This is another candle burning problem, presented by Presh Talwalkar.
“Two candles of equal heights but different thicknesses are lit. The first burns off in 8 hours and the second in 10 hours. How long after lighting, in hours, will the first candle be half the height of the second candle? The candles are lit simultaneously and each burns at a constant linear rate.”
See Two Candles for solutions.
This is a nice brain tickling problem from Presh Talwalkar.
“A circle contains two tangent semicircles whose diameters are parallel chords. If the circle has an area equal to 1, what is the combined area of the two semicircles?”
See the Two Curious Semicircles for solutions.
Here is another problem from Presh Talwalkar which he says is adapted from India’s Civil Services Exam.
“There are three runners X, Y, and Z. Each runs with a different uniform speed in a 1000 meters race. If X gives Y a start of 50 meters, they will finish the race at the same time. If X gives Z a start of 69 meters, they will finish the race at the same time. Suppose Y and Z are in a [1000 meter] race. How much of a start should Y give to Z so they would finish the race at the same time?”
Even though Talwalkar’s original graphic showed all the runners in a 1000 meter race, it was not immediately clear to me from the wording that the race between Y and Z was also 1000 meters. But that was the case, so I made it explicit.
See the Three Runners Puzzle for solutions.
Here is yet another problem from Presh Talwalkar. This one is rather elegant in its simplicity of statement and answer.
“Solve For The Angle – Viral Puzzle
I thank Barry and also Akshay Dhivare from India for suggesting this problem! This puzzle is popular on social media. What is the measure of the angle denoted by a “?” in the following diagram? You have to solve it using elementary geometry (no trigonometry or other methods). It’s harder than it looks. I admit I did not solve it. Can you figure it out?”
See the Shy Angle Problem for solutions.
Yet another interesting problem from Presh Talwalkar.
“Two side-by-side squares are inscribed in a semicircle. If the semicircle has a radius of 10, can you solve for the total area of the two squares? If no, demonstrate why not. If yes, calculate the answer.”
This puzzle shares the characteristics of all good problems where the information provided seems insufficient.
See the Sum of Squares Puzzle for solutions.
This is another challenging puzzle from Presh Talwalkar that seems difficult to know where to start.
“Given the figure shown at left, what is the value of x?”
See the Chord Progression Puzzle for solutions.
This is another problem from the indefatigable Presh Talwalkar.
_ _____Hard Geometry Problem
“In triangle ABC above, angle A is bisected into two 60° angles. If AD = 100, and AB = 2(AC), what is the length of BC?”
See Hard Geometric Problem for solutions.
(Update 7/18/2020, 7/20/2020) Alternative Solution Continue reading
Here is another engaging problem from Presh Talwalkar.
“___________Triangle Area 1984 AIME
Point P is in the interior of triangle ABC, and the lines through P are parallel to the sides of ABC. The three triangles shown in the diagram have areas of 4, 9, and 49. What is the area of triangle ABC?”
See the Pinwheel Area Problem. for solutions.
This is a delightful and surprising problem from Presh Talwalkar.
“This puzzle was created by a MindYourDecisions fan in India. What is the value of the infinite product? The numerators are the odd nth roots of [Euler’s constant] e and the denominators are even nth roots of e.”
See Euler Magic for a solution.
Presh Talwalkar had another interesting problem.
“A triangle is drawn inside a square with sides 4, 3, and 5, as shown. What is the length of the square’s side?”
The problem looks simple at first, but it takes some care to avoid some hideous quartic equations.
See Tipsy 3-4-5 Triangle for solutions.
