Can You Solve It? Maybe Not.
A math enthusiast recently set a trio of puzzles designed to test your spatial reasoning skills. First up, we have Bonnie Tiler. A square grid with three missing corners is given alongside an image of a tile made from three consecutive cells in a line. The question posed is whether it's possible to cover the entire grid using 11 tiles - and if so, how.
A closer inspection reveals that this puzzle may be more challenging than initially thought. Covering every single cell would require 33 tiles in total, which just doesn't add up given the limited supply of 11 tiles. Each tile covers one blue, one yellow, and one red cell, meaning a covering solution wouldn't be feasible due to an imbalance of colours.
Moving on to Assembly Needed, we're presented with a shape that can be cut into four identical pieces using only black lines. These pieces then need to be rearranged to form another square. The question is whether there's another way to achieve this puzzle.
Fortunately, the answer is yes. If you take a closer look at the image, you'll notice an alternative method of cutting and reassembling the shape into four identical pieces. It might require some creative thinking, but it can be done.
Lastly, we have Pizza Party. Three pizzas are divided among five people, with varying amounts allocated to each individual. The puzzle asks what's the minimum number of pieces needed so that each person gets an equal share.
The solution? Ten pieces will do the trick. Each piece corresponds to half and a tenth of the entire pizza, ensuring everyone receives a fair slice. This might seem like a simple math problem, but it actually requires some careful thinking about how to divide the pizzas to achieve equal shares.
Thanks to Ian Stewart for sharing these challenging puzzles with us. His new book Reaching for the Extreme is set to be released on February 12 and can be pre-ordered now at the Guardian Bookshop.
A math enthusiast recently set a trio of puzzles designed to test your spatial reasoning skills. First up, we have Bonnie Tiler. A square grid with three missing corners is given alongside an image of a tile made from three consecutive cells in a line. The question posed is whether it's possible to cover the entire grid using 11 tiles - and if so, how.
A closer inspection reveals that this puzzle may be more challenging than initially thought. Covering every single cell would require 33 tiles in total, which just doesn't add up given the limited supply of 11 tiles. Each tile covers one blue, one yellow, and one red cell, meaning a covering solution wouldn't be feasible due to an imbalance of colours.
Moving on to Assembly Needed, we're presented with a shape that can be cut into four identical pieces using only black lines. These pieces then need to be rearranged to form another square. The question is whether there's another way to achieve this puzzle.
Fortunately, the answer is yes. If you take a closer look at the image, you'll notice an alternative method of cutting and reassembling the shape into four identical pieces. It might require some creative thinking, but it can be done.
Lastly, we have Pizza Party. Three pizzas are divided among five people, with varying amounts allocated to each individual. The puzzle asks what's the minimum number of pieces needed so that each person gets an equal share.
The solution? Ten pieces will do the trick. Each piece corresponds to half and a tenth of the entire pizza, ensuring everyone receives a fair slice. This might seem like a simple math problem, but it actually requires some careful thinking about how to divide the pizzas to achieve equal shares.
Thanks to Ian Stewart for sharing these challenging puzzles with us. His new book Reaching for the Extreme is set to be released on February 12 and can be pre-ordered now at the Guardian Bookshop.
. The Bonnie Tiler grid one has me stumped, I think covering every cell would need more than just 11 tiles, maybe even double that? 
The color imbalance is a major hurdle there.
, you gotta admire the creativity needed to figure out that alternative cut. It's like solving a puzzle within a puzzle! 
. Ten pieces really do make sense for dividing up those slices evenly.
. And I love how Ian Stewart shares these mind-benders in his new book - can't wait to get my hands on it! 
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The Bonnie Tiler puzzle is like, totally mind-bending - I'm not surprised we're stumped on covering the entire grid with just 11 tiles. But hey, it's all about trying new approaches and having fun with maths, right? 
And can you believe there's an alternative way to cut up that Assembly Needed puzzle? Genius! 
Meanwhile, Pizza Party might seem simple at first, but I love how it shows us that even the most straightforward problems need some creative thinking. 10 pieces of pizza for a fair share - genius, right? 
. Maybe someone's gonna come along and figure out some crazy way to make it work lol 
But still, gotta give props to whoever figured it out and shared it with us! 