Math enthusiasts are in for a treat as Britain's most renowned math whiz, Ian Stewart, has crafted three mind-bending puzzles that will put your logical thinking to the test. Can you solve them? Are you cut out for these puzzling slices?
First up is a geometric puzzle that requires some clever cutting and rearranging of shapes. A square grid with three missing corner cells can be covered by 11 tiles, but can you figure out how it's done? Stewart's solution involves creating four identical pieces from the left-hand shape, which can then be fitted back together to form a square in its entirety.
However, Stewart challenges readers to find an alternative way of cutting the left-hand shape into four identical pieces that can be rearranged to make a square. This requires some lateral thinking and problem-solving skills.
Next up is a pizza puzzle that's almost as tasty as it is tricky. Three pizzas are divided among five people in different ways, with some slices being three-fifths of a pie while others are only one-fifth. But what if you could divide each pizza into five equal slices and distribute the pieces evenly among the group? Can you figure out how to do this without leaving anyone out?
The final puzzle requires the solver to think about the concept of extremes in math - we're talking longest, shortest, biggest, smallest, fastest, and so on. Stewart has a new book out called "Reaching for the Extreme" that's all about these superlatives, but he couldn't come up with the ultimate extreme puzzle, so he asked readers to do it instead.
With Stewart's puzzles pushing your logical thinking to its limits, are you ready to put your math skills to the test? If not, don't worry - we'll have the answers coming your way at 5 pm UK time today.
First up is a geometric puzzle that requires some clever cutting and rearranging of shapes. A square grid with three missing corner cells can be covered by 11 tiles, but can you figure out how it's done? Stewart's solution involves creating four identical pieces from the left-hand shape, which can then be fitted back together to form a square in its entirety.
However, Stewart challenges readers to find an alternative way of cutting the left-hand shape into four identical pieces that can be rearranged to make a square. This requires some lateral thinking and problem-solving skills.
Next up is a pizza puzzle that's almost as tasty as it is tricky. Three pizzas are divided among five people in different ways, with some slices being three-fifths of a pie while others are only one-fifth. But what if you could divide each pizza into five equal slices and distribute the pieces evenly among the group? Can you figure out how to do this without leaving anyone out?
The final puzzle requires the solver to think about the concept of extremes in math - we're talking longest, shortest, biggest, smallest, fastest, and so on. Stewart has a new book out called "Reaching for the Extreme" that's all about these superlatives, but he couldn't come up with the ultimate extreme puzzle, so he asked readers to do it instead.
With Stewart's puzzles pushing your logical thinking to its limits, are you ready to put your math skills to the test? If not, don't worry - we'll have the answers coming your way at 5 pm UK time today.
i'm definitely gonna try and figure them out but idk if my brain can handle it lol how do you even think of stuff like this stewart is a genius 
or did he just get really bored with his book writing lmao
. First of all, they're kinda easy peasy if you ask me... I mean, I've seen more challenging brain teasers on my phone's lock screen 
. But hey, if math enthusiasts are stoked about it, that's cool, right? Still, I think the second puzzle is gonna be a bit too obvious - who can't figure out how to distribute slices evenly among 5 people with some being more than others, lol? And what's up with Stewart not coming up with his own ultimate extreme puzzle? Sounds like he's just passing the buck 
I love this! Puzzles like these are so underrated, imo... people always think 'math is boring' but puzzles like these showcase how clever and creative math can be. Stewart's stuff is top notch 
... like anyone's actually gonna figure them out 
. Stewart's just trolling us, I'm sure he already knows the solutions 
. That puzzle with the pizzas sounds like a total math nightmare - how are we supposed to divide slices evenly when there's no even number of people? 
. I'll just wait for the "answers" at 5 pm and pretend I actually tried 
and btw what's with the pizza puzzle? it sounds easy but trust me its not 
. Like, what's the point of 'em? Can't even solve a simple square grid without Stewart's 'genius' solution being a dead giveaway 
. I'll believe it when I see someone actually solving these puzzles without cheating 
.