over farmland, a pilot notices the rectangular shape of the
fields below. She sketches the lines that divide the fields.
When she returns to the airport, she wonders how many different
rectangles can be formed by the lines drawn below?

HINT: Don't forget that a square is also a rectangle.

Number Sense
The number symbols we use are called Arabic numerals. Logically,
they originated in the Middle East. Right? Wrong. They were created in

India. Europeans learned these symbols from Arabic scholars and, in-

advertently, the name Arabic numeral stuck.

59
 Now try not to get stuck on this number problem. Can you un-
cover the logic used to place each of the*numbers below? If so, what
number should be placed at the question mark?

What Comes Next?

Choose the next logical member of the sequence.

B D

60
 The Marked Park
jethro's custom racer has two different-sized tires. The smaller front tire
has a circumference of 7 feet. The larger rear tire has a circumference

of 9 feet.
Rita, the meter maid, sees Jethro's racer parked in a 10-minute
zone and decides to mark the curbside tires with a spot of paint. She
places a mark on the front and rear tires exactly where each tire
touches the ground.
Twenty minutes later, Rita returns. She sees both marks still touch-
ing the ground. As she begins writing a parking ticket, Jethro returns
and explains that he did move his racer. In fact, he moved it the exact
distance required to rotate the marks back into their same relative posi-
tion. Assuming Jethro is telling the truth, what is the shortest distance

that the racer was moved?

61
 Pattern Path
All of the numbers below form a sequence. Can you figure out the
logic of the sequence? If so, begin at the point marked start and trace a
path from box to box. The boxes can be connected horizontally, verti-
cally, or diagonally. Double and triple digit numbers can be made by

grouping the numbers this way. You can go through a box only once.
Your mission is to finish at the stop sign located in the bottom right

corner.

START

2 1 6 4 2 4

8 4 3 2 8

6 2 6 1 4

1 4 5 5 2

2 8 2 1 9 6

62
 Pile Puzzler
1
Cards can be arranged in many different orders. Don't try all of them
unless you have time to count 80,660,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. ,

Here's a card challenge that has fewer solutions. Exchange one

card from each of the piles to form three piles with equal sums.

In this puzzle, the Ace only counts as one. Only one card can be
exchanged from each pile.

Pattern Puzzler
The five numbers within each circle represent a mathematical relation-
ship. This same relationship is displayed in each of the four circles.

Using this pattern, what is the most likely value for the question
mark in the last circle?

63
 Titillating Jiles

There's a tile below that doesn't fit with the other four in the group.
Can you figure out the relationship of the tiles and find the one
that is different?

®®®®
®®@®
Pattern Grid
A pattern grid is filled with items based on a geometric arrangement to
form a visual pattern. Examine the grid below for a pattern and then try

to select the section that completes it.

o•••
o•oo
•o
•o
A B C D

o c O oo
o en O
64
10 Trial
1 . In
by Triangle
order to create these four equal triangles, you'll have to use all

three dimensions. By constructing a three-dinnensional pyramid shape,

you'll create same-sized triangles on the structure's three sides and bot-
tom.

2. Like the impossible triangle, these two objects are optical illusions
and cannot be built.

Trapezoid 2 Triangle

Spare My Brain
Since the four wheels of the three-wheel car share the journey equally,
simply take three-fourths of the total distance (50,000 miles) and you'll
get 37,500 miles for each tire.

66
Whirling f
Relative to a stationary observer, the top of the wheel is moving faster
than the bottom of the wheel. It all has to do with the forward motion
of the car. Since the top half of the wheel is moving in the same direc-
tion as the car, their speeds areadded together to obtain the relative
speed of the moving upper spoke.
However, the lower spokes are moving in the opposite direction
as the car. In this case, subtraction of the speeds results in a much
slower relative speed — slow enough to count the individual spokes.

Lustf
To find out which way to go, you need to stand the sign back up.
Since you came from Skullara, align the sign so that the Skullara
arrow points back to it. All the other arrows will then be pointed to the
correct directions.
'•
•
/

Sand Traps

'Wtlld.
It doesn't matter which mountain you climb. All three paths will be the
same length. The length of the path is not determined by the shape of
the mountain but the slope of the road.
Since all three mountain paths have the same slope, you'd have to
walk the same distance in order to climb each 1 0,000 foot summit.

67
110 Compass Caper
white. The bear must be a polar bear. To conform to the given pattern,
the hiker must begin the trek at the magnetic North Pole.

A Cut Above
Make two cuts to divide the pizza along its diameter into 4 equal parts.
Then stack the quarters on top of each other. Make another cut down
the middle of the stack.
Although it might be messy, you'll have eight equal slices.

Kitchen Cups
Fill the three-cup container with water. Pour it into the five-cup container.
Fill the three-cup container again, and fill up the five-cup container.
This will leave you with exactly one cup of water in the three-cup con-
tainer.

Moldy Math
This is simpler than it may seem. Since the mold doubles in size every
day, it covered half as much area one day before!

And a Cut Below

Eight pieces as shown below:

68
Egg Exactly
Simultaneously turn over the five- and three-minute timers when you
4
begin to boil the v^ater.

When the three-minute timer runs out, put the egg into the boiling
water. When the five-minute timer runs out, the egg is done. Two min-
utes have elapsed.

Losing Marbles?
Start spinning the marble along the bottom of the cup so that it pushes
against the inner wall.
When the spin is fast enough, the force overcomes the pull of
gravity and the cup can be turned upside down.

A Puzzle of Portions
There are several ways to divide the juice. Here's one of the quickest:

Vessel Size 24 13 11 5

To start 24
First 8 11 5
Second 8 13 3
Third 8 8 3 5
Fourth 8 8 8

Mixed Up?
There is the same amount of root beer in the cola as there is cola in the
root beer.
For every drop of root beer that is in the cola cup, a drop of cola
has been displaced and is in the root beer cup.

69
^4
Toothpick Teasers

Going to the Movies

Tracing, counting, and remembering each step would drive you crazy.
To make things easier, just write down the possible paths to each circle.
The number of paths to the next circle is equal to the sum of the paths
that connect it.

70
Now Seating?
1. BBGCG, BGBGG, BGGBG,
There are ten possible combinations:
BGGGB, GBBGG, GBGBG, GBGGB, GGBBG, GGBGB, GGGBB.
2. The chances for two boys being on the ends are 1 in 1 0.
3. The chances for two girls being on the ends are 3 in 1 0.

Weighing in...
The weight of the jar doesn't change. In order to fly, the insects must
produce downward air currents that are equal in force to their weight.
Therefore, whether standing or in flight, the insects push down with the
same force.

Tiie Strangest Eyes

Unfortunately, you will need to check this one by tracing over the pat-
tern.As you do, you'll discover a single loop on the left and a double
loop on the right.

Monkey Business
Both the crate and the chimp go up.

Head Count
Although this type of problem is perfect for algebra, let's do it visually.

If all of the thirty heads belonged to two-legged birds, then there'd be

only sixty legs. If one of the animals has four legs, then there'd be sixty-
two If two animals are four-legged, there'd be sixty-four legs.
legs.

By continuing in this pattern until we reach seventy legs, we will

get a combination of twenty-five birds and five lizards.

71
The shape you get from dividing the Mobius strip is one large continu-
ous loop with four twists.

Nine centimeters. One basic pattern is illustrated below.

START
END

Although there are other turns, they cover the same total length.

There is 27 cubes. There are six cubes with one red side,
a total of
twelve cubes with two red sides, eight cubes with three red sides, and
one cube with no red sides.

72
73
Missing Square
There isn't an extra block. The area making the new block was "shaved
off" from some of the other blocks. The loss of each block's area is so
small that it's not easy to observe.

Tipping tiie Scales

Snake Spread
The snakes will fill their stomachs and not be able to swallow anymore.
The circle will then stop getting smaller.

74
Falcon Flight
The is determined by the amount of time he was
falcon's total distance
aloftand the speed he maintained.
The speed is given. The time is derived from the two cyclists. Since
the cyclists are 60 miles apart and drive toward each other at 30 mph,
the total time elapsed is 2 hours. The bird flying at 45 miles per hour
will cover 90 miles in this 2-hour time period.

A Question of Balance
It has to do with friction, balance, and the weight of the yardstick. J
As you move your fingers toward the middle of the yardstick, the
balance of the yardstick shifts. The finger that is closer to the middle
will support more weight, making it easier for the other, more distant
finger to "catch up" and move closer to the middle as well. This "catch-
'
ing up" flip-flops between the two fingers until they both arrive at the
middle of the yardstick.
The finger thatmoves first from the middle immediately bears less
of the ruler's weight, which makes it easier for this finger to keep mov-
ing. The farther it moves, the easier sliding becomes.

W0ll-Baiaii€0€i Plat0 !!

You must mirror your opponent's placement of the plate. This way, as /
long as he has a place for his plate, you have a place for yours.

Hobot Walkers
The robots follow a path that forms a
continually shrinking and rotating square.
Eventually, the robots wili meet in the
middle of the square.

75
Chain Links
Select the chain with three links. Breakopen one of the links and use it
toconnect any two of the other sections. Break another of its links and
use it to connect two other sections. Break the third and final link and
use it to make a complete loop.

Rope Ruse
Fold your arms as shown below. Then, pick up the free end of the rope
while your arms are already crossed. As you uncross your arms, the
rope will automatically knot itself.

Money Magic
The clips will lock together and drop off the bill. A paper clip isn't a
complete loop. It has two stretched openings through which the clip
can slip off the bill. As the two sections of the bill move by each other,
the clips slip through their openings and are pushed together to "re-
clip" onto each other's loop.

76
Revolutionary Thoughts
Four and a half hours. In order to be in a straight line the satellites must
travel either one full revolution or one-half revolution. In 4'/? hours,
they'll look like this:

Baffling Holes
Fold the card in half so that the circular hole is also folded in half. Then
slightly twist the paper as you pass the quarter snugly through the hole.

A Fair Solution
1 . Either teenager can cut the slice, but the other person selects who
getswhich slice.
2. The four removed toothpicks leave the word "TEN."

SockittoMe
Four socks. In a worst case scenario, if you draw three socks, each of a
different color, the next sock you draw guarantees a matching color.

77
Nuts!
ft

1. As you rotate each screw in a clockwise direction, they come

together.
2. City-owned bulbs have opposite threads so that they won't screw
into the standard light sockets that people have in their homes.
Therefore, this discourages theft.

Doubtful Dimensions
A box with 3X4 dimensions has a diagonal length of 5 feet.

Maeiiine Madness
Midway between 10 and 1 1 o'clock. The rotation decreases from one-
quarter turn to one-eighth turn between the second and third wheel.
As the smaller hub of the second wheel rotates one-quarter turn, it
moves the attached belt by only one foot. The 1-foot belt movement
spins the larger third wheel only one-eighth of a revolution. This one-
eighth turn remains the same for the fourth and fifth wheel. The belt
twist between the first and second wheel changes the spin from clock-
wise to counterclockwise.

Putting it Together
The list contains fifty numbers that add to 100 (lOO-nO, 99+1,
pairs of
98-1-2, 97-1-3, etc.) with the number 50 as the unpaired leftover. 50 X 1 00
+ 50 = 5,050.

Tlie Heat
As the washer expands, so does the hole it forms. Think of the washer
as an image being stretched on a graphics program. Both the washer
and its encircled hole will enlarge.

78
City Pipes
It is impossible for the round sewer cover to fall into the round pipe.
If the cover and tube had rectangular dimensions, the cover would
be able to slip into the tube by being tilted in diagonally. But no matter
how you tilt the circular cover, it can't fit through a hole of the same di-
mension.

Magic I

8 3 4

1 5 9

6 7 2

Anti-Magi'.

5 1 3

4 2 6

8 7 9

Numl
The trick to figuring out the key numbers
keep subtracting the
is to
maximum you can add plus one beginning with the starting number.
For instance, because you can only use the numbers 1-5, if you
work in increments 6 down from 50, you will get your key numbers: 8,
14, 20, 26, 32, 38, 44.

79
The symbols are the mirror images of t^e numbers 1 to 4 rotated on
their sides. The next image is a 5, modified in the same way.

The trick to this challenge is that the line can go out of the grid. Other-
wise, it is impossible to complete.

80
1. Girl walks to right wearing raingear and umbrella, passes grocery
store, in the heavy rain.

2. Girl walks to right, passes record store, wearing raingear and

umbrella, in less rain.

3. Girl stops, umbrella up, she holds out hand to feel rain. There is no
rain.

4. Girl has stopped, folds up umbrella. There is no rain.

5. Girl walks to left, holds folded umbrella, passes record store. There
is no rain.
6. Girl walks to left, holds folded umbrella, passes grocery store. There
is no rain.

7. Girl walks to right holding baseball bat, passes grocery store. It is

sunny.
8. Girl walks to right, passes record store, holds baseball bat. It is

sunny.

Tar

4 ^ 4r

81
w Fractured Fartniand
Eighteen: one whole composite block (1*,2,3,4,5,6); six separate blocks
(1 ) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6); three horizontal pairs (1 &4) (2&5) (3&6); four verti-
cal pairs (1&2) (2&3) (4&5) (5&6); two vertical triplets (1,2,3) (4,5,6);
two large blocks (1 ,4,2&5) (2,5,3&6)

Number Sense
Three. Each number identifies the numbers of overlapping rectangles
that cover that space.

What Comes Next?

D. During each step, the colors advance from outside top to inside top
to inside bottom to ouside bottom to outside top.

The Marked Park

Sixty-three feet. The lowest common multiple between the small wheel
(7 feet) and large wheel (9 feet) is obtained by multiplying seven and
nine.

Pattern Path
The sequence of the path is

multiplying the digits by two: 2, 4, 8,1

made by
6, 32,
2 /- ^6
-f-
64,1 28, etc. Here's a small part of that path:
8 - -4 3

82
Pile Puzzler
To make things easy, first find the total value for each pile by adding up
all the card values. Divide the sum (forty-five) by three to get the value
for each pile (fifteen).

10 6 6
2 5 A
3 4 8

Pattern Puzzler
Three. The central number (E) is obtained by dividing the product of the
top (A) and bottom (6) numbers by the product of the right (D) and left

(C) numbers. A X B/C X D = E.

Titillating Tiles
54/22. With the other tiles, when you multiply the individual digits of
the top number, you arrive at the bottom number. For example, 4X8 =
32.

Pattern Grid
D. The grid is divided into four 4X4 tiles. As you go in a "Z" pattern
from the top left tile to right to bottom left to right, you'll see that the
tile rotates one-quarter turn.

83
Section 2

85
 Introduction
Hang on to your brains because here we go again!
In this section, I more of the best puzzles for stimulat-
present
ing your critical thinking skills. From mental paths to army ants,
you'll encounter an assortment of challenges that are designed to
pump up your brain power.
Psychologists and educators refer to critical thinking skills as

a variety of higher-level thinking strategies that can be used to ana-

lyze, solve, and evaluate all sorts of things, such as facts, theories,

statements, and, of course, puzzles. The array of brain-bending

puzzles presented in this section should engage many of these
skills.

You will have to uncover assumptions, solve by analogy, se-

quence events, generalize, and discover all sorts of patterns. You
will also find yourself digging deeper into your brain to come up
with some creative possibilities. Once generated, novel possibili-
tiesneed to be analyzed in order to determine if they work.
As in section one, there are old-time favorite puzzles with a
new twist. For centuries, they have challenged and entertained
people. But unbeknownst to the puzzled, these conundrums were
also producing new thought channels that had been etched into
the cells, chemicals, and electrical patterns of the brain.
Most of the puzzles here can be done with a pencil or pen.
Others require simple items, such as loose change or matchsticks,
thatcan be found around the house. But what they all need is for
you to be creative and inventive in solving them.
So why wait? Just jump right in and you will be on your way to
boosting your critical thinking skills again!

— Michael

86
 Brain Net

Your brain is an incredible piece of machinery. About the size of a

squished softball, it contains billions of brain cells. These cells make
more connections than all of the phones in the world. It's this huge net-
work that produces your brain power! Want to feel the "brain net" in
action?
Take a look at thedrawing below. Your job is to figure out how
many different paths can get you across from start to finish.
You can only move to the You can't go back. When you
right. ar-

rive at a "fork/' take either the top or bottom route. Start counting.

87
 Predicting. Paths

One of your brain's most powerful capabilities is the ability to think vi-

sually. When we think in this way, we construct a mind's eye image

of a shape, scene, or concept. This image can be rotated, changed,
moved, and analyzed. How good are you at visual thinking? Here's
your first chance to find out.
Suppose we roll the wheel along the flat surface. Draw the shape
that would be traced by the point within the wheel.

Now let's put the small wheel along the inner rim of a larger cir-

cle. What shape path would a point on the smaller wheel trace?

suppose the inner wheel remains stationary. What pattern

Finally,

would be traced out by a point on the larger rim as it rolls around (and
remains in contact with) the inner wheel?

88
 Who's That?
Look into a mirror and who do you see? You? Perhaps, but it's not the
same you that everyone else sees. Its a right-left reversed image. The
ear that appears on your left side is seen by others on your right side.
Suppose you want to see yourself exactly as others see you. How
can you set up two small mirrors so that your reflection isn't reversed?

Leftovers Again?
Your brain is divided into two halves. The left half is more number-
oriented, rational, and concrete. Your right half is more creative, play-
ful, and artistic. To solve this next puzzle, you'll have to borrow a little

from both sides of your brain.

In an art class, students are taught how to shape a 1-ounce bag of
clay into a small statue. During this process, some clay remains unused
(actually, it falls to the floor). For every five statues that are made, there
is enough extra clay to make one more statue. Suppose a student is pre-
sented with 25 ounces of clay. What is the maximum number of statues
he can sculpt?

89
 Brownie. Cut
Now that art class is over, it's time for cooking class.
A chocolate brownie emerges from the oven. Karen cuts the
square brownie in half. She then divides one of the halves into two
smaller but equal parts.
Before she can eat the larger piece, two of her friends unexpect-
edly arrive. Karen wants everyone to have the same amount of dessert.
In the fewest number of cuts, how can she produce three equal por-
tions?

90
Balancing Gold

91
 Thrifty Technique
Don't put that balance away! You'll need it along with a few pounds of
brain cells to help solve this next problem.
By the way, did you know that Albert Einstein's brain was "nor-
mal" in weight? For the most part, it resembled an ordinary brain. There
was, however, a slight difference. He had extra "cleanup" cells (called
neuroglial cells). These cells move around the brain to get rid of dead
or injured nerve cells. Perhaps his "well-swept" brain supercharged his
intelligence?
You have nine gold coins. One of the coinsand is is counterfeit
filled with a lighter-than-gold substance. Using a balance, what strat-

egy can you use to uncover the counterfeit coin?

To make things a little more difficult, you must identify the fake
coin with only two uses of the balance.

Tricky Ti
In the Bay of Fundy, the tides can vary in height by almost 50 feet. The
bay in our puzzle has a tidal range of only 6 feet. A boat moors in the
middle of this bay. A ladder hangs down from the deck of the boat and
touches the flat sea surface. The rungs are 1 foot apart.
At low tide, ten rungs of the ladder are exposed. At high tide, the
water level rises 6 feet. How many of the rungs will remain exposed?

Brealcing Up is
Hard to Do
How fast can you think? Faster than a speeding bullet? Faster than elec-
tricity? For most of us, thoughts race around our brains between 3 to

300 mph. Who knows, this puzzle may break your brain's speed
record.

92
 The square encloses a 4 x 4 grid. There are five different ways this
grid can be divided into identical quarters. Each way uses a different
shape. Can you uncover the layout of all five patterns?

Buildings crumble. Living things decompose. It's a scientific principle

that things tend to go from order to disorder. The fancy name for this
principle is entropy. There are, however, a few things that appear to go
against this tendency. Crystals grow and become more complex. Living
things take simple chemicals and build complex tissues.
This puzzle, however, uses entropy. Notice how neat and orderly
the arrangement of numbers is. Now, let's play the entropy game and
rearrange the numbers so that no two consecutive numbers touch each
other. They cannot align side by side, up and down, or diagonally.

2 3 4

5 6 7

93
 True or False?
Here's a totally different type of problem. This one is based on logic.
Two cultures of aliens liveon the planet Trekia, the carpals and the
tarsals. The carpals always lie. The tarsals always tell the truth.

A space traveler arrives on Trekia and meets a party of three aliens.

She asks the aliens to which culture they belong. The first one murmurs
something that is too soft to hear. The second replies, "It said it was a
carpal." The third says to the second, "You are a liar!" From this infor-
mation, figure out what culture the third alien belongs to.

94
 Pack Up Your Troubles
A fragile item is to be shipped in a cardboard box. In order to prevent
the item from hitting against the walls of the box, plastic foam cubes
are used as "bumpers." There are ten of these cubes. How can you po-
them along the inner walls of the box so
sition that there is an equal
number of cubes along each wall?

J-

95
 Don't Come Back This
Way Again!
The pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant that eats insects. An unfortu-
nate insect walks into the pitcher plant's flower. When it tries to reverse
direction, it on the petals' surface face downward,
can't. Tiny spines
which forces the insect to move
in one direction down. —
Here's your chance not to go back. The shape below is made with
one continuous line. Starting anywhere, can you complete the shape
without lifting your pencil from the page? As you probably guessed,
your path cannot cross over itself.

96
 Meet Me on the Edge
Did you know that an ant can lift about fifty times its body weight? If

you had that power, you'd be able to lift over 2 tons!

Suppose we position one of those powerful ants on a corner of a
sugar cube. On the opposite corner, we position a fly. Suppose the two
insects begin walking towards each other. If they can only walk along
the edges of the cube (and never go backwards), what is the probability
that their paths will cross?

97
110 Only the Shadow Knows?
A medium-size jet has a wingspan of 120 feet. An albatross is a bird
with a wingspan of about 12 feet. At what altitude would each object
have to fly in order to cast shadows of equal size?

More Shadow Stuff

At a certain time of day, a 25-foot telephone pole casts a 10-foot
shadow. At that same time, how high would a tree have to be in order
to cast a 25-foot shadow?

Trip Times
Did you know that the speed record for cars is over 700 miles per
hour? To attain this supersonic speed, the cars use rocket engines. They
move so quickly that if the car body had wings, the vehicle would fly!

The car in our problem is much slower. In hour, traveling at 30

1

mph, it climbs to the top of the hill. When the car reaches the top, the
driver remembers that she left her field guide to mountain life back
home. She immediately turns around and drives downhill at 60 mph.
Assuming that she spent no time at the top, what was her average
speed?
HINT: It is not 45 mph.

98
 Average Puzzle
How fast can you ride a bicycle? To get into the Guinness Book of
Records for human-powered cycling, you'd need to ride faster than 60
mph.
An ordinary cyclist travels up and down a hill. Going up, she
maintains a constant speed of 1 mph. It takes her 1 hour to get to the
top.Assuming that the hill is symmetric, what speed must she maintain
on the way going down if she wishes to average 20 mph? Before you
bask in victory, the answer is not 30 mph.

Palindrome
A palindrome is a word or number that reads the same backwards as it

does forward. Numbers such as 606 and 4334 are palindromes.

While driving his car. Bob (so much of a palindrome lover that he
changed his name from John to Bob) observes that the odometer read-
ing forms a palindrome. It displays the mileage 1 3,931
Bob keeps driving. Two hours later, he looks at the odometer again
and, to his surprise, it displays a different palindrome!
What is the most likely speed that Bob is traveling?

99
 stacking Up
Can you arrange these numbered blocks into three equal stacks so
sum of the numbers displayed in each stack must be equal
that the to
any other stack.

3 4 5

y
6 7 8 9
/ /

Star Birth
Trace this octagon pattern onto a separate sheet of paper. Then decide
how to divide this shape into eight identical triangles that can be
arranged into a star. The have eight points and an octagon-
star will

shaped hole in its center. When

you think you've come up with an an-
swer, trace the pattern onto the octagon. Cut out the separate parts and
reassemble them into a star.

100
 Flip Flop

Did you know that the ancient Egyptians believed that triangles had sa-
cred qualities? This may have led to the superstition about walking
under a ladder. When a ladder is placed against a wall, it forms a trian-
gle. To walk through the triangle might provoke the wrath of the gods.

The triangle below is made up often disks. Can you move three of
the disks to make the triangle point in the opposite direction?

101
 Crossing Hands
Picture in your mind a clock with a faceand hands. Between the hours
of 5 AM and 5 pm, how many times will the hour and minute hands
cross each other?

What's Next?
Examine the figures below. Can you see what the pattern is and find
out what the fourth figure in this series should look like?

102
 Trying Triangles
How many triangles can be found in this figure?

Flipping Pairs

Place three coins with their indicated side facing up as shown. In three
moves, arrange the coins so that all three have the same side facing up.
A move consists of flipping two coins over to their opposite side.

NOTE: Flipping the pair of outer coins three times doesn't count!

103
 Missing Blociis
Examine the figure of blocks below. Let's assume that the hidden
blocks are all in place. How many additional blocks are needed to fill

in the empty region to complete this cube?

Once you've made your guess, look at the pattern again. Assume
that the hidden blocks are all in Now let's suppose that all of the
place.
blocks you can see are vaporized. How many blocks would be left be-
hind?

104
 Matchstick Memories
Years ago, matchsticks were made from small sections of wood. These
common and inexpensive objects were perfect props for after-dinner or
parlor room activities. Nowadays, toothpicks offer the same advan-
tages. So get your picks together and arrange them in the three patterns
shown below.

\/
As you can see, each line of matchsticks forms an incorrect equa-
tion. The challenge is to make each one correct by changing the posi-
tion of only one of the matchsticks in each row.

105
 Sum Circle
Place the numbers one through six within the six smaller circles shown
below. Each number must be used only once. The numbers must be
placed so that the sum of the fournumbers that fall on a circle's cir-
cumference is equal to the sum of the numbers on any other circle's
circumference.
Think it's easy? Give it a try.

106
 Many Rivers to Cross
Let's take a break from puzzles and go on a rowboat ride across the
river. There are four adults who want to cross it. They come upon a boy

and a girl playing in a rowboat. The boat can hold either two children
or one adult. Can the adults succeed in crossing the river? If so, how?

107
 Train Travel

A train travels at a constant rate of speed. It reaches a stretch of track

that has fifteen poles. The poles are placed at an equal distance to each
other. It takes the train 10 minutes to travel from the first pole to the
tenth pole. How long will it take the train to reach the fifteenth pole?

108
 Miles Apart
The distance from New York to Boston 220 miles. Suppose a train
is

leaves Boston for New York and travelsat 65 mph. One hour later, a

train leaves New York for Boston and travels at 55 mph. If we assume
the tracks are straight paths and the trains maintain a constant speed,
how far apart are the trains 1 hour before they meet?

Passing Trains
Coming from opposite directions, a freight train and a passenger train

pass each other on parallel tracks. The passenger train travels at 60

mph. The freight train travels at 30 mph. A passenger observes that it

takes 6 seconds to pass the freight train. How many feet long is the
freight train?
HINT: There are 5,280 feet in a mile.

Souped-Up Survey
A survey agency reported their results in the local newspaper. The re-
port states that exactly one hundred local lawyers were interviewed.
Of the one hundred, seventy-five lawyers own BMWs, ninety-five
lawyers own Volvos, and fifty lawyers own both a BMW and a Volvo.
Within a short time after the report, several lawyers argue that the
survey results are incorrect. How can they tell?

109
it
In order to make French toast, Ricardo must fry both sides of a bread
slice for 30 seconds. His frying pan can only hold two slices of bread at

once. How can he make three slices of French toast in only 1 V: minutes
instead of 2 minutes?

110
 Circle Game
Examine the pattern of circles below. Can you place the numbers one
through nine in these circles so that the sum of the three circles con-
nected vertically, horizontally, or diagonally is equal to fifteen?

A Fare Split
Michelle rents a car to take her to the airport in the morning and return
her home that evening. Halfway to the airport, she picks up a friend
who accompanies her to the airport. That night, she and her friend re-

turn back to Michelle's home. The total cost is $20.00. If the amount to
be paid is to be split fairly, how much money should Michelle pay?

111
 Pentagon Parts
The pentagon below is divided into five equal parts. Suppose you color
one or more parts gray. How many different and distinguishable pat-
terns can you form? Each pattern must be unique and not be duplicated
by simply rotating the pentagon.

Bagel for Five?

You and four friends have decided to split a bagel for breakfast. The five
of you are not fussy about the size of the piece each will receive. In
other words, all the pieces don't have to be the same size.
Using two perfectly straight cuts, is it possible to divide this bagel
into five pieces?

112
 Coin Moves
Place twelve coins in the pattern shown below. Notice how they form
the corners of six equal-sized squares. Can you remove three of the
coins to have only three equal-sized squares remaining?

o o o o
o o o o
o o o o
Trapezoid Trap
Divide the trapezoid below into four identical parts.

113
 A+ Test
Here's a math challenge of a different sort. Trace these five shapes onto
a sheet of stiff paper. Use a pair of scissors to carefully cut them out.
Then assemble the shapes into a "plus" sign.

Mis-Marked Music
There are three boxes filled with audiocassette tapes. One box con-
tains rap tapes, another contains jazz tapes, while the third contains
both rap and jazz tapes. All three boxes have labels identifying the type
of tapes within. The only problem is that all of the boxes are misla-
beled.
By selecting only one box and listening to only one tape, how can
you label all three boxes correctly?

114
 Measuring Mug
Without the aid of any measuring device, how can you use a transpar-
ent 16-ounce mug to measure a volume of water that is exactly 8
ounces?

mm . vie cam't

115
 Coin Roll
Two identical coins are positioned side by side. In your mind's eye, roll

the coin on the left (Coin A) over the other coin (Coin B). When Coin A
reaches the opposite side of Coin B, stop. In which direction will Coin

A's head be facing?

Now, let's suppose that Coin A rolls completely around Coin B. If
so, how many rotations does Coin A make around its own center?

Painting on the Side

You are presented with several white cubes and a bucket of red paint.
To make each of them different, you decide to paint one or more sides

of each cube red. How many distinguishable cubes can you make with
this painting method? Remember that any painted side must be painted

completely to make it indistinguishable from any other painted side.

116
 Magic Triangle
Here's a magic triangle whose sides are formed by sets of four num-
bers. To solve the puzzle, place the numbers one through nine each in
one of the circles. When you are finished, the sums of all three sides
must be equal.

There are three different sums that can be used to reach the solu-
tion. Can you find all three?

117
 Patterns
The arrangement of numbers below represents a pattern. This pattern is
a mathematical relationship between the numbers in each square, so
don't look for things like spelling, days of the week, cryptograms, or
codes. Can you uncover the pattern and fill in the question mark in the
last square?

12 8 •

Frog Jump
A frog falls into a well that is 1 8 feet deep. Every day the frog jumps up
a total distance of 6 feet. At night, as the frog grips the slimy well walls,
it slips back down by 2 feet. At this rate, how many days will it take the
frog to jump to the rim of the well?

118
 Army Ants
Two small armies of ants meet head-on along a jungle path. Both
armies would prefer to pass each other rather than fight. There is a
small space along the side of the path. It is only large enough to hold
one ant at a time. Is it possible for the armies to pass each other? If so,
how?

119
 No Sw^at
There are six players on a coed volleyball team. After an exhausting

game, each girl drinks 4 cups of water. Each boy drinks 7 cups of
water. The coach drinks 9 cups.
A total of 43 cups of water is consumed by everyone. How many
boys and how many girls are on the team?

Go Figure!

In a distant planet, there are four forms of life beings: zadohs, pugwigs,
kahoots, and zingzags. All zadohs are pugwigs. Some pugwigs are ka-
hoots. All kahoots are zingzags.
Which of the following statement(s) must then be true?

1. Some zadohs are zingzags.

2. Some kahoots are zadohs.
3. All kahoots are pugwigs.
4. Some zingzags are pugwigs.
5. All zingzags are zadohs.
6. Some zadohs are kahoots.

120
 Square Pattern
Suppose you have to paint all nine squares in the grid below using one
of three colors: red, blue, or green. How many different patterns can
you paint if each color must be represented in every row and every col-
umn? Each pattern must be unique. In other words, a new pattern can't
be made by simply rotating the grid.

Bouncing Ball

Did you know that when a ball strikes the ground, its shape distorts?
This distortion stores the energy that powers its rebound. The more its

shape changes, the higher the ball will bounce.

The ball in this puzzle rebounds to half the height from which it is

dropped. Suppose it is dropped from a 1 -meter height. What distance

would the ball travel before it comes to rest?

121
 Complete the Pattern
Use the pattern below to determine the value for X and Y.

o A
oA
AA A
A 21 26 30 X

122
 Checkerboard
A full-size checkerboard has eight rows and eight columns that make
up its sixty-four squares. By combining the patterns of these squares,
you can put together another 140 squares. The pattern below is one-
fourth the area of a full size checkerboard. What is the total number of
squares that are found in this smaller pattern?

Cutting Edge
Kristin wants to remodel her home. To save money, she decides to
move a carpet from one hallway to another. The carpet currently fills a
passage that is 3 x 1 2 feet. She wishes to cut the carpet into two sec-
tions that can be joined together to fit a long and narrow hallway that is

2x18 feet. What does her cut look like?

123
 The Die Is Cast
Which die is unlike the other three?

Playing with Matches?

Thirty-two soccer teams enter a statewide competition. The teams are
paired randomly in each round. The winning team advances to the next
round. Losers are eliminated. How many matches must be played in

order to crown one winner?

124
 Competing Clicks
Let the Mouse Click Competition Begin!
Emily can click a mouse ten times in 10 seconds. Buzzy can click
a mouse twenty times in 20 seconds. Anthony can click a mouse five
times in 5 seconds. Assume that the timing period begins with the first
mouse click and ends with the final click. Which one of these com-
puter users would be the first to complete forty clicks?

125
 Another Pattern
Here is another mathematical pattern that relates the four numbers of
each triangle. Can you uncover the pattern and use it to complete the
third triangle?

10 5 ?

Vive le Flag

The French tricolor flag is made up of three vertical stripes: red, white,
and blue. Suppose you are given four different colors of and fabric
asked to create a different flag using the same tricolor design, if no two
adjacent stripes can be the same color, how many different combina-
tions of color patterns are there?
HINT: Don't forget that the flag pattern can be flipped over!

126
 Pizza Cut
Five peoplewant to share a square pizza. The first person (who is really
hungry) removes a quarter of the pie. When the others find out, they
are annoyed and try to divide the remaining three-fourths into four
equal and identically shaped slices. The cuts must be straight. How
must they cut the remaining pizza in order to produce four identical
slices?

127
 Slip Sliding

For this challenge, you'll need to get seven coins. Place a coin on any
of the star's eight points.Then slide the coin along one of the straight
lines to its endpoint. Place a second coin on another point. Slide this
one down to its endpoint. Continue in this manner until all seven coins
have been placed.

NOTE: It can be done — but you'll need to develop a strategy.

128
 A, B, See?
Each letter stands for a different digit in each equation. Can you de-
code each one?

AB AA ABA ABA
xAB +AA +BAB +BAA
ABB BBC BBBC CDDD

Spare Change
Jonathan has a pocket full of coins. Yet he doesn't have the right combi-
nation of coins to make change for a nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar,
or dollar.
What is the largest value of coins Jonathan can have in his pocket?

Puzzling Prices
A puzzle book costs $5.00 plus one-half of its price. How much does
the puzzle book cost?
HINT: It's more expensive than this book.

129
 Gum Drop
In preparation for a party, Heather fills a large jar with gum drops. Be-
fore the party begins, Michael sees the gum drop jar. He (hoping that
no one will realize) takes one-third of the drops. Soon after, Tanya takes
one-third of the gum drops (she, too, hopes that no one will notice). Fi-

nally, Britt appears and, like the others, she takes one-third of the gum
drops. If forty gum drops are left in the jar, how many did it originally
contain?

130
 Go-Cart Crossing
Three go-cart tracks are built as shown. Each track forms a separate
one-third of a mile loop. Three go-carts begin riding at the same time
from the central point where all three tracks cross. One go-cart travels
at 6 mph, another at 1 2 mph, and the third at 1 5 mph. How long will it

take for all three go-carts to cross paths for the fifth time?

Table Manners
Four couples enter a restaurant. How many ways can they be seated at

a round table so that the men and women alternate and no husband
and wife sit next to each other?

131
 Winning Slip
A contest is fixed. Everyone knows it, including the contestants. One of
the contestants, however, makes it to the final playoff level.
The master of ceremonies presents the following challenge: "This
box contains two slips of paper. One slip has the word 'winner' printed
on it, the other has the word 'loser.' Your task is to select the winning
slip —without looking, of course."
The contestant knows that this challenge is fixed. He realizes that
both slips have the word "loser." How can he select one slip and win

the challenge? By the way, the contestant can't declare this contest is a
fraud or he'd lose his current winnings.

132
 Ancient Man
An ancient Greek was said to have lived one-fourth of his life as a boy,
one-fifth as a youth, one-third as a man, and spent the last 1 3 years as
an elderly gent. Hov\/ old was he u/hen he died?

Lights Out!

The total output of electrical energy from your brain is only about 20
watts. That's not an avalanche of power (especially when you consider
that most household light bulbs use five times that amount). Now try
powering up with this problem.
Imagine that you can't sleep because you are kept awake by the
flashing neon lights that shine through a square store window. The win-
dow measures 10x10 feet.
A friend assures you that he can cover up half the area of the win-
dow but still leave a square section that is 10 x 10 feet. This will then
satisfy both you and the storekeeper. You think your friend has lost it.

Has he?

133
 Pencil Puzzle

Can you uncover the logic used to create this layout? If so, use that
same logic to determine the letter for the question mark.

M <E L

134
 Sounds Logical?
the weekend! Saturdays and Sundays are the days that Sheila,
It's

Ramon, and Niko shop together for music. The CDs they purchase are
either rock 'n' roll or jazz. When they visit the music store, each person
will purchase one and only one CD. Here are the rules that govern
their selections.

1. Either Sheila or Ramon will pick rock 'n' roll, but not both of
them.
2. If Sheila picks rock 'n' roll, Niko picks jazz.
3. Niko and Ramon do not both pick jazz.
Which one of the three purchased a jazz CD on Saturday and a
rock 'n' roll CD on Sunday?

Triangular Tower

Suppose ten billiard balls are placed in the standard triangular rack. If

additional billiard balls are placed on top of this pattern, some balls
will roll into the gullies to form a smaller, stable triangle (forget about
the balls which roll off the stack). If you add more layers, you'll eventu-
ally build a billiard ball pyramid. How many billiard balls and levels
would the pyramid contain?

m K B M

135
 Criss-Crossed
Place six the layout as shown below. Notice that this arrange-
coins in

ment forms two columns. The horizontal column has four coins. The
vertical column has three coins. Can you move only one coin to form
two columns with each containing four coins?

Crystal Building

Have you ever looked If so, you may have noticed

closely at a crystal?
and uniform angles. That's because a crys-
that the crystal has flat sides
tal is a repeating arrangement of tiny particles of matter. Often, a cen-

tral particle is surrounded on all sides by other particles. Here's a puz-

zle that will help you visualize a crystal pattern.

Suppose you coat a tennis ball with glue. What is the maximum
number of tennis balls that can attach directly to this sticky surface?

136
 Testy Target
Ten arrows are shot at the target below. One ofthem misses the target
completely. The others all strike it. If the total sum of points is one hun-
dred, in which part of the target did each arrow strike?

137
i Eighth-Century Enigma
Here's a puzzle that can be traced back to the eighth century. A man
has a goat, a wolf, and a head of cabbage. He comes to a river and
must bring these three things across to the other side. The boat can only
take the man plus either the goat, wolf, or cabbage. There is another
problem. If the cabbage is left with the goat, the goat will eat the cab-
bage. If the wolf is left with the goat, the goat will be devoured. How
can he transport the wolf, goat, and cabbage to the other side?

138
 Planet Rotation
Our planet spins counterclockwise on its axis. It also has a counter-
clockwise revolution around the sun. Suppose both motions now go
clockwise. How would this affect the apparent direction of sunrise and
sunset?

Shuffle
Pretend you have five cards: a ten, a jack, a queen, a king, and an ace.
In five cards together and put the pile
your mind's eye, shuffle these
face down. you were to select four cards, returning each card and
If

reshuffling the deck after each pick, what kind of hand would you
more likely draw: four Aces or a straight picked in sequence? Can you
explain why?

Some Exchange
The first written puzzles appeared in ancient Egypt at about 1650 B.C.

These puzzles were part of an 1 8y2-foot scroll called the Rhind Papyrus.
Times have changed since then, but many puzzles haven't. Just try
these next ones.
Examine the two stacks of number blocks. If you exchange one
block from one column with one block from the other, the number of
their sums will be equal. Which blocks need to be exchanged?

5 1

9 14

4 12

7 8

139
 Now that you know how to balance two columns, you're ready to
move up to three columns! By exchanging one block from each col-
umn, sums will be equal. Remember
each of the three blocks' that all

three columns must undergo only one exchange.

10 12 17

140
 ANSWERS
Brain Net
Twenty routes. Although you can chart them all out, there is a less con-
fusing way. Starting at the left, identify the number of routes that can

get you to a circle. You can arrive at this number by adding the num-
bers found in the connecting circles to the left. Keep going until you get
to the finish.

start finish

Predicting Patlis

a.

b.

141
Who's That?
Position the mirrors so that they are arranged like an opened book. The
right side ofyour face will reflect on the right side of the mirror. This
image does not reflect back to that eye. Instead, it bounces to the other
mirror. From there, the image is reflected back to the other eye.

6 o
Leftovers Again?
Thirty-one statues. The 25 ounces are used directly to make twenty-five
statues.During this process, 5 ounces of excess clay are produced. This
extra clay is used to make five additional statues. While making these
five additional statues, there is enough unused clay to make one more
statue with one-fifth of the clay left over.

142
Bsil3ri€iii^ 6oiil
Nine pounds. Examine the objects on the right side of the balance. If
we looked at the balance pan containing the two bars, we'd see that
one-tenth of the gold bar is absent. In its place we have nine-tenths of a
pound. From this we can infer that one-tenth of a gold bar weighs nine-
tenths of a pound. Therefore, a complete gold bar would weigh ten
times as much. 7io pound x 1 = ''%o, or 9 pounds.

Thrifty Teehniqiue
First, divide the coins into three groups of three. Then, balance any one
group against another group. If the counterfeit is contained in either of
the groups, the coins will not balance. If, however, they balance, the
counterfeit coin must be in the third pile. Now that we have identified
the pile with the counterfeit coin, remove one coin from the pileand
balance the other two. The lighter coin will not balance. If the two
coins do balance, the counterfeit coin is the one not selected.

Five rungs will still remain exposed. As the tide comes in, the boat will
rise up.

143
 7

3 1 4

5 8 6

Tarsal. To figure this one out, we need to look at each alien's response.

If the first alien was a tarsal, it would identify itself as a tarsal, if it was a
carpal, it would still identify itself as a tarsal. Either way, the mumbling
alien would identify itself as a "tarsal." Therefore, the second alien had
to be lying. The third alien truthfully identified the carpal, making him
a truth-telling tarsal.

144
The "trick" is using the same block in the rows of two adjacent sides.

One in six. The ant (or fly) can take any one of the six available routes.

It doesn't matter.
Now, the other insect must select the "collision route" from its

own six possible choices. Therefore, the odds are one in six.

145
Only the Shadow Knows?
They can never cast shadows of equal size.
Any difference in their altitude would be negligible compared to
their distance from the sun. It's those 93,000,000 miles from our planet

to the sun that affect the shadows' size much more than their puny dis-
tances apart.

More Shadow Stuff

At that time of day, the shadow is two-fifths of the object's height. If the
tree's shadow (two-fifths of the unknown height) is 25 feet, then the
height of the tree is 62'/; feet.

Trip Times
Since it takes her 1 hour to reach the top (while traveling at 30 mph),
the hill is a 30-mile route. Traveling at 60 mph, she'll cover that dis-
tance in only 30 minutes.
The average speed is the total distance/total time = 60 miles/1.5
hours or 40 mph.

Average Puzzle
There is no way that she can average 20 mph for the whole trip. Like
the uphill path, the downhill path is only 1 miles. This distance is too
short to achieve an average speed (for the whole trip) of 20 mph.
Consider this: If she completed her trip by traveling the downhill
path at 600 mph, then her average speed would be the total distance
divided by the total time, or 20 miles/61 minutes, or an average of
about 19.6 mph.
By examining this equation, you'll see that there will be no way
for her to decrease the denominator (time) below the 60 minutes she
has already spent cycling up the hill.

146
55 mph. The next palindrome that the odometer can display is 1 4,041
4
To reach this value, Bob will have had to travel 1 1 miles. If it took him
2 hours to reach this point, his average speed will be 55 mph.
All other palindromes would have required too many miles to pro-
duce a logical speed. For example, the odometer's next palindrome is

14,141. From this, you can calculate an average speed of 105 mph
highly unlikely.

Stacking Up

or

8 8

Star Birth

147
llf Flip Flop
V ^

OiO Q

6
Crossing Hands
Eleven times. For each hour up until 1 1 :00, the clock's hands will cross
once. Between 1 1 am and 1 pm, they'll only cross once (at noon). For
each remaining hour between 1 pm and 5 pm, the clock's hands will
cross once. That gives us a total of 6 + 1 +4=11 times.

What's Next?
The sequence is based on the expanding geometric figures. After each
figure reaches the outside perimeter, it starts again at the center.

Trying Triangles
Thirty-five triangles.

148
Flipping Pairs

Firs, Move
® ® Q
Second Move (7) (h^ (h^

Third Move Q Q Q
Missing Blocics
a. Twenty-three blocks. None are missing from the bottom layer, six are
missing from the second layer, eight are missing from the third layer,
and nine are missing from the top layer.

b. Seventeen blocks. Eight are hidden in the bottom layer, six are hid-
den in the second layer, three are hidden in the third layer, and none
are hidden in the top layer.

Matciisticic Memories

X' I
= I

ll-M=IV

149
Many Rivers to Cross
First, two children row to the far side. There, one gets out. The other
the
child returns and gives the boat to an adult. The adult crosses the river.
On the far side, the adult gets out and the child gets in the boat. The
child brings the boat across the river and transports the other child back
to the far side. This pattern continues until the four adults have crossed.

Train Travel
1 5 minutes and 32 seconds. This problem is not as simple as it may ap-
pear. The distance from pole one to pole ten is nine units. As stated, it
takes the train 1 minutes to travel this distance. Therefore, it takes the
train 1 minute and one-ninth (about 6.6 seconds) to travel each inter-

pole distance.
From the first pole to the fifteenth pole is fourteen inter-pole dis-
tances. It should take 14x1 minute and 6.6 seconds, or 14 minutes
and 92 seconds, or about 1 5 minutes and 32 seconds.

Miles Apart
120 miles. This problem is full of extra (and unneeded) information.
Think it backwards. One hour before they meet, one train is 65
miles away from the meeting point, while the other is 55 miles. Add the
two distances together and you'll get 1 20 miles.

150
Passing Trains
792 feet.The length of the freight train can be calculated by knowing
its relative passing speed and the time it took for it to move by. The
passing speed is equal to the sum of both train speeds (60 mph +30
mph = 90 mph).
Here's where some conversion comes By dividing by sixty, we
in.

find that 90 mph is equal to 1 .5 miles per minute. By dividing by sixty

again, we find that this is equivalent to 0.025 miles per second.
The freight train takes 6 seconds to pass. Therefore, its length is
0.1 5 miles. To change this into feet, multiply 0.1 5 by the number of feet
in a mile (5,280).

Souped-Up Syrvey
The numbers do not add up correctly. The agency stated that only one
hundred people were interviewed. Yet, according to a logical break-
down of the results, they received 120 responses. You can see this by
making a diagram of the data.

BMW / BMW Wolvo

(
only & jonly
)

yVolvo / 45
\ 50 /

Toasty
Fry one side of two slices for 30 seconds. Flip one slice over and re-

place the other slice with a fresh slice of bread. At the end of 1 minute,
remove the completely fried bread. Return the unfried side of the previ-
ousslice to the pan and flip the other slice over for 30 seconds.

151
When added together, the numbers at the opposite ends of this se-
quence equal ten (1 + 9, 2+ 8, etc.). By placing a five in the middle cir-

cle, we ensure that all the sums must equal fifteen (1 5).-i-

$12.50. One-fourth of the total round trip fare ($5.00) was taken by
Michelle alone. Three-fourths of the round trip was shared (half of

$1 5.00). Therefore, Michelle should pay $5.00 + $7.50 or $1 2.50.

Bagel for Five?

Coin Moves

o-o
6-6-0-0
I
2 I
3 I

o-o-o
Trapezoid Trap

153
Mis-lVlarkeci Music
Select the box labeled "Rap & Jazz." Listen to one tape. If the marble is
jazz, then you must have the box full of jazz cassettes. (Remember that
since all the boxes are mislabeled, this box could not contain the mix
of rap and jazz.) Likewise, if the tape is rap, you have selected the all-
rap box. Since all three names are mismatched, then just switch the
names of the other two boxes to correctly identify the contents of all
boxes.

Measuring Mug
Fill the mug about two-thirds full of water. Then tilt so that water
it

pours When the level of water reaches the same height as the up-
off.

lifted mug bottom, the vessel is then half full.

Coin Roil
a. The same direction — to the left.

B B A
b. Two.

154
Painting on tiie Side
Ten ways. 1 = all sides white, 1 = one = two adjacent red
red face,
1

faces, 1 = two opposite sides red faces, 1 = three sides red (in line), 1 =
three faces red (in right-hand and left-hand L-shape design), 1 = four
faces red (in line), 1 = four faces red (two pairs of two in line), 1 = five
red faces, 1 = all faces red.

Magic Triangle

Patterns
Fourteen. Add the upper left number, lower left number, and lower
right number together. Then multiply this sum by the number in the
upper right corner. The product is in the center of the square.

155
Frog Jump
Four days. During the first jumps up 6 feet and at night
day, the frog
slides down 2 feet.The frog begins day two at a height of 4 feet, jumps
to 1 feet, but slides back to 8 feet. On day three, the frog jumps to 1

feet, but slides back to 1 2 feet. On day four, the frog jumps to 1 8 feet
and leaves the well.

Army Ants
Yes. Here's how.

OCO
mmmm }^ qooqcp
otto I

I
QPQ" nmni i'^ oepv QCD

coo
oKO OUfPHi
I

— I

OOP

CCD ^I
CJ30 I

HHIi So

oco
000 000 «i»«lilp 1^

156
No Sweat
Five girls and two boys. First, subtract the coach's 9 cups from the total
amount. Therefore, the boys and the girls together drank 34 cups. The
winning combination is five girls (who together drink 20 cups) and two
boys (who together drink 1 4 cups). 20 + 1 4 = 34 cups.

Go Figure!
Statement 4.The confusing relationship may best be understood by
putting the information in a graphic layout. From the drawing, you can
see that only statement 4 is true.

PugwigsN/^ingzags

©I I
II
1/
xr
Kahoots
.

Square Pattern
There are only three distinguishing patterns. All other patterns are ob-
tained by rotating the square.

r g b b g r g r b

b r g r b g b g r

g b r g r r b g

157
Bouncing Bali
Approximately 3 meters. The first fall is 1 meter. It rebounds to 'A meter,
than falls Vi meter. So now we're at 2 meters. Then the ball goes up and
down 'A meter, then Vs meter, then '/e meter, and so on. It continues this
pattern until it comes to rest (theoretically it would keep going, but in
the real world it stops). If we were to add all of these distances up, we'd
get: 1 + 72 + Vi + 'A + 'A + + Vs + Vie + '/e +... = ~3 meters.

Complete the Pattern

X = 22; Y = 25. Each circle equals 1, each square equals 5, each trian-
gle equals 10, and the pentagon equals 2. The numbers represent the
sums of the values in each row or column.

Checkerboard
Thirty squares.

Cutting Edge

3 ft.

^ 6 ft.

2 ft.

18 ft.

The Die Is Cast

Although all four dice have the same relative orienta-

tion of spots, the three spots on the last die tilt from
the lower left corner to the upper right corner.
When the other dice are rotated onto this posi-
tion, their three spots tilt from the upper left to the

lower right corner.

158
Piaviiig with liatelies?
Thirty-one matches. one winner is to be found in thirty-two teams,
If

then thirty-one teams must lose. Since each team can only lose once,

the thirty-one losses result from thirty-one matches.

Competing Clicks
Anthony. The actual period second less than the time given. Emily
is 1

completes ten clicks in 9 seconds. Buzzy completes twenty clicks in 1

seconds. Anthony completes five clicks in 4 seconds. This gives us the
approximate rates: Emily = .1 clicks/second, Buzzy = 1 .05 clicks/sec-
1

ond, Anthony = 1 .25 clicks/second.

Anotiier Pattern
Four. The number in the center of each triangle results from dividing
the product of the top two sides by the bottom side.

Vive ie Flag
Twenty-four combinations. If both of the outside stripes are the same
color, you'll have twelve possible combinations (4x3=1 2).
If all three stripes are a different color, you'll have twenty-four pos-
sible combinations (4x3x2 = 24). However, these twenty-four flags
are made up of twelve mirror-image pairs. Just rotate the mirror image
one-half turn and you'll produce the other flag. This decreases the
stripe combinations to only twelve.
Now let's add the two sets of possible combinations: 1 2 -i- 1 2 = 24
different color patterns.

Pizza Cut

159
You'll get blocked ifyou don't place the coins in a specific order. Each
coin must come to rest on the spot where the previous coin began its

journey. Only in this manner can you then place all seven coins.

10 55 919 545
xlO +55 +191 +455
100 110 1110 1000

$1.19. Jonathan has four pennies, four dimes, one quarter, one half
dollar. Added together, they amount to $1.19.

Ten dollars. The trick is not getting fooled into thinking that the book is

five dollars.

If the book is "p," then $5 + 'hp = p.

$5 = Vip.

$10 = p.

1 35 gum drops. If forty gum drops are left in the jar, the forty must rep-
resent two-thirds of the gum drops that were available when Britt ap-
peared.
Therefore, the total number of gum drops before Britt took her
share was sixty. Working with the same logic, you can figure out that
before Tanya took her share of thirty, the jar had ninety gum drops. Be-
fore Michael took his share of forty-five, it had 1 35 gum drops.

160
33.3 minutes. To travel 1 mile, go-cart A takes '/, of an hour, go-cart B
takes '/i.' of an hour, and go-cart C takes '/is of an hour. To travel one loop
distance ('/i of a mile), it v^ould take each
'/m, and of an hour, re-
'/x,,

spectively. All three would meet % of an hour intervals. For five meet-
at

ings to occur, five %-hour periods must pass. 5 x % = % of an hour, or

about 33.3 minutes.

Two ways. White = female. Black = male.

The contestant picks one of the slips. The slip is placed out of view
(possibly eaten). The contestant then asks the MC to read the slip that
was not selected. That MC's slip has the word "loser." When the audi-
ence hears "loser," they logically conclude that the contestant must
have picked the winning slip.

60 years old. If his whole life is "X years," then:

His boyhood years
His youth = 'AX
His adulthood = ViX
His elder years = 13
'AX+ '/sX + 'AX -h 1 3 = X
X = 60

H H H B M

161
He covers the window as shown here, which meets both conditions.

^cil Puzzle
V. The layout is based on the sequence of letters found in the alphabet.
The "twist" is produced by the extra pencil points aimed at certain let-
ters. Each pencil point can be replaced by the words "advance one

step."
Look The L progresses to M. The M,
at the letter L (either one).

however, does not advance to an N because two M pencil points con-

verge on this next space. The letter then advances one extra step, re-
sulting in an O.
With the same logic, the O leads to an R (advance three steps). The
R leads to a V (advance four steps).

Niko. If Sheila picks rock 'n' roll, then according to (1) Ramon must
pick jazz and according to (2) Niko must also pick jazz. These selec-
tions contradict (3). This rules Sheila out.
If Ramon picks jazz, then according to (1) Sheila must pick rock
'n' rolland the same contradictions surface.
The only person who can select either jazz or rock 'n' roll without
any contradictions is Niko.

162
Twenty balls arranged in four levels.

Criss-Crossed
Place one coin on top of the corner coin.

C';; () OO
O

163
Crystal Building
Twelve tennis balls. Place six in a circle around the middle of the ball.
Place three on top and three on the bottom.

Testy Target
Two arrows struck the 8 region (1 6 points) and seven of them struck the
12 region (84 points). Total: 16 + 84 = 100 points.

Eighth-Century Enigma
On his first trip, the man brings the goat over (leaving the cabbage and
wolf behind). On his second trip, he brings over the cabbage. When he
lands on the other side, however, he takes the goat back in his boat.
When he returns, he drops off the goat and takes the wolf. He trans-
ports the wolf across the river and leaves it with the cabbage. He re-

turns once more to ferry over the goat.

Planet Rotatiop
The sun would now appear to rise in the west and set in the east. This
change is caused by the switch in rotation spin. The switch in revolu-
tion does not affect the direction of the apparent sunrise or sunset.

Shuffle
The straight is more probable. To select the four of a kind, you need to
select "one card out of five cards" four times: 'A x 'A x 'A x 'A, or 1 out of
625.
For the straight, the first card can be any card. Then, you'll need to
select "one card out of five cards" three times: Vs x A x 'A, or 1 out of
1 25 — a better probability.

164
a. 1 4 and 9. The sum of all eight numbers is sixty. Each column must
have a sum equal to half that, or thirty. To arrive at thirty, you need to
lessen one column by five and increase the other by the same amount.
This is accomplished by exchanging a 14 for a 9.

b. 2, 1, and 3. As with the previous problem, you can add all nine
numbers together, then divide that sum by three.

The result is twenty: 7 2 1

3 6 2
10 12 17
20 20 20

165
 Section 3

nSISElSQISDBaiHBBBBaBBBBHHHBBBBBIIBaa
 Introduction

Data, data, and more data. We live in an age when the acqui-
sition and presentation of new knowledge and information is as-
tonishing. From the Internet to CD libraries, new technologies gen-
erate the means by which information transfer attains extraordinary
dimension.
Since the access and acquisition of new knowledge continues
to expand, we must learn to cope with this information overload.
We need to develop and nurture thinking skills and strategies that
will help us examine, evaluate, and apply new knowledge in a fair-

minded manner. That's where critical thinking skills come in.

Although some educators and psychologists use the term
"critical thinking" broadly by applying it to a range of thinking abil-
ities, most restrict the use of it to specific strategies that help us bet-
ter interpret and apply facts.

Educators and psychologists don't agree on the most effective

way to develop these skills. Some feel that they should be taught
independent of any content, such as real-life situations. This way
the strategies are not confused or compromised with the impor-
tance of content. As a result, critical thinking skills can be more ef-

fectively considered as independent tools that can be applied to a

range of circumstances.
Other experts, however, think that content is essential to
teaching critical thinking skills. By utilizing real-life situations, stu-
dents may then appreciate the value of these skills in the analysis of
facts. This combination forms an intricate network of connections
that produce a deeper understanding of content while offering a
thinking platform from which to analyze additional situations.
It is with the latter approach in mind that this book was put to-

gether. As in the first two sections, this section uses challenging

puzzles as an arena to practice critical thinking skills. So hang on
to those brain cells as you tackle this final section.

— Michael

168
 Puzzle Paths
Sam Loyd was one of themost published and brilliant puzzle creators
of all time. Born in 1841, Sam was an accomplished chess player by
his early teens. He created puzzles based upon the moves of chess

pieces. Loyd also produced thousands of other puzzles, many of which

still appear today with contemporary twists and slight modifications.

The maze below is based upon one of his earliest puzzle ideas. Can
you complete the challenge?
The Amusing Amusement Park has three rides. It also has three
gates with signs that identify the ride to which they lead. The only prob-
lem is that the architect forgot the layout of the connecting paths. Can
you help? Draw three paths that connect the rides to their gates. The
paths can't meet or cross.

To Roller
Coaster

169
 Turn, Turn, Turn

Ever heard of a multiaxial stimulator? Years ago, it appeared as a train-

ing device for astronauts and Nowadays, it's often found at

pilots.

beaches, amusement parks, and The MAS consists of three loops,

fairs.

each inside of the other. Each loop is free to rotate in only one dimen-
sion. The "pilot" is fastened to the middle of the innermost loop. In this
position, a person gets to experience all three turning motions at the
same time.
Let's strap the number "4" in this simulator. Suppose each of the
loops made one half rotation. How would the "4" appear after it was

flipped, turned, and spun halfway in all three dimensions? You can se-
lect from the choices below.

a. b. c. ^ d. e. f.
4

170
 Mind Bend
According to Einstein, in some places the shortest distance between
two points is not a straight line! Consider this: In space, the gravita-
tional field of huge objects is strong enough to warp space. In these
curved dimensions, the concept represented by a straight line bends to
fit the framework of the distorted space. Mind bending, huh?

Here's another type of mind bender. The shape below is made

from a single index card. No section of the card has been removed or
taped back in place. Can you duplicate its appearance using several
snips of a scissors? Have fun!

171
1S0 Whale of a Problem
In spite of their name, killer whales don't hunt and kill people. In fact,

these dolphin-like animals prefer to eat smaller marine animals, such

as sealsand penguins. Biologists believe that rare attacks on humans
occur because of misidentification. Obscured by daylight or icebergs,
the image of a person may be mistaken for that of a penguin from
below.
Now here's the problem. Acting alone, it takes two killer whales 2
minutes to catch two seals. Based upon this rate, how long will it take a
pod often killer whales to catch ten seals?

172
 Main Attraction
Like all magnets, a bar magnet has a North and South Pole. At each of
these poles, the magnetic force is the strongest. It is powerful enough to
attract and repel iron objects. Near the middle of the magnet, however,
the force is hardly detectable.
Suppose you have two identical iron bars. Only one of the bars
has been magnetized. Suppose you can only pick up and manipulate
one bar of these two bars. How can you tell if it is the magnetized or
unmagnetized bar?

173
 Runaway Runway
"Good afternoon. This is your captain speaking. We're fourth in line for

departure. As soon as these four albatross birds take off, we'll begin our
flight. Thank you for your patience."
Strange, but true. Pilots must sometimes compete with birds for
runway usage. The same physical principles that lift an aircraft into the
sky are at work in our feathered friends. Runways that are constructed
to offer better lifting conditions for aircraft inadvertently produce great
takeoff locations for birds.
Speaking of runways, here's our puzzle. If an airport has three sep-
arate runways, there can be a maximum of three intersections. Sup-
pose there are four runways. What is the maximum number of possible
intersections?

174
 Raises and Cuts
Like many modern-day products, paper toweling arose from a factory
mistai<e. A mill-sized roll been cut and pack-
of paper that should have
aged into soft bathroom tissue was manufactured thick and wrinkled.
Instead of junking the roll, the workers perforated the unattractive
paper into towel-sized sheets. And so, the paper towel was born.
Several years ago, Moe and Bo began work at a paper towel fac-
tory. At the end of the first week, the owner evaluated both workers.
Pleased with Moe, she increased his weekly wage by 10%. Disap-
pointed with Bo, she cut her salary by 10%. The following week, the
owner decided to make their salaries more equal. To do so, she cut
Moe's new salary by 1 0%. At the same time, she increased Bo's salary
by 10%. Now, which worker earned more?

f ioU^ Sob AH}> ISFV tlA<B ioU ]

175
 The Race Js On
The material we call rubber is another product of a mishap in the
kitchen! Prior to the mid-1 800s, rubber was a troublesome material. In
thesummer heat, it became soft and sticky. In the winter cold, it be-
came hard and brittle. In searching for a way to improve the properties
of rubber, Charles Goodyear accidentally spilled a spoonful of a rubber
and sulfur mixture onto his stove. When he later examined the solidi-
fied spill, he discovered a flexible material that could withstand heat
and cold.
Take a look at the two solid rubber wheels below. Both have been
modified by retired ice skaters. On the first wheel, 4 pounds of lead are
positioned in one central lump. On the second wheel, the same
amount of lead is spread out into four 1 -pound lumps so that they are
positioned closer to the wheel's rim.
Suppose these wheels are released down identical inclines. If we
don't consider air resistance, will these wheels accelerate at the same
rate?

176
 Screwy Stuff
Take a close look at two screws below. Suppose they were both
the
turned in a counterclockwise rotation. What will happen to each screw?

177
h
.
^
The pitch
Screws
made by
in

a vibrating string
the Head
is dependent upon several factors,
including the tension in the string. The more tightly pulled (greater ten-
sion), the higher the pitch. Likev^ise, if the string is relaxed (less ten-
sion), it produces a note of lower pitch.
Many guitars have a screw-like arrangement that varies the ten-
sion in the individual strings. As the tuner head is turned, this move-
ment is transferred to a post. The turn of the post changes the tension in
its wrapped string to produce a note of different pitch.

Take a look at the tuning heads below. What happens to the pitch
of the sound when the head is rotated in a clockwise manner?

178
 Change of Pace
Here are two puzzles that use a handful of change.
Consider this: have ten coins in my pocket. The value of these
I

coins is 50 cents. How many coins of each denomination are there?

Okay, so that one wasn't too difficult. How about finding the iden-
tity of thirty coins whose value is $1 .00?

Spiral^

While exploring the ruins of an ancient city, an archaeologist uncovers

an odd structure. The structure is made of stone walls that form a
square spiral. The sides of the outside spiral measure 100 feet x TOO
feet. The path throughout the entire structure is 2 feet wide.

If the archaeologist walks along the exact center of the path, how
far will he travel from the entrance to the end of the spiral?

1
X

179
110 Take 'em. Away
This arrangement of toothpicks forms fourteen different squares of vari-
ous sizes. Can you remove six toothpicks and leave only three squares
behind?

180
 Don't Stop Now
Now that you are familiar with the pattern, one more removal
let's try

problem. Starting with the same twenty-four toothpick grid, remove

eight toothpicks and leave exactly three squares behind.

Get Set. Go!

Two cyclists race along a straight course. The faster of the pair main-
tains an average speed of 30 mph. The slower cyclist averages 25 miles
per hour. When the race ends, the judges announce that the faster cy-
clist crossed the finish line one hour before the slower racer. How
many miles long was the racing course?

181
it Coin Roll
Run your around the rim of a dime or quarter and you'll feel
fingernail
a series of small ridges. These ridges appeared on coins hundreds of
years ago. At that time, many coins were made out of silver and other
valuable metals. To prevent people from "shaving" the metal from the
edge of the coin (and selling the metal shavings), telltale ridges were
added to the coin's rim. If a coin's edge was cut away, the telltale ridges
would be lost.

in this problem, we'll use those ridges to prevent the coins from
slipping. Consider two dimes within a track formed by parallel chop-
sticks. Although the coins can move, their snug fit makes both coins
move at the same time. Therefore, if we were to rotate one of the dimes.

182
the other would spin at the same speed but in the opposite direction.
This results in both dimes moving along the track and maintaining their
relative head-to-head position. Suppose, hov\/ever, we change our setup
and replace one of the dimes with a quarter. If the quarter is rotated
along the track, how would its head-to-head position with the smaller
dime change?

More Coinage
The four coins are positioned at the corners of a square. The side length
of this square (measured from the center of each coin) is 8 inches.
Here's the challenge. Can you change the positions of only two coins
so that the new square formed by the coin arrangement has a side
length slightly more than inches?

183
 Some Things
Never Change
People have written down puzzles for nearly 5000 years. One of the
first puzzle collections was recorded about 1 650 B.C. on a scroll called

the Rhind papyrus. The word Rhind comes from the name Henry
Rhind, a Scottish archaeologist who explored Egypt. Papyrus is a paper-
like material that was used as a writing tablet by the ancient Egyptians.
The Rhind papyrus is a scroll that is over 1 8 feet long and about a
foot wide. It was written on, on both sides, by a person named Ahmes.
Roughly translated (and somewhat updated), one of the puzzles from
the scroll is presented below.
There are seven houses, each containing seven cats. Each cat kills

seven mice, and each mouse would have eaten seven ears of corn.
Each ear of corn would have produced seven sacks of grain. What is

the total number of all of these items?

184
 Doing Wheelies
The outer rim of each "double wheel" is twice the diameter of the
wheel's inner rim. Suppose the top wheel rotates at ten revolutions per
second. At what speed will wheel A and wheel B spin?

185
 More Wheelies
The outermost rim of these wheels is twice the diameter of the middle
rim. The middle rim is twice the diameter of the innermost rim. Sup-
pose wheel A rotates at sixteen revolutions per second. How many rev-
olutions will wheel C complete in a minute?

Good Guess
In order to win a free visit to the dentist, students had to guess the exact
number of gumballsin a fish bowl. The students guessed 45, 41, 55,

50, and 43, but no one won. The guesses were off by 3, 7, 5, 7, and 2
(in no given order). From this information, determine the number of

gumballs in the bowl.

186
 Check It Out
The six sections below are parts of a 5 x 5 checkerboard grid. Can you
piece them bacl< together to form the original pattern?

187
 Oops, I Wasn't
Concentrating
A pitcher is filled to the brim with grape juice. While raiding the refrig-
erator, Anthony accidentally knocks the pitcher over so that half of the
contents spill out. Hoping no one will notice, Anthony adds tap water

to the half-filled pitcher, bringing the volume of the diluted juice to the
top. He then pours himself a glass of the watered down juice, leaving
the pitcher three-fourths full.

"Yuck! This needs more flavor!" he exclaims and then adds more
grape flavor by filling the pitcher to the brim with double-strength
grape juice.
How does the concentration of this final solution compare with
the original grape drink?

188
The
Trying Times
below is divided into four equal parts. Suppose you can
triangle
4
paint one or more of these four smaller parts black. How many differ-
ent and distinguishable patterns (including the pattern which has no
painted triangles) can you form?
Remember, each pattern must be unique and not be duplicated by
simply rotating the large figure.

189
 Bridge, Anyone?
Ever heard of Galloping Girdle? If not, perhaps you've seen an old sci-

ence movie that showed a clip of a large suspension bridge

fiction
twisting apart and falling into the river below it. That was Galloping
Girdle.
It spanned a large river in the state of Washington. Soon after it

was constructed, people noticed that winds would cause the bridge to
sway and shake. During one incident of heavy winds, the bridge shook
so violently that it fell apart into the river below. Bye-bye, Girdle.
Now, it's your turn to design a bridge. To build it, you'll need three
ice cream sticks. you don't have these sticks, you can use three
If

pieces of stiff cardboard. The cardboard sections should be AVi inches

long and 'A inch wide.
Position three cups in a triangular pattern. The cups should be
placed so that the edge-to-edge distance between any two of the cups
is 5 inches.
Hmm... 5-inch canyons, but only 4'/2-inch bridges. Your job is to
construct a bridge using these three pieces and span the gaps connect-
ing all three cups.

190
 Face Lift

Take a look at the shape below. Although it is made up of four identical

cubes, you can only see three of them. The fourth cubeis hidden in the

bottom backcorner. Imagine picking the shape up and examining it

from all angles. How many different cube faces can you count?

Okay, so it wasn't that hard. Try this one. The "double L" shape is

made up of six cubes. The sixth cube is hidden in the back of the mid-
dle layer. If you could examine the stack from all angles, how many
faces would you see?

191
 Okay, okay, okay. Here's one moRe. This one consists of only five
cubes. Actually it resembles the "double L" shape, except that one of
the cubes is removed.

Weighty Problem
Did you know that during periods of weightlessness, astronauts lose
bone mass? To prevent any serious loss, people in space must exercise.
Stressing and stretching body parts help keep bone material from being
reabsorbed into the body.
For a moment, let's imagine our weightless astronaut returning to
Earth.She steps onto a scale and weighs herself. When the lab assistant
asks her for her weight, she offers an obscure (but challenging) answer.
"According to this scale, weigh 60 pounds plus half my weight."
I

Can you figure out how much this puzzling space traveler weighs?

192
 Number Blocks
Take a look numbered blocks below. Can you re-
at the three stacks of
arrange the blocks by exchanging one (and only one) from each of the
three stacks so that the sum of the numbers in each stack is equal to the
sum of numbers in either other stack?

4 5

5 5

7 3

9 3

1 1

Give Me Five
How many 5's are in the number 5555?

193
 Separation* Anxiety
Using three straight lines, separate the apples from the oranges.

194
 Breaking Up Is Hard
to Do... Sometimes
Take a look at the square and triangle below. Both figures are divided
into four equal and identical parts so that each part has the same shape
of the original figure (only smaller).

So far, so good. Now try to divide the figure below into four equal
and identical parts, each with the same shape as the original figure.

C-:,.

B H Bl H H B H

195
 Mind Slice
Close your eyes and imagine a perfect sphere. Now, imagine a cleaver
placed at a point anywhere on the surface of the sphere. How does
changing the angle of the cleaver slice affect the shape of the exposed

faces?

196
 Say Cheese
The total surface area of any cube is equal to the sum of the surface
areas of each of the six sides. For example, the cheese cube below
measures 2 inches on each side. Therefore, the surface area of each
side equals 2 inches x 2 inches, or 4 square inches. Since there are six
sides, the total surface area of this cube is 24 square inches.
Now, the challenge. Using as many cuts as needed, divide this
cube into pieces whose surface area sum is twice the surface area of
this 2x2 cube.

197
 Satellite Surveyor

Satellites that orbit the Earth can see all sorts of things. Spy satellites, for
example, have lenses that are powerful enough to "read" license plate
numbers on cars. Other types of satellites can "look beneath" the
Earth's surface. Some of these images have been used to uncover lost
civilizations that have been buried for thousands of years under shifting
desert sands.
In this problem, we'll use our satellite to help survey a plot of
land.
The basic plot is a square that measures 20 miles on a side. Sup-
pose the midpoint of each side is used as a marker to divide the entire
plot into nine plots of various sizes and shapes. Without performing
any higher math magic (just stick to plain ol' logic, with a little geome-
try), what is the area of the shaded central square?

NOTE: Before you bask in premature glory, it is not equal to 100

square miles!

198
 Magic Star
For those of you who are tired of magic squares and magic triangles,
may we present The Magic Star? In this puzzle, you'll have to use the
numbers one through twelve. Only one number can be placed in a
circle, and all the numbers must be used. When placed correctly, the

sum of all rows of four must be the same.

HINT: All of the side sums equal twenty-six.

199
 Keep on Tickin'

Divide the face of a watch into three sections. The sum numbers
of the
included on each section must equal the sum of the numbers on either
—
of the other two sections. Let's not waste any time the clock is ticking.

200
 Cards, Anyone?
Use a pair of scissors to carefully cut out two unequal corners of an
index card as shown below. Can you now use the scissors to cut this
modified card into two identical halves?
NOTE: The identical halves must be formed without flipping either
piece over.

2"

1"
1"
1"

keep up the cutting challenge. Copy the pattern below onto

Let's

an index card. Use your scissors to trim off the excess card stock. Now,
here's the challenge. Divide this shape into four equal and identical
parts that can fit back together to form a perfect square.

201
 Going Batty
Click, click, click, click. Like submarines, bats have a sonar system
called echolocation. They use their echolocation to find objects. The
clicking sounds made by bats move outu^ard like the beam of a light-
house. When the sounds strike an object (such as an insect meal), they
are reflected back to the bat's large ears. With incredible speed, the
bat's brain analyzes the echo return time and uses it to accurately lo-

cate the target's position.

Nov^, put that echolocation to work. Over a five-night period,
let's

a bat targets and captures a total of a hundred beetles. During each

night, the bat captured six more beetles than on the previous night.
How many beetles did the bat catch on each night?

Sequence Grid
A sequence grid is formed by items that are related by their order. Here
are two examples. As you can see, the placement of the numbers and
letters reflects a sequence.

512 256 128 A C E

64 32 16 G I K

8 4 2 M O Q

The first square is filled in an order based on dividing a number in

half. The second square illustrates a sequence of letters that is sepa-
rated by single (but not recorded) middle letters.

202
your puzzling
B
Now that you know what a sequence grid
skills on.

Breaking the Rules

is, here's one to sharpen

A ruler is placed on two pieces of chalk as shown below. As the ruler is

pushed, it moves 4 inches ahead. How far did either one of the chalk
pieces roll?

\3 NO

203
Ju
. Balance
Suppose you have a balance and a 2-grann and 5-grann mass. How can
the balance be used only three times to separate 80 grams of fat into

piles of 1 3 grams and 67 grams?

Big Magic
The figure below is called a magic square. Do you see why it's called
magic? The sum of any three-box side (and the two three-box diago-
nals) is equal to the sum of any other side (or diagonal). In this case,
they are all equal to fifteen.

8 3 4

1 5 9

6 7 2

204
 The sections belong to a four-by-four magic square. Your job is to
assemble these sections into a complete sixteen-box magic square. To
do so, you'll first have to uncover the sum of the side for this figure.
4
14

13

Togetherness
A computer and its monitor weigh a total of 48 pounds. If the monitor
weighs twice as much as the computer, how much does each piece of
hardware weigh?

205
 Look Over Here
Note the direction in which each eye looks. Can you uncover the pat-
tern?Good. Now find the empty eye. In which direction should this

eye be looking?

abed

206
 Time on Your Hands
Examine the shown below. When you un-
series of three clockfaces
cover the pattern of the hand movement, select from the choice of
times the one that will be closest to what the fourth clock should read.

7:07 4:07 7:22 4:22 7:15 4:15

Take Your Pick

Arrange eight toothpicks (on a flat surface) so that they form two
squares and four triangles.

207
 One Way Only
Can you trace the following figure using only one continuous line?
Place your pencil anywhere on the figure. Then, draw the rest of the fig-
ure without lifting your pencil from the page.

NOTE: This line cannot cross over itself nor retrace any part of its

path.

208
 Lasagna Cut
A square pan filled with piping-hot lasagna is set aside to cool. When
the hungry chefs return, they discover that a quarter of the lasagna has
mysteriously disappeared (as shown below). Frustrated, they decide to
divide the remaining piece into four equal portions before any more is

eaten. All cuts must be normal — no slicing through the plane of the
surface allowed. What is the cutting pattern that will meet the needs of
these chefs?
HINT: The simplest solution requires cutting this meal into eight
pieces and supplying each person with two smaller pieces.

209
 Iron Horse Race
Two trains race against each other on parallel tracks. The Casey Jones
Special is a coal-fed steam engine that travels at a respectable speed.
The newer, oil-burning Metropolitan Diesel travels 1 'A times the speed
of The Casey Jones Special. To make the race a closer competition, The
Casey Jones Special begins the race 1 Vi hours before its opponent. How
long will it take the Metropolitan Diesel to catch up to the slower
steam engine?

210
 Thick As a Brick
If chimney below is complete on
the all four sides, how many bricks
does the whole structure contain?

211
Here, Art, Art, Art

212
 Surrounded by Squares
How many squares can you uncover in the pattern below? Don't forget
to count the outer border as one of your answers!

More Cheese
A grocer has a large cube of cheese that she wishes to divide into
twenty-seven smaller and equal-sized cubes. To cut out the twenty-
seven blocks, she uses two cuts to divide the cube into three slices. She
stacks these slices atop of each other and makes two more cuts. Finally,
she rotates the cube a quarter-turn and makes the final cut. The result is

twenty-seven identical cubes made with six cuts. Is it possible to get

the twenty-seven cubes with fewer cuts? If so, how?

213
 Break 1% Up!
If you look carefully, you'll be able to uncover thirty squares in the
toothpick pattern below. Your challenge is to find the fewest number
of toothpicks that, when removed, leaves no complete square pattern
intact.

214
215
h Copy
Parts of a Whole
the five shapes shown below onto a separate sheet of paper. Use
a pair of scissors to carefully cut out the shapes. Here's the challenge.
Arrange them to form a triangle whose three sides are of equal length.

216
 A Game for Losers
The object of this modified game of tic-tac-toe is to lose! In order to
win, you must force your opponent to complete three squares in a row.
Let's enter a game that has already been started. You are "O" and it is

your turn. In which box or boxes should you place your "O" marker to
ensure that you win by losing (no matter where your opponent goes)?

Xo
X
oX
217
 Roller Coaster, Roll!

Ed and his identical twin brother Ed build roller coaster tracks. They've
just completed two hills that are both 40 feet high. As you can see, the
slopes of the two hills are somewhat different. Ed (the older twin) rides
a car that will travel along on a straight slope. Ed (the younger twin)
rides a car that will travel along a curved slope.
If both cars are released at the exact same time, which Ed will ar-
rive at the bottom of his slope first?

218
 Sum Puzzle
Copy the pattern and numbers shown below onto a sheet of paper.
Then carefully use a pair of scissors to separate the sheet into nine sep-
arate squares. Rebuild the larger square using the following strategy.
The sum of any two adjacent numbers must equal ten. Have fun.

lO)

z 8

QO CO

5 2

219
h There are
A Class Act
thirty students in a class. Five of these students do not play
any sort of musical instrument. Among the others, eighteen students
play guitar. Six of these guitar players also play keyboards. How many
of the students in the class play only keyboards?

T VJILL HovJ ?LAi fo^ YoU 'X^B

himTB WALTZ T/< 30 SBcoH'\>S

220
 Cool Cut
Shut your eyes and try to imagine a perfect ice cube. If you're good at

visualizing, you may be able to "see" the edges and faces that are posi-
tioned on the far side of the cube. Good. Now, here's the challenge.
With one cut, how can you divide this cube so that a perfect trian-
gular face is exposed? Don't forget, a perfect triangle has all three sides
of equal length.

^a 221
 Melt Down
Unlike most liquids, water freezes into a solid that is less dense than its

former liquid state. Since it is less dense, ice floats in water. At the sur-
face, the ice acts as an insulator to help trap heat within the water
below. This layer of frozen insulation actually insulates lakes, rivers,

ponds, and oceans from freezing into a complete solid.

Now let's bring this information back to the kitchen. An ice cube
floats freely in a glass filled to the brim with water. Will the water level

rise or sink as the ice cube melts?

222
 What's the Angle?
An equilateral triangle has three sides that are all of equal length. This
familiar shape can be constructed from three identical pieces. Examine
the shapes below. Which of these shapes illustrates this building block?
Once you've selected the shape, make three copies of it on a separate
sheet of paper. Cut out and arrange these pieces so that they form an
equilateral triangle.

HnBHBHnanHBBHHflaBBH

223
 Here, Spot, Spot, Spot
Without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw six straight lines that

connect all sixteen of the dots below. To make things more of a chal-
lenge, the line pattern that you create must begin at the "x".

224
 Keeping Time
The strike of a lightning bolt can create a tremendous surge of electric-
ity. If this electric flow reaches the delicate circuits of a computer, it

can "burn out" the sensitive components. To prevent against this dam-
age, computers are plugged into surge protectors, which stop the elec-
tric flow if a damaging level of electricity is detected.
In this problem, there are no surge protectors. Two electronic
clocks are plugged directly into the wall socket. A surge of electricity
flows through both clocks and affects their time-keeping circuits. One
clock is now 5 minutes per hour fast. The other clock is now 5 minutes
per hour slow. In how many hours will the clocks be exactly one hour
apart?

225
 Wrap It Up
You will soon engage your intellect in this book's final critical thinking
puzzle.
Did you know that fortune cookies didn't originate in China? They
were created in the U.S. by the owner of an Asian restaurant who
wished to amuse his customers while they waited for their meals to be
cooked. Over time, fortune cookies evolved into a treat that is now of-
fered at the end of the meal. That's a wrap. And speaking of wraps...
Take a look at the steps in which the cookie wrapper below was
folded. In the final step, two holes were punched through the layers of
the folds.

1^ 71

Now unroll this wrapper. Which of the patterns would it resem-

ble?

226
227
 ANSWERS

Balance
First, use the balance to divide the 80 grams into two piles of 40 grams.
Then divide one of the 40-gram piles in half. Now balance the 20
grams against the 7 grams produced by the two masses. The 1 3 grams
that are removed from the balance form one pile. The 7 grams added to
the 40 grams + 20 grams produces the larger pile of 67 grams.

Big IVIagio
The sum of the side is thirty-four, and the square looks like this:

1 11 6 16

8 14 3 9

15 5 12 2

10 4 13 7

Break It yp!
Nine toothpicks need to be removed as shown below.

1 4
1

5 6
2
7

3
1

229
Bm the Rules
Two inches. Each chalk piece will advance only half the distance cov-
ered by the ruler.

Up
^k%^^iimg Is Hard to Do...
Sometimes

Bridge, Anyone?
The sticks below are arranged so that they support each other in a cen-
tral triangle formed by overlapping and underlapping supports.

230
Cards, Anyone?
2"

1"

1"

2"

Change of Pace
a. either 5 pennies ($.05) + 4 nickels ($.20) + 1 quarter ($.25) = $.50;
or 10 nickels ($.05) = $.50

b. 25 pennies ($.25) + 1 nickel ($.05) + 2 dimes ($.20) + 2 quarters

($.50) = $1.00

Check it Oyt

1 2

231
The coins maintain their relative position to each other as they move
along the track. What changes is the direction in which the coin im-
ages point.

232
Make the cut from one corner straight across to the corners as shown
below. Each side of this regular triangle that is formed is equal in length
to the diagonal of the square.

/
/ \
/ \
/ \
\

1
\
/ \
/ \
/
/ \

/ \

Doing Wheelias
wheel A would be spinning at five revolutions per minute. Wheel B
would be spinning at twenty revolutions per minute. The difference in

speed results from the "gearing up" and the "gearing down" from the
wheel set to the second wheel set. The belts between the second
first

and third wheel sets do not affect the spin.

Don't Stop M

233
Exactly... Well, Almost
E. It is the mirror image of the other repeating (but rotating) design.

A Game for Losers

By placing your "O" marker in either of the boxes indicated below, you
are ensured a victory no matter where your opponent places his or her
X"s.

Get Set. Go!

1 50 miles long. In order to complete 30 miles of distance, the faster cy-
clist requires 1 hour of time while the slower cyclist needs 1 .20 hours.
Therefore, the time difference per 30 miles of travel is .20 hours. In
order to increase the difference to 1 hour, multiple the 30 miles by 5.

Give IVIe Five

1111. Easy, unless of course you forget all it takes to solve this problem
is to divide 5555 by 5!

234
Going Batty
The number of beetles captured on each successive night were 8, 14,

20, 26, and 32.

Good Guess
Forty-eight gumballs. Since two guesses were off by seven and no
guesses were repeated, these values had to refer to numbers at the op-
posite extremes of the spread. The two extremes are 41 and 55. If you
add 7 to one and take 7 away from the other, you arrive at the middle
number of 48.
Here, Spot, Spot, Spot

Iron Horse Race

The trains will be tied 3 hours after the faster train (or 4V2 hours after the
slower train) begins the race. For example, if 60 mph
the trains travel
and 90 mph, the 4V2-hour journey for the slower train covers 270 miles,
while the 3-hour journey for the faster train also covers 270 miles.

Keep On Tickin'
First you'll need to find out what each section needs to add to. To get
thisnumber, add up every number on the clock's face (1 + 2 + 3+ 4 +
5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 +12 = 78). Divide 78 by 3 and you'll get
—
26 the sum that each section must add to. The next part is relatively
easy, since the numbers are already laid out in a ready-to-add pattern.

236
Keeping Time
Six hours. In 6 hours, the slow clock be exactly 30 minutes behind
will

while the fast clock will be exactly 30 minutes ahead of time.

Lasagna Cut
Each person gets one large and one small triangular piece.

Here's a slightly different pattern that produces four similarly shaped

slices (if we assume the connecting points between the triangle pairs
remain uncut).

Look Over Here

b ^ "

'^x. The direction of the look is based upon the number of

neighboring eyes that are in contact with the eye's
circumference. Eyes that "touch" three other circles
(such as the circle in question) have a pupil that points
to the right.

237
Take either bar (it doesn't matter which one) and touch one end of the
bar to the middle of the other bar. If the bar you are holding is a mag-
net, then its pole will cause the nonmagnetized bar to move. If, how-
ever, you've picked up the nonmagnetized bar, no attraction will occur.
That's because neither of the poles is being touched.

>0
c/5

N
attraction no attraction
'
I

' •
I I

\* '/
\>
\»

238
Melt Down
The level of water will not change. Although the top of the cube floats
above the surface of the water, the amount of water in the entire ice
4
cube can fill a space equal to the dimensions occupied by the part of
the cube that is under the water's surface. In other words, as the ice
cube turns to water, it produces the same amount of water as the space
occupied by the submerged part of the cube.

Place three parallel cuts in the card. Two of the cuts should be posi-
tioned on one side, while a single central cut should be made on the
opposite side (as shown below). Then place a twist in the card so that
half of theupper surface is formed by the "bottom-side" of the card. For
extra fun, you might want to tape the folded card by all of its edges to
the desk (making it more difficult to uncover the baffling "twist").

IViore Cheese
No. Six cuts are the fewest number of cuts needed to produce the
twenty-seven smaller cubes. Stacking doesn't result in fewer cuts.
Think of it this way: that innermost cube of the twenty-seven must be
formed by a cut on each of its six sides.

239
480 revolutions. Since wheel B's rim is four times longer than wheel A's
rim, it spins at one-fourth the speed (4 rps). Likewise, wheel B's rim is

twice as long as wheel C's rim. Therefore, wheel C's rim spins twice as
fast (8 rps). In 1 minute, C wheel will complete 60 x 8 revolutions, or

480 revolutions.

240
241
To Roller
Coaster

242
It is weaker than the original solution. In order to have the original con-
centration, Anthony would have to add grape juice that is Tk times the
regular strength.

They are now both earning the exact same amount. To prove this, let's
take a sample first-week salary of $100 for both Moe and Bo. After the
first adjustment, Moe earned $110 while Bo earned $90. During the

second adjustment, Moe was cut by $1 1 to $99. At the same time. Bo

was increased by $9 to $99.

Six intersections as shown below.

at! 243
1S0 Roller Coaster, Roll!
Young Ed. The car that travels along the curved slope accelerates faster.
This extra speed results from the quick drop in the path that allows the
car to quickly pick up speed as the car moving down the straight slope
accelerates at a slower and more uniform rate.

Satellite Surveyor
80 square miles. If you examine the dissected grid, you'll uncover that
the composite shapes include side-by-side pairs that can be joined to
form four squares. The total area is 20 x 20, or 400 square miles. Each
of the five identical squares contains one-fifth, or 80 square miles.

Say Cheese
Make three cuts that divide the cube into eight smaller but equal
cubes. Each of these eight cubes has a side length of 1 inch to produce
a surface area of 6 square inches. The sum of the eight cube surface
areas is 48 square inches.

Screws in the Head

As the threads turn, they will produce a counterclockwise motion in
the gear of the tuning post. This motion will decrease the tension in the
string to produce a note of lower pitch.

244
Screwy Stuff
The threads of screw A form a spiral that would "go into" the wood
block. In contrast, the opposite spiral of screw B would result in this
screw moving out of the wooden block.

Separation Anxiety

245
Sequence Grid
Triangle. The grid is filled by a series of number sequences. The first se-
quence one member a square. The second and ad-
consists of only —
joining sequence includes a square + circle. The third sequence ex-
pands to include a square + circle + triangle. The complete sequence
from which the can be determined is square + circle triangle + tri- -i-

angle -I- circle -i- circle.

Some Things Never Change

7-1-49-1-343-1- 2401 -i- 1 6,807 = 1 9,607.

Spiral^
The complete path from entrance to center is 5000 feet. To obtain this

distance, determine the total area of the structure (1 0,000 square feet).

Now mentally unroll the spiral. Divide the 1 0,000-square-foot area by

the area associated with one foot of forward travel. Since the corridor is

2 feet wide, the area for a single foot of forward motion is 2 square feet.
Dividing 1 0,000 by 2, we arrive at the total distance of 5000 feet.

The Race Is On
The wheel with the centrally placed lead will accelerate fastest. This
behavior reflects a property of physics that ice skaters execute during
their moves. As a skater spins, the speed of the spin can be adjusted by
altering his or her distribution of weight. As the arms extend, the spin-
ning skater slows. As the arms draw in, the spin accelerates.

246
Sum Puzzle
4
l(0 (M 00

3 5

OX (M

I 8

09 in ox 1-H

7 4

247
248
Thick As a Ir
Sixty bricks. You don't have to count ail of tlie bricl<s. Just count the
bricl<s in the uppermost layer (twelve) and nnultiply by the number of
layers (five) so that you arrive at a total number of sixty bricks.

Time c
7:22. For each given time, the minute hand advances a quarter of a
complete counterclockwise rotation, while the hour hand advances
three-eighths of a complete counterclockwise rotation. The final
arrangement looks like this:

The computer weighs 1 6 pounds and its monitor weighs 32 pounds.

B H B a

249
Weighty Problem
120 pounds. If she needs to add "half of her weight" to get her full

weight, then the weight that she does tell(60 pounds) must be half of
her total. Therefore, 60 pounds is half of her weight. 60 + 60 = 120
pounds. If this doesn't seem right, just work it backwards starting with

the 1 20 pounds.

250
What's the Angle?
a. Three copies of this shape are positioned as shown here.

Whale of a Problem
Two minutes. The amount of time needed to catch the seals doesn't
change. Since two whales can catch two seals in 2 minutes, it is logical
to assume whale can catch one seal in that same period of
that a single
time. Likewise, three whales can catch three seals in 2 minutes. As
long as the number of whales is equal to the number of seals, the time
doesn't change. Therefore, ten killer whales will also take 2 minutes to
catch ten seals.

Wrap It Up
d. Here's what you see as you unwrap the folds.

H m m 11

251
253
 *

Introduction
Visual thinking is a powerful element that defines the way in

which we process all sorts of information.

Visual thinking isn't stuck in the present. We can use it to re-

flect back into the past. For example, think of when you first saw
this puzzle book displayed on the shelf of a bookstore. Was it on an
upper or lower shelf? Was it standing alone or was it part of a stack?
Now imagine when someone first placed this book on the shelf.

Think back even further to when another person delivered a box of

these books to the bookstore. Perhaps you might even be able to
think back to what might have been going on when the author was
writing this introduction. That's the power of visual reflection.
jump into the future. Think of
Visual thinking can just as easily
a domino balanced upright on a desktop. Now, in your mind's eye
place five other dominos close to this one so that a row is formed.
Now, push against the first domino until it falls over. What happens
as it strikes the next domino? Do all the dominos fall? What hap-
pens when the final domino tumbles? Do any of them fall off the
table? Again it's that power of visual thinking that allows you to
"fast forward" into the future.
This book contains a collection of puzzles that have been de-
veloped, tweaked, and twisted into mindbending challenges that
are sure to test your visual thinking skills. Many of the puzzles are
based upon traditional challenges that have been around for hun-
dreds of years. Others are brand new. But instead of me telling you
about these eye-brain busters, why not experience them yourself?
Open your eyes and mind and have fun!
—Michael

254
 Wrap It Up
You don't need a crystal ball to see into the future. All you need is your
brain.
The shape below is formed from three smaller pieces. These
pieces are connected by a tiny hinge at their point of attachment. Sup-
pose you were able to rotate the pieces so that neighboring sides
aligned flatly and squarely. Which one of the shapes below could this
structure look like?

ABC D

255
 Pi Pieces
There are many skills we associate with visual thinking. Some of these
skills may be much more difficult to master than others. For example,
the ability to mentally rotate objects is often harder than we might
imagine.

Try this:you were to assemble these pieces

If into a circle, what would
the figure formed by the inner lines look like?

256
 Connect the Dots
Here's a different type of puzzle. To solve it, your brain must uncover
patterns.
How many squares can you create in this figure by connecting
any four dots?
Note:The corners of the square must lie upon a grid dot.

257
 Pizza Pi Problem
Think about pizza. Imagine its sauce-and-cheese covered surface. Not
too hard to do, is it? This ability to produce "images" within our brain is
a product of visual thinking. Now, let's get back to pizza.
Bob likes to prepare personal pizzas. He begins with a circle of
dough that is 12 inches in diameter. On top of the dough, he places
slices of salami. All of the slices are round and have a 4-inch diameter.
If Bob doesn't overlap the slices or allow any of the slices to extend be-

yond the edge of the pie, what is the maximum number of salami slices
he can add?

258
 Point the Way
There are all sorts of patterns. Here's one that is based upon a sequence
inwhich some sort of change occurs over time.
Can you uncover how this sequence of tiles changes? If so, use
what you've visualized to identify the fourth member of this series.

D B n

259
 Mirror Madness
Do you realize that your brain is constantly trying to make sense of the
information sent to by your eyes? You may already know that the
it

image that falls upon the retina of the eye is upside-down. Your brain,
however, flips the image over into a more logical upright appearance.
Perhaps your brain can flip images "on cue?"
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which of the choices below is the re-
flection of the following tile?"

260
 Spacing Out
For a moment, let's leave the eye-brain puzzles and just "space out."
A shuttle astronaut leaves her craft to work on a disabled satellite.
She lands on one corner of the satellite (which is a perfect cube) and
realizes that she must walk across the satellite's surface to the opposite
corner. To conserve oxygen, she must follow the shortest possible
route. Is her planned route (identified by the dotted line) the shortest
path between opposite corners?

261
10 Code Caper
What animal is represented in the code below?

Hint: From our earliest years, we learn to identify objects by the

space they occupy. however, sometimes use the space that
Artists,

doesn't occupy something. called negative space and it's the fabric
It's

that surrounds things. Perhaps, a little negative space might help you
solve this puzzle?

262
 Link Latch
Your optic nerve links the eye and the brain. This "connecting wire" is
not passive. As messages travel along its path, visual information is an-
alyzed and sorted. By the time they arrive at the brain, themessages
have already been partially processed and analyzed so that no time is
wasted.

While digging through a box of links, a jeweler uncovers the three

joined links shown above. She decides to separate the links. As she ex-
amines them, she finds a way to disconnect all three by opening just a
single link. Can you?

263
 Cut the Cube
Can you visualize 3-D space? It so, imagine a solid block of clay
shaped into a perfect cube. Can you visualize it? Great. Now, let's

change it with a modeling knife. How can a single cut produce the six-

sided face shown here?

264
 Square Deal
To solve this next puzzle, you'll need both visual thinking skills and a
bit of eye-hand coordination (you'll also need a pair of scissors).

Trace the sections below onto a sheet of heavy-stock paper. Care-

fully cut them out with the scissors. Then arrange the pieces so they
form a perfect square.

265
yi0 Back
Imagine the hands of a standard clock in the position that indicates the
time of 4:20. Suppose you looked at that clock in a mirror. Which of
the following clock faces would the reflected image resemble?

I II III IV

Okay, let's make it a bit more challenging. Suppose that the hands
of a clock indicate the time of 2:40. Suppose you turned the clock up-
side down and then looked at its mirror reflection. Which one of the
faces below would the reflected image resemble?

266
267
 Amaze in String
A pipe is located at the center of an odd loop of string.
Suppose the string is pulled by its two free ends. Will the strin

come free of the pipe or will it be caught by it?

268
 Broken Record
A phonograph record falls to the floor and splits into two equal halves.
Suppose that the halves are carefully gluedback together so that all of
the grooves align. There is, however, a problem. In the rush to re-
slight
pair the album, the incorrect sides are paired. Therefore, each side of
the record is a composite formed by half of side A and half of side B.
Now let's set this record on a turntable and place a phonograph needle
at the end of the first song. As the record spins will the needle:

a) trace out a circle, always remaining the same distance from the
center spindle?
b) spiral in towards the center spindle (its normal motion)?
c) spiral out towards the album edge?

269
 This Side Up
Make four copies of this arrow pattern. Cut out each arrow along its

outline. Then arrange the copies so that they form five arrows.

270
 Prefab 4
Suppose the following pattern was folded up or folded back to form a
house. Which one of the structures below could not be formed from
this pattern?

—
1

1 1

>

271
 Superimposing Position
Suppose the values illustrated by the two graph forms below are added
together. Which of lh(> four c hoices will the combined final graph form
look like?

272
 Hidden in Plane Site
Can you uncover fifteen squares outlined in the pattern below?

273
 What Sign Are You?
The mathematical signs connecting the numbers below have been left
out. Good thing we've supplied them on four tiles. Your job is to place
the tiles between the numbers so that the final answer is 3. All opera-
tions are done in a left-to-right order.

5 ^2 13 15 14 = 3

274
 Tying the Knot
spaghetti, will a knot
As these two lovers slurp up a shared piece of
form in the pasta (or only in their hearts)?

275
 Pentagon Pieces
Trace these two pairs of shapes onto a sheet of heavy-stock paper. Use
a pair of scissors to carefully cut out all four pieces. Then rearrange the
shapes into a regular pentagon.

276
277
 Boxed In
which one of the following designs cannot be folded into a cube?

278
 Faces Front
Suppose you can examine this five-bkx l< shnp(^ (allhoiigh hidrkMi, the
fifth bloc k is present in the nii(l(ll(> ol Ihe shcif)e) Irom any angle. How
many different cube faces can you cx)unl('

Suppose that hidden block (the filth one) is evaporated. How many
cube faces would now be exposed?
Now examine this nine-block shape from any angle. How many
different cube faces can you count?

"v

279
i Impossible Profile
Even though you can't see the entire block structure below, you can
make accurate statements about its appearance. If viewed from all di-
rections, which one of the four profiles is impossible?

280
 Pharoah Folds
which of the folding patterns below will produce a shape unlike the
others?

281
i Brain Training
There are two parallel railroad tracks that connect the cities of Metrop-
olis and Gotham City. Every hour, a train leaves from each city and
travels to the other. The trip takes 3 hours in either direction. Suppose
you are on board a train that is leaving Metropolis. Counting the in-
bound train that enters the Metropolis station as you pull out, what
is the total number of inbound trains you will pass as you travel to

Gotham City.

282
V'..

283
 On the March
An army of neurotic ants lives in the jungle of some remote country.
In their journey they've uncovered a trail formed by three overlapping
circles.
Here's the challenge: The ants have to find a route that covers
every part of this odd trail. The route can't cross over itself (nor can the
ants back up and retrace any steps). Can you uncover their continuous
route?

Here's route two with the same restrictions.

284
 stop and Think
How many different paths can lead you through the octagonal maze
below. From start to finish, you can only move in the direction of the
arrows.

Start

Finish

Hint: There a way to do this puzzle without

is tracing out each
path. Can you uncover the strategy?

285
 Circular Code
what number belongs in the blank slice below?

3 y\
/ 1
\^ / ^ \

I 34 /
13 \/

286
 Shakes
Six people attended a gala for visual thinkers. If all guests shook hands
with everyone else (no pair shook hands more than once), how many
handshaking events were there?

287
 Nesting Dolls
A nesting doll collected from the planet Infinitum contains a limitless
number of smaller dolls. Each smaller doll is exactly half the size of the
larger doll that it "nests" within. Suppose the outermost doll is one foot

tall. Ifyou are to remove all of the inner dolls (assume there are an infi-
nite number) and place them on top of each other, how tall will the
stack rise?

288
 The Whole Truth
When John Cubic was placed on the stand, he was questioned about
P.

his puzzle-solving capability. He assured everyone that he was skilled

in puzzeology.
To prove this, he displayed a cardboard square with an off-center
hole. "By cutting this cardboard into two and only two pieces (and re-
arranging those pieces), can move the hole into the center of this
I

square." Although the jury was out, the lie detector supported his
claim.
Can you figure out his cutting pattern?

289
 Block Heads
Which pattern of blocks is unlike the others?

290
 Fill 'er Up
Can you fill out the grid below using the following clues?

a) B is in the same columnas E and H.

b) F is to the left and directly above D.
of B
c) G is to the right of E and directly above I.

d) D is directly left of H and in the same column as A.

291
 The Jig's Up
A jigsaw puzzle contains fifty pieces. If joining any two pieces (or
groups of pieces) is considered one move, what is the fewest number of
moves required to join all fifty pieces?

292
 This Wheel's On Fire
Examine the two sets of wheels below. The shaft that connects both sets
of wheels is made of solid steel. In the top set, the shaft is attached at
the same distance above each of the wheels. In the lower pair, the shaft
is attached more towards the edge of the larger wheel.

If the small wheel spins in a clockwise direction, what will happen

to the larger wheel? Will the motion of the larger wheel be different in
the lower pair? If so, how?

293
 Square Gears
Suppose you were able to turn the top square gear. How much of a turn
(if any) would the lower square gear make?

294
 Going to Pieces
The below puzzle is entitled ''White Cat on a Snowy Day in the Arctic."
Suppose you have to connpletely color each piece so that no two ad-
joining pieces are the same color.
What is the minimum number of colors you need to distinguish
each piece?

295
 Toothpick Tricks
Arrange twenty-four toothpicks in the pattern below. Can you remove
eight picks from this pattern so that only two squares are formed by the
remaining picks?

296
 Arrange sixteen toothpicks in the pattern below. Can you move
(don't remove) three toothpicks so that four squares of the same size
are produced?

Build the house below using eleven toothpicks. Can you change
the position of one toothpick to make the house face in the other direc-
tion?

Finally, arrange six toothpicks to make eight different triangles.

/-//nf;The triangles will be of two different sizes.

297
 Puzzling Pages
A wind has separated the pages of a local newspaper. From the
blast of
page numbers shown below, can you determine how many pages were
in the complete newspaper?

298
 Controversial Cube
Which two cubes below can be constructed by folding this pattern?
Let's assume that the pattern is the "outside" of the material.

A B C D

299
From Whence It Came?

300
 Sink Your Teeth
Both cog A and cog D have sixty teeth. Cog B has thirty teeth. Cog C
has ten teeth. Suppose cog B makes twenty complete turns every
minute. Which will spin faster, cog A or cog D?

A D

301
 Hands-On/Minds-Off
Examine each of these hands carefully. Then decide which one of the
nine is unlike all the others?

302
 Going In Circles?
Are the belts and wheels arranged so that they will spin freely as this
mouse races up the treadmill?

303
 Caffeine Break
The owners of a local coffee store ordered two different sizes of coffee
pots. If pot A holds about 8 ounces of java, about how many ounces
does pot B hold?

306
 Sector Sever
Four alien civilizations are dividing up the universe. They encounter a
sector of space that has this unique arrangement of planets. If all four
civilizations are to get identical sectors of space (each containing three
different planets), show how this region should be divided.

307
 More of the Great Divide
The star map below gives the location of eleven stars. Can you give
each star its own space by dividing the square with only five straight
lines? The spaces don't have to be equal.

308
 ^
When those aliens aren't dividing up the universe, they're engaging in

competitive sports. So far, their favorite game is tug-of-war. During the

competitions, there were threeties, which are illustrated below. From

this information,can you determine which of the choices can balance

the unfinished match?

309
 Sneaky
Suppose you are able to crawl inside this sneaker that belongs to one of
those alien athletes. Assuming that the laces always cross, what would
the inner crisscrossed view look like?

310
 Foiling Folds
Suppose a square sheet of paper is folded and creased. Then a single
snip of the scissors removes a corner of the fold as shown in the last

step below. If the pattern is then unfolded, which square will it now
resemble?

Cut

/ \ J
\ / T T

311
 Spiral Bound
An astronomer photographs two side-by-side spiral galaxies. When she
examines her tiles, however, she uncovers that one of the photos is of a

is

ABC
different galaxy pair.
unlike the others.
Examine the six images below. One pair of
Can you identify the different image?
spirals

312
 ^
^
Imaginiiig Digits
In the numbers 1 through 100, which digit appears the most? While
you're at it, in that same set of numbers, which digit appears the least?

313
 Roll With It

If you rolled this pattern into a cylinder, which one of the choices
below will it look like?

314
 Out of This World Construction
Orbiting above the earth are the four cubic sections of a soon-to-be
constructed space station. Astronauts will assemble the four separate
cubes The only problem is that the astronauts
into a four-cube station.
left the construction plans back on Earth. It's your job to determine how

many different four-cube arrangements are possible. (The cubes can

only be joined squarely and face-to-face.)

315
 Into the Pool?
Seven pool balls are placed in a pattern shown below. Can you re-

arrange the balls so that the sum of any three-bail line is equal to
twelve?

316
 Sure Shot
Suppose the billiard ball strikes the bumper at the point identified by
the arrow. If the ball has the energy to keep rolling, which pocket will it

eventually sink into?

# •-^ f

317
 Coasteir Cut
Alas, the party is over and the amusement park is closed. The roller
coaster ride has been sold. All that is left is this one section of track and
frame. In order to be moved, the pattern must be divided into two iden-
tical parts. Can you do it?

318
 Sizing Up Squares
How many different sizes of square can be made by connecting the
dots that form this grid? And while you are at it, what is the total num-
ber of squares that can be created by connecting the pattern dots?

319
 The Circle Game
Can you uncover the pattern in the following figure? If so, use what
you've discovered to identify the number that should be placed in the
center of the figure.

320
 What's Next?
Complete this sequence.

321
 Very Well Venn
A Venn diagram is a way of communicating relationships. For example,
the following Venn diagrams show that 1 all beetles and all flies are in-
)

sects and 2) some mammals and some insects can fly.

Using this type of visual scheme, sketch out Venn diagrams that il-
lustrate the following:

1 . All ice creams are dairy products and all dairy products are food.
2. Some rockets use liquid fuel, some rockets use solid fuel, and the
space shuttle uses both liquid and solid fuel.
3. All whales and all dogs have hair. All snakes do not have hair.

322
 Rack 'Em Again,
. . .

Again, and Again

The pool balls below are positioned in a six-ball rack. If you add the
values of any three-ball edge, you'll come up with ten. Can you re-

arrange the balls within this rack to produce three other patterns that
also produce equal-sum sides?

323
 Dial Dilemma
The instruments in a cockpit are positioned so that a pilot can quickly
glance at the indicators and know instantly if there is a problem. In the
panel below, one dial does not fit the pattern. Can you locate it

quickly?

324
Troubling Tree

325
i Three-Colored Cube
The cube below has been cut into twenty-seven smaller cubes. These
cubes can viewed as three nine-cube slices. So tar, so good? Great.
Here's where the hard part comes in. Using one of three colors, color
each cube. The final colored pattern should have one cube of each
color in any three-cube row or three-cube column.

/
/ / / /
/
/
/

326
 Trying Triangles
Copy these six patterns onto a sheet of heavy-stock paper. Use a pair of
scissors to carefully cut them out. Arrange the shapes into one equal-
sided triangle.

AAA
is. .

B a

327
 Here, Spot
Suppose you could fill in any of the circles of this pattern. How many
and distinguishable patterns could you make?
different

328
 1 1 1

Chalk One Up
A large chalk stick has a diameter of an inch.The chalk is packed in a
box whose inner space measures 5" X 4". Within this space, twenty
pieces of chalk fit snugly. If the box length and width are increased as
shown below, the new larger box should hold a maximum of 120
pieces of chalk. Right? Wrong. It can now hold 131 pieces of chalk.
Can you figure out how these extra eleven pieces of chalk fit?

4 1

15 1

8 I I

329
 Grid-Lock
How many different ways can you divide this 4X4 grid into two iden-
tical parts?

Remember that all of your "dividing lines" must follow along the
lines that are all ready in place. Do not count as different ones those
that are simply rotations or reflections of others.

330
 Only the Shadow Knows
Try to imagine a shape that can produce several different shadows.
When illuminated from below, it shadow. When illumi-
casts a circular
nated from the north, it casts a rectangular shadow. When illuminated
from the east, it casts a triangular shadow.
What is the shape of the actual object?

331
 Grid-Lock
How many different ways can you divide this 4X4 grid into two iden-
tical parts?

Remember that all of your "dividing lines" must follow along the
lines that are all ready in place. Do not count as different ones those
that are simply rotations or reflections of others.

330
 Only the Shadow Knows
Try to imagine a shape that can produce several different shadows.
When illuminated from below, it shadow. When illumi-
casts a circular
nated from the north, it casts a rectangular shadow. When illuminated
from the east, it casts a triangular shadow.
What is the shape of the actual object?

m a m m

331
 Lucky Eleven?
By connecting different dot sets, you should be able to form eleven dif-

ferent shapes of triangles. Good luck!

FV/. The different triangles include four mirror-image pairs.

332
 station Spread
Scientists often use visual models to help understand and communi-
cate ideas. Although the following problem is on a global scale, per-
haps you can visualize a desktop version of the situation?
Scientists are designing a network of earthquake-monitoring sta-
tions. The stations can be built on any surface, but must be located at
equal distances from one another. What is the maximum number of
stations that can be placed on the Earth and remain equidistant? Oh
yes, and where will the stations be placed?

333
 ANS

It will come free of the pipe.To visualize this action, start at the pipe.
From from the center. After a few turns,
there, trace the pipe's path out
the pipe exits freely at the opening on the right side of the maze.

Block Heads
E.

335
E cannot be folded into a cube.

Six. At every half hour of the journey, you'll pass an incoming train. If

you count the inbound train in the Metropolis station and don't count
the inbound train in the Gotham City station, you'll pass six trains.

336
Brolc
b) spiral in towards the center spindle normal motion). Both sides of
(its
1
the record have an identical spiral. Therefore, if the grooves align, the

needle will follow its normal motion towards the center spindle.

4 ounces (about half of pot A). The amount of coffee that can be kept
within each pot is determined by the height of the spout opening. The
coffee level cannot rise above that spout opening since any extra cof-
fee would spill out from the spout.

337
Circular Code
21. As you move clockwise around the circle, the number on each
section is sum of the two
equal to the previous sections.

Coaster Cut

338
339
Controversial Cube
Cubes A and D.

Dial Dilemma
The dial arrow located in the middle of the bottom row is most un-
usual. In contrast to the rest, it has two heads and only one tail.

340
Faces Front
Part I: Twenty-two sides.
Part II: Thirty-six sides.

Fill 'er Up

A E G

F B 1

D H C
Foiling F

From Whence It Came

Pattern D.

342
No, the belts are arranged in a pattern that doesn't allow them to move.

Going to Pieces
Four colors. It doesn't matter how many common borders there are.
The maximum number of colors needed to distinguish any number of
adjoining pieces will always be four.

V, .

aHEeHBnaHHHD

343
 Off •

The bottom-row center hand is unlike the others. It alone is a right

hand.

The fifteen squares are:

one 4X4 square;
two 3X3 squares;
four 2X2 squares;
eight 1 X 1 square.

344
The digit 1 appears 21 times. The digit appears only 1 1 times.

impossible Profiie
c.

cube
not
shown I I

345
6ricl-Lock

Here, Spot
Sixteen distinguishable patterns.

oqo oSo eSo •#«

oo oo oo oo
o#e ~
oo eo eo '

ooo oo# ooo oo

oo oo o# O"
oo# eoo o#o ma '

o"
oo "

346
 Into tlia Pool
Two solutions are shown.

© © o ©
O© or
©©©
© © © ©
B. Here's why:

BBQaaQnBBBHHaBHHHHHBBBBaBBBHQUaLuyQ

347
Chalk One Up
It depends upon how you pack the chalk. In straight rows and
all

columns, only 1 20 pieces can fit. However, if the chalk pieces are stag-

gered so they fill up some of the waste space, 1 31 pieces can fit.

Lucky Eleven

» ••• •••
:N -A: 'J/.

'2f\ ^ : b:

348
Troubling Tree
9. The numbers are obtained by adding together the values of the two
circles that are attached by diagonal lines. Then the value within the
circle directly atop is subtracted from this sum. In the final grouping,
it's 7 + 6-9, or 9.

Link Latch
Just open the bottom link. The top two links are not attached to each
other.

349
350
351
The final height of the stack approaches 2 feet. Although there are an
infinite number of dolls, the size of each doll diminishes. Mathemati-
cally that works out to 1 ft. + ft. + 'A ft. + % ft. + Vib ft. + Vu ft. . . .

Part I Part II

352
Out of This World Construction

Feneii stack
Pencil #7

353
Pentagon Pieces

Pharoah Folds
B is the only pattern that will produce a four-sided triangular pyramid.

354
Pi Pieces

Pizza Pi Problem
Seven sections:
Point the Way
D. Each tiie is rotated from the pervious one by 'A turn.

Prefab 4

356
358
Reflecting Back
Part I

IV

Part II

111

Roil Willi it

D.
i Fifteen handshakes. The first person would have shaken hands five
times.The next person only needed to make four handshakes, since the
handshake with one person had all ready been completed. The next
person required only three, and so on. That gives us 5+4+3+2+1 = 1 5.

Since they have the same number of teeth, they will spin at the same
speed. Cog C does not affect the rate of teeth passage; it only transfers
the passage of teeth from cog B to cog D.

360
SECTOR SEVER
4
o
o ©© or

o o

SIZING UP SQUARES
Five sizes:

n:: rn: •
• • • • » « ^

Twenty squares.

361
Sneaky

Spacing Out
No. To best visualize her path, let's undo the cube into its component
flattened faces. From this diagram, you can see that the shortest dis-
tance between two points is a straight line. That line does not coincide
with her planned path (shown as a dotted line).

362
Spiral Bound
Block F. All five other blocks are identical. Block F is a mirror image of
these blocks.

Spotty Answers

Part II

363
station Spread
Four stations. Each station is placed at the corner of a four-sided pyra-
mid (tetrahedron) that is inscribed within the planet.

364
Square Gears
The bottom gear would continue to spin as if both gears were circular.

Stop and Think

Eighteen, but you don't have to trace out each one. The easiest way to
solve this puzzle is and determine the number
to start at the beginning
of paths that can get you to an intersection. The number of paths to
each successive intersection is equal to the sum of the paths that are
"attached" to it.

Start

365
 '

Superimposing Position
A I 1

Sure Shot

rf -

366
 Only the Shadow Knows
It is a cylinder that has been cut into a wedge. Two slices that extend

from the upper diameter to opposite sides of the bottom have been re-
moved to form this shape.

The Circle Game

27.The number at the center of any circle is equal to the sum of the
number located on its outline.

m
m
m

367
The Jig's Up
Forty-nine moves. The sequence and strategy in which the pieces are
assembled will not affect the number of moves. Fifty pieces require
forty-nine independent joining "events".

The Whole Truth

Cut out an L-shaped section and rotate it to the opposite corner of the
piece with the hole.

368
This Side Up
The extra figure is "formed" within the center of this pattern.

Tootiipiclc Tricks
Part I

369
370
How Many Triangles?
27 triangles: 16 one-cell triangles, 7 four-cell triangles, 3 nine-cell tri-

angles, and 1 sixteen-cell triangle.

Tying the Knot

A knot will form in the spaghetti.

BHIBaBBHHBBBBH

371
372
Three-Colored Cube

This Wheel's On Fire

In the top set, the large wheel will spin the exact same way as the
smaller wheel. In the bottom set, the top wheel will first move clock-
wise. Then, before completing a rotation, it will reverse direction.

373
1S0 What's Next?
10. The sequence is formed by first doubling a number and then sub-
tracting one from the product.

What Sign Are You?

5 [Xl2 El3 \±\5 ^4 = 3

374
 Wrap It Up

Cut the Cube

The cut must bisect the cube in half as shown below. The exposed
inner surface is flat and has the shape of a hexagon,
.

375
I
 1

Answers appear on pages in italics.

A Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,

A, B, See?, 129, 160 92-93, 144
A+Test, 114, 153 Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Amaze in String, 268, 335 . Sometimes, 195, 230
. .

Ancient Man, 1 33, 767 Bridge, Anyone?, 190, 230

And a Cut Below, 19, 68 Broken Record, 269, 337
Another Ant Walk, 54, 80 Brownie Cut, 90, 743
Another Pattern, 126, 759
Ant Walk, 29, 72 C
Anti-Magic Square, 52, 79 Caffeine Break, 306, 337
Army Ants, 119, 756 Cards, Anyone?, 201 , 23 7
Aunt Mobius?, 29 Chain Links, 41 , 76
Average Puzzle, 99, 746 Chalk One Up, 329, 348
Change of Pace, 1 79, 23
B Check It Out, 187, 23 7
Baffling Holes, 44, 77 Checkerboard, 123, 755
Bagel for Five?, 112, 753 Circle Game, 111, 752
Balance, 204, 229 Circular Code, 286, 338
Balancing Gold, 91 , 143 City Pipes, 51, 79
Big Magic, 204-205, 229 Class Act, 220, 232
Block Heads, 290, 335 Coaster Cut, 31 8, 338
Bouncing Ball, 121, 158 Code Caper, 262, 339
Boxed In, 278, 336 Coin Moves, 1 1 3, 753
Brain Net, 87, 74 7 Coin Roll [version one],
Brain Training, 282, 336 116, 754
Break It Up!, 214, 229 Coin Roll [version two],
Breaking the Rules, 203, 182-183, 232
230 Compass Caper, 1 5-1 6, 68

377
Competing Clicks, 125, 759 Exactly. . .Well, Almost,
Complete the Pattern, 1 22, 215, 234
158
Connect the Dots, 257, 339
Connect the Dots, 54, 80 Face Lift, 191-192, 234
Controversial Cube, 299, Faces Front, 279, 347
340 Fair Solution, 46, 77
Cool Cut, 221, 233 Falcon Flight, 37, 75
Criss-Crossed, 136, 763 Fare Split, 111, 752
Crossing Hands, 102, 148 Fill 'erUp, 291, 347
Crystal Building, 136, 764 Flip Flop, 101, 745
Cubic Quandaries, 30, 72 Flipping Pairs, 1 03, 749
Cut Above, 1 6, 68 Foiling Folds, 311, 342
Cut the Cards, 33, 73 Fractured Farmland, 59, 52
Cut the Cube, 264, 375 Frog Jump, 1 1 8, 756
Cutting Edge, 123, 755 From Whence It Came,
300, 342
D
Dial Dilemma, 324, 340 G
Die Is Cast, 124, 755 Game for Losers, 21 7, 234
Disorder, 93, 144 Get Set. Go!, 181, 234
Doing Wheelies, 185, 233 Giant Step, 45
Don't Come Back This Way Give Me Five, 193, 234
Again!, 96, 745 Go Figure!, 120, 757
Don't Stop Now, 181, 233 Go-Cart Crossing, 131, 76 7
Doubtful Dimensions, 48, Going Batty, 202, 235
78 Going in Circles?, 303, 343
Going to Pieces, 295, 343
E Going to the Movies, 25,
Egg Exactly, 20, 69 70
Eighth-Century Enigma, Good Guess, 186, 235
138, 764 Grid-lock, 330, 346

378
Gum Drop, 130, 160 Let the Games Begin, 309,
347
H Lights Out!, 133, 162
Hands-On/Minds-Off, 302, Link Latch, 263, 349
344 Look Over Here, 206, 237
Head Count, 28, 77 Losing Marbles?, 20-21, 69
Heat Is On, 51, 75 Lost?, 13, 67
Here, Art, Art, Art, 212, 235 Lucky Eleven?, 332, 348
Here, Spot, 328, 346
Here, Spot, Spot, Spot, M
224, 236 Machine Madness, 49, 78
Hidden in Plane Site, 273, Magic Pyramid, 8, 65
344 Magic Square, 52, 79
How Many Triangles?, 283, Magic Star, 199, 238
371 Magic Triangle, 117, 755
Main Attraction, 1 73, 238
Many Rivers to Cross, 1 07,
Imagining Digits, 313, 345 750
Impossible Profile, 280, Marked 52
Park, 61,
345 Matchstick Memories, 105,
In Order, 54-55, 81 749
Into the Pool?, 316, 347 Measuring Mug, 115, 154
Iron Horse Race, 210, 236 Meet Me on the Edge, 97,
745
K Melt Down, 222, 239
Keep on Tickin', 200, 236 Miles Apart, 109, 750
Keeping Time, 225, 237 Mind Bend, 171, 239
Kitchen Cups, 1 7, 68 Mind Slice, 196, 240
Mirror Madness, 260, 350
Mis-Marked Music, 1 14,
Lasagna Cut, 209, 237 754
Leftovers Again?, 89, 142 Missing Blocks, 104, 749

379
Missing Square, 35, 74 P •

Mixed Up?, 22, 69 Pack Up Your Troubles, 95,

Mobius Strip, 28-29, 72 745
Moldy Math, 18, 68 Painting on the Side, 1 1 6,
Money Magic, 42, 76 755
Monkey Business, 28, 7/ Palindrome, 99, 747
More Cheese, 213, 239 Parts of a Whole, 216, 242
More Coinage, 83, 2401 Passing Trains, 109, 757
More of the Great Divide, Pattern Grid, 64, 83
308, 350 Pattern Path, 62, 82
More Shadow Stuff, 98, 746 Pattern Puzzler, 63, 83
More Spots, 305, J57 Patterns, 118, 755
More Wheel ies, 186, 240 Pencil Puzzle, 134, 762
Pencil Stack, 277, 353
N Pentagon Parts, 1 12, 752
Naughty Notes, 267, J5/ Pentagon Pieces, 276, 354
Nesting Dolls, 288, 352 Pharaoh Folds, 281, 354
No Sweat, 120, 757 Pi Pieces, 256, 355

Now Seating?, 25, 77 83

Pile Puzzler, 63,
Number 24 7
Blocks, 193, Pizza Cut, 127, 759
Number Sense, 59-60, 82 Pizza Problem, 258, 355
Pi

Numbers Game, 53, 79 Planet Rotation, 139, 764

Nuts, 47, 78 Playing with Matches?,
124, 759
O Point the Way, 259, 356
On 352
the March, 284, Predicting Paths, 88,
One Way Only, 208, 24 7 141-142
Only the Shadow Knows, Prefab 4, 271, 356
331, 367 Putting It Together, 50, 78
Oops, I Wasn't Puzzle of Portions, 21 69 ,

Concentrating, 188, 243 Puzzle Paths, 169, 242

Out of This World Puzzling Pages, 298, 357
Construction, 315, 353 Puzzling Prices, 129, 160

380
Pyramid Builders, 8-9, 65
Pyramid Passage, 7, 65
245
Sequence Grid, 202-203,
m
246
Q Shakes, 287, 360
Question of Balance, 38, Shuffle, 139, 164
75 Sink Your Teeth, 301, 360
Sizing Up Squares, 319,
R 361
Race Is On, 1 76, 246 160
Slip Sliding, 128,
Rack Em Again, Again,
. . . Snake Spread, 37, 74
and Again, 323, 358 Sneaky, 310, 362
Raises and Cuts, 1 75, 243 Sock to Me,
It 46, 77
Reflecting Back, 266, 359 Some Exchange, 139-140,
Revolutionary Thoughts, 765
43, 77 Some Things Never '

Robot Walkers, 40, 75 Change, 184, 246

Roll with It, 314, 359 Sounds Logical?, 135, 762
Roller Coaster, Roll!, 218, Souped-Up Survey, 109,
244 757
Rope Ruse, 41 76 , Spacing Out, 261 362 ,

Runaway Runway, 1 74, Spare Change, 129, 160

243 Spare My Brain, 1 2, 66
Spiral Bound, 312, 363
Spira|2, 179, 246
Sand Traps, 14, 67 Spotty Answers, 304,363
Satellite Surveyor, 198, 244 Square Deal, 265, 364
Saving Face, 31-32, 73 Square Gears, 294, 365
Say Cheese, 197, 244 Square Pattern, 121, 757
Screws in the Head, 1 78, Squaring Off, 30, 72
244 Stacking Up, 100, 747
Screwy Stuff, 1 24577, Star Birth, 100-101, 747
Sector Sever, 307, 36 7 Station Spread, 333, 364
Separation Anxiety, 194, Stop and Think, 285, 365

381
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