Author Archives: Alok Goyal

Solution to Puzzle #50: Cat and Mouse Tale

One of the best responses to any puzzle since I started last year – thanks a ton! Radhika Goyal was the first one to send an answer for this puzzle – well done! In addition to her, I got correct … Continue reading

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Puzzle #50: Cat and Mouse Tale

This is a nice puzzle for children that I picked from the book “Moscow Puzzles” (Puzzle #88). See the figure below: Cat has decided to take a nap. He dreams he is encircled by 13 mice: 12 gray and 1 … Continue reading

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Solution to Puzzle #49: The Absent Minded Bank Clerk

I surprisingly got much fewer responses than I expected, and in hindsight, the “two minute” qualifier probably scared people! Congratulations to Muskaan Mittal, a brilliant 9 year old, in being the first one to send the answer. Girish Tutakne and … Continue reading

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Puzzle #49: Two Minute Test – The Absent Minded Bank Clerk

This is a simple gem I found again in a Martin Gardner book – More Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions, Chapter 14, Puzzle #8. I urge all the adults who try this puzzle to put this as a 2-minute challenge for … Continue reading

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Solution to Puzzle #48: The Twelve Matches

Once again, thank you for the overwhelming response, and I was very happy to see that the two correct answers came from two children – from Muskaan Mittal and Ashish Tutakne – well done! A very creative answer from Pankaj … Continue reading

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Puzzle #48: The Twelve Matches

Martin Garder books have an unending supply of great puzzles, and here is another one from Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions, Chapter 12, puzzle #6. Given that a match is one unit long, it is possible to arrange 12 matches on … Continue reading

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Solution to Puzzle #47: Each Digit Only Once

First of all, need to thank Ankita and Mohit again for the puzzle…wonderful one. Got lots and lots of answers, and as it turns out, there are quite a few answers. Proper treatment of the answer requires a video but … Continue reading

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Puzzle #47: Each Digit Only Once

Got this puzzle from my cousin sister (Ankita) and her husband (Mohit) who live in Seattle and are both very smart puzzlers. Found it to be very intriguing and in full transparency, have not solved it yet. So I will … Continue reading

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Solution to Puzzle #46: A Fork in the Road

Got a pretty enthusiastic response to this puzzle, and I am very happy to see that many people tried it with their children. First person to come back with a correct answer was Anirudh Baddepudi from Singapore. Well done Anirudh! … Continue reading

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Puzzle #46: A Classic…Fork in the Road

This is a classic puzzle, many of you have probably done it at some point in time. I was fortunate to have been introduced to this puzzle by none other than Prof. Edgar W. Dijkstra, who taught me a course … Continue reading

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