Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Final Problem for I Love Math 2020

We will close out this problem solving season with one of my favorite problems from the past.  It was sent to me by a physics professor at Dartmouth (my older brother) who knows I am always on the lookout for good problems for middle school students.

His only regret was that it was not possible to find a single unique solution, but just a range of possible solutions.  My daughter spent some time trying to prove him wrong, and determined that there is indeed a single correct solution (I am very proud of her!)

The Aunt and Her Nephew seems to provide not nearly enough information, but step by step, the clues reveal themselves.  I hope you enjoy pondering this one, and discussing it at home!