Amusements in Mathematics Part 21

90.--THE CENTURY PUZZLE.

The problem of expressing the number 100 as a mixed number or fraction, using all the nine digits once, and once only, has, like all these digital puzzles, a fascinating side to it. The merest tyro can by patient trial obtain correct results, and there is a singular pleasure in discovering and recording each new arrangement akin to the delight of the botanist in finding some long-sought plant. It is simply a matter of arranging those nine figures correctly, and yet with the thousands of possible combinations that confront us the task is not so easy as might at first appear, if we are to get a considerable number of results. Here are eleven answers, including the one I gave as a specimen:-- 2148 1752 1428 1578 96 ----, 96 ----, 96 ----, 94 ----, 537 438 357 263 7524 5823 5742 3546 91 ----, 91 ----, 91 ----, 82 ----, 836 647 638 197 7524 5643 69258 81 ----, 81 ----, 3 -----. 396 297 714 Now, as all the fractions necessarily represent whole numbers, it will be convenient to deal with them in the following form: 96 + 4, 94 + 6, 91 + 9, 82 + 18, 81 + 19, and 3 + 97.

With any whole number the digital roots of the fraction that brings it up to 100 will always be of one particular form. Thus, in the case of 96 + 4, one can say at once that if any answers are obtainable, then the roots of both the numerator and the denominator of the fraction will be 6. Examine the first three arrangements given above, and you will find that this is so. In the case of 94 + 6 the roots of the numerator and denominator will be respectively 3--2, in the case of 91 + 9 and of 82 + 18 they will be 9--8, in the case of 81 + 19 they will be 9--9, and in the case of 3 + 97 they will be 3--3. Every fraction that can be employed has, therefore, its particular digital root form, and you are only wasting your time in unconsciously attempting to break through this law.

Every reader will have perceived that certain whole numbers are evidently impossible. Thus, if there is a 5 in the whole number, there will also be a nought or a second 5 in the fraction, which are barred by the conditions. Then multiples of 10, such as 90 and 80, cannot of course occur, nor can the whole number conclude with a 9, like 89 and 79, because the fraction, equal to 11 or 21, will have 1 in the last place, and will therefore repeat a figure. Whole numbers that repeat a figure, such as 88 and 77, are also clearly useless. These cases, as I have said, are all obvious to every reader. But when I declare that such combinations as 98 + 2, 92 + 8, 86 + 14, 83 + 17, 74 + 26, etc., etc., are to be at once dismissed as impossible, the reason is not so evident, and I unfortunately cannot spare s.p.a.ce to explain it.

But when all those combinations have been struck out that are known to be impossible, it does not follow that all the remaining "possible forms" will actually work. The elemental form may be right enough, but there are other and deeper considerations that creep in to defeat our attempts. For example, 98 + 2 is an impossible combination, because we are able to say at once that there is no possible form for the digital roots of the fraction equal to 2. But in the case of 97 + 3 there is a possible form for the digital roots of the fraction, namely, 6--5, and it is only on further investigation that we are able to determine that this form cannot in practice be obtained, owing to curious considerations. The working is greatly simplified by a process of elimination, based on such considerations as that certain multiplications produce a repet.i.tion of figures, and that the whole number cannot be from 12 to 23 inclusive, since in every such case sufficiently small denominators are not available for forming the fractional part.

91.--MORE MIXED FRACTIONS.

The point of the present puzzle lies in the fact that the numbers 15 and 18 are not capable of solution. There is no way of determining this without trial. Here are answers for the ten possible numbers:-- 9+5472/1368 = 13; 9+6435/1287 = 14; 12+3576/894 = 16; 6+13258/947 = 20; 15+9432/786 = 27; 24+9756/813 = 36; 27+5148/396 = 40; 65+1892/473 = 69; 59+3614/278 = 72; 75+3648/192 = 94.

I have only found the one arrangement for each of the numbers 16, 20, and 27; but the other numbers are all capable of being solved in more than one way. As for 15 and 18, though these may be easily solved as a simple fraction, yet a "mixed fraction" a.s.sumes the presence of a whole number; and though my own idea for dodging the conditions is the following, where the fraction is both complex and mixed, it will be fairer to keep exactly to the form indicated:-- 3952 ---- 746 = 15; 3 ---- 1 5742 ---- 638 = 18. 9 ---- 1 I have proved the possibility of solution for all numbers up to 100, except 1, 2, 3, 4, 15, and 18. The first three are easily shown to be impossible. I have also noticed that numbers whose digital root is 8--such as 26, 35, 44, 53, etc.--seem to lend themselves to the greatest number of answers. For the number 26 alone I have recorded no fewer than twenty-five different arrangements, and I have no doubt that there are many more.

92.--DIGITAL SQUARE NUMBERS.

So far as I know, there are no published tables of square numbers that go sufficiently high to be available for the purposes of this puzzle. The lowest square number containing all the nine digits once, and once only, is 139,854,276, the square of 11,826. The highest square number under the same conditions is, 923,187,456, the square of 30,384.

93.--THE MYSTIC ELEVEN.

Most people know that if the sum of the digits in the odd places of any number is the same as the sum of the digits in the even places, then the number is divisible by 11 without remainder. Thus in 896743012 the odd digits, 20468, add up 20, and the even digits, 1379, also add up 20. Therefore the number may be divided by 11. But few seem to know that if the difference between the sum of the odd and the even digits is 11, or a multiple of 11, the rule equally applies. This law enables us to find, with a very little trial, that the smallest number containing nine of the ten digits (calling nought a digit) that is divisible by 11 is 102,347,586, and the highest number possible, 987,652,413.

94.--THE DIGITAL CENTURY.

There is a very large number of different ways in which arithmetical signs may be placed between the nine digits, arranged in numerical order, so as to give an expression equal to 100. In fact, unless the reader investigated the matter very closely, he might not suspect that so many ways are possible. It was for this reason that I added the condition that not only must the fewest possible signs be used, but also the fewest possible strokes. In this way we limit the problem to a single solution, and arrive at the simplest and therefore (in this case) the best result.

Just as in the case of magic squares there are methods by which we may write down with the greatest ease a large number of solutions, but not all the solutions, so there are several ways in which we may quickly arrive at dozens of arrangements of the "Digital Century," without finding all the possible arrangements. There is, in fact, very little principle in the thing, and there is no certain way of demonstrating that we have got the best possible solution. All I can say is that the arrangement I shall give as the best is the best I have up to the present succeeded in discovering. I will give the reader a few interesting specimens, the first being the solution usually published, and the last the best solution that I know.

Signs. Strokes. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + (8 9) = 100 ( 9 18) - (1 2) - 3 - 4 - 5 + (6 7) + (8 9) = 100 (12 20) 1 + (2 3) + (4 5) - 6 + 7 + (8 9) = 100 (11 21) (1 + 2 - 3 - 4)(5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9) = 100 ( 9 12) 1 + (2 3) + 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 =100 (8 16) (1 2) + 34 + 56 + 7 - 8 + 9 = 100 (7 13) 12 + 3 - 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100 (6 11) 123 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 + 8 - 9 = 100 (6 7) 123 + 4 - 5 + 67 - 8 - 9 = 100 (4 6) 123 + 45 - 67 + 8 - 9 = 100 (4 6) 123 - 45 - 67 + 89 = 100 (3 4) It will be noticed that in the above I have counted the bracket as one sign and two strokes. The last solution is singularly simple, and I do not think it will ever be beaten.

95.--THE FOUR SEVENS.

The way to write four sevens with simple arithmetical signs so that they represent 100 is as follows:-- 7 7 -- -- = 100. .7 .7 Of course the fraction, 7 over decimal 7, equals 7 divided by 7/10, which is the same as 70 divided by 7, or 10. Then 10 multiplied by 10 is 100, and there you are! It will be seen that this solution applies equally to any number whatever that you may subst.i.tute for 7.

96.--THE DICE NUMBERS.

The sum of all the numbers that can be formed with any given set of four different figures is always 6,666 multiplied by the sum of the four figures. Thus, 1, 2, 3, 4 add up 10, and ten times 6,666 is 66,660. Now, there are thirty-five different ways of selecting four figures from the seven on the dice--remembering the 6 and 9 trick. The figures of all these thirty-five groups add up to 600. Therefore 6,666 multiplied by 600 gives us 3,999,600 as the correct answer.

Let us discard the dice and deal with the problem generally, using the nine digits, but excluding nought. Now, if you were given simply the sum of the digits--that is, if the condition were that you could use any four figures so long as they summed to a given amount--then we have to remember that several combinations of four digits will, in many cases, make the same sum.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 1 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 11 12 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 11 11 9 8 6 5 3 2 1 1 Here the top row of numbers gives all the possible sums of four different figures, and the bottom row the number of different ways in which each sum may be made. For example 13 may be made in three ways: 1237, 1246, and 1345. It will be found that the numbers in the bottom row add up to 126, which is the number of combinations of nine figures taken four at a time. From this table we may at once calculate the answer to such a question as this: What is the sum of all the numbers composed of our different digits (nought excluded) that add up to 14? Multiply 14 by the number beneath t in the table, 5, and multiply the result by 6,666, and you will have the answer. It follows that, to know the sum of all the numbers composed of four different digits, if you multiply all the pairs in the two rows and then add the results together, you will get 2,520, which, multiplied by 6,666, gives the answer 16,798,320.

The following general solution for any number of digits will doubtless interest readers. Let n represent number of digits, then 5 (10^n - 1) 8! divided by (9 - n)! equals the required sum. Note that 0! equals 1. This may be reduced to the following practical rule: Multiply together 4 7 6 5 ... to (n - 1) factors; now add (n + 1) ciphers to the right, and from this result subtract the same set of figures with a single cipher to the right. Thus for n = 4 (as in the case last mentioned), 4 7 6 = 168. Therefore 16,800,000 less 1,680 gives us 16,798,320 in another way.

97.--THE SPOT ON THE TABLE.

The ordinary schoolboy would correctly treat this as a quadratic equation. Here is the actual arithmetic. Double the product of the two distances from the walls. This gives us 144, which is the square of 12. The sum of the two distances is 17. If we add these two numbers, 12 and 17, together, and also subtract one from the other, we get the two answers that 29 or 5 was the radius, or half-diameter, of the table. Consequently, the full diameter was 58 in. or 10 in. But a table of the latter dimensions would be absurd, and not at all in accordance with the ill.u.s.tration. Therefore the table must have been 58 in. in diameter. In this case the spot was on the edge nearest to the corner of the room--to which the boy was pointing. If the other answer were admissible, the spot would be on the edge farthest from the corner of the room.

98.--ACADEMIC COURTESIES.

There must have been ten boys and twenty girls. The number of bows girl to girl was therefore 380, of boy to boy 90, of girl with boy 400, and of boys and girls to teacher 30, making together 900, as stated. It will be remembered that it was not said that the teacher himself returned the bows of any child.

99.--THE THIRTY-THREE PEARLS.

The value of the large central pearl must have been 3,000. The pearl at one end (from which they increased in value by 100) was 1,400; the pearl at the other end, 600.

100.--THE LABOURER'S PUZZLE.

The man said, "I am going twice as deep," not "as deep again." That is to say, he was still going twice as deep as he had gone already, so that when finished the hole would be three times its present depth. Then the answer is that at present the hole is 3 ft. 6 in. deep and the man 2 ft. 4 in. above ground. When completed the hole will be 10 ft. 6 in. deep, and therefore the man will then be 4 ft. 8 in. below the surface, or twice the distance that he is now above ground.

101.--THE TRUSSES OF HAY.

Add together the ten weights and divide by 4, and we get 289 lbs. as the weight of the five trusses together. If we call the five trusses in the order of weight A, B, C, D, and E, the lightest being A and the heaviest E, then the lightest, no lbs., must be the weight of A and B; and the next lightest, 112 lbs., must be the weight of A and C. Then the two heaviest, D and E, must weigh 121 lbs., and C and E must weigh 120 lbs. We thus know that A, B, D, and E weigh together 231 lbs., which, deducted from 289 lbs. (the weight of the five trusses), gives us the weight of C as 58 lbs. Now, by mere subtraction, we find the weight of each of the five trusses--54 lbs., 56 lbs., 58 lbs., 59 lbs., and 62 lbs. respectively.

102.--MR. GUBBINS IN A FOG.

The candles must have burnt for three hours and three-quarters. One candle had one-sixteenth of its total length left and the other four-sixteenths.

103.--PAINTING THE LAMP-POSTS.

Pat must have painted six more posts than Tim, no matter how many lamp-posts there were. For example, suppose twelve on each side; then Pat painted fifteen and Tim nine. If a hundred on each side, Pat painted one hundred and three, and Tim only ninety-seven 104.--CATCHING THE THIEF.

The constable took thirty steps. In the same time the thief would take forty-eight, which, added to his start of twenty-seven, carried him seventy-five steps. This distance would be exactly equal to thirty steps of the constable.

105.--THE PARISH COUNCIL ELECTION, The voter can vote for one candidate in 23 ways, for two in 253 ways, for three in 1,771, for four in 8,855, for five in 33,649, for six in 100,947, for seven in 245,157, for eight in 490,314, and for nine candidates in 817,190 different ways. Add these together, and we get the total of 1,698,159 ways of voting.

106.--THE MUDDLETOWN ELECTION.

The numbers of votes polled respectively by the Liberal, the Conservative, the Independent, and the Socialist were 1,553, 1,535, 1,407, and 978 All that was necessary was to add the sum of the three majorities (739) to the total poll of 5,473 (making 6,212) and divide by 4, which gives us 1,553 as the poll of the Liberal. Then the polls of the other three candidates can, of course, be found by deducting the successive majorities from the last-mentioned number.

107.--THE SUFFRAGISTS' MEETING.

Eighteen were present at the meeting and eleven left. If twelve had gone, two-thirds would have retired. If only nine had gone, the meeting would have lost half its members.

108.--THE LEAP-YEAR LADIES.

The correct and only answer is that 11,616 ladies made proposals of marriage. Here are all the details, which the reader can check for himself with the original statements. Of 10,164 spinsters, 8,085 married bachelors, 627 married widowers, 1,221 were declined by bachelors, and 231 declined by widowers. Of the 1,452 widows, 1,155 married bachelors, and 297 married widowers. No widows were declined. The problem is not difficult, by algebra, when once we have succeeded in correctly stating it.

109.--THE GREAT SCRAMBLE.

The smallest number of sugar plums that will fulfil the conditions is 26,880. The five boys obtained respectively: Andrew, 2,863; Bob, 6,335; Charlie, 2,438; David, 10,294; Edgar, 4,950. There is a little trap concealed in the words near the end, "one-fifth of the same," that seems at first sight to upset the whole account of the affair. But a little thought will show that the words could only mean "one-fifth of five-eighths", the fraction last mentioned--that is, one-eighth of the three-quarters that Bob and Andrew had last acquired.

110.--THE ABBOT'S PUZZLE.

The only answer is that there were 5 men, 25 women, and 70 children. There were thus 100 persons in all, 5 times as many women as men, and as the men would together receive 15 bushels, the women 50 bushels, and the children 35 bushels, exactly 100 bushels would be distributed.

111.--REAPING THE CORN.

The whole field must have contained 46.626 square rods. The side of the central square, left by the farmer, is 4.8284 rods, so it contains 23.313 square rods. The area of the field was thus something more than a quarter of an acre and less than one-third; to be more precise, .2914 of an acre.

112.--A PUZZLING LEGACY.

As the share of Charles falls in through his death, we have merely to divide the whole hundred acres between Alfred and Benjamin in the proportion of one-third to one-fourth--that is in the proportion of four-twelfths to three-twelfths, which is the same as four to three. Therefore Alfred takes four-sevenths of the hundred acres and Benjamin three-sevenths.

113.--THE TORN NUMBER.

The other number that answers all the requirements of the puzzle is 9,801. If we divide this in the middle into two numbers and add them together we get 99, which, multiplied by itself, produces 9,801. It is true that 2,025 may be treated in the same way, only this number is excluded by the condition which requires that no two figures should be alike.

The general solution is curious. Call the number of figures in each half of the torn label n. Then, if we add 1 to each of the exponents of the prime factors (other than 3) of 10^n - 1 (1 being regarded as a factor with the constant exponent, 1), their product will be the number of solutions. Thus, for a label of six figures, n = 3. The factors of 10^n - 1 are 1 37 (not considering the 3), and the product of 2 2 = 4, the number of solutions. This always includes the special cases 98 - 01, 00 - 01, 998 - 01, 000 - 001, etc. The solutions are obtained as follows:--Factorize 10 - 1 in all possible ways, always keeping the powers of 3 together, thus, 37 27, 999 1. Then solve the equation 37x = 27y + 1. Here x = 19 and y = 26. Therefore, 19 37 = 703, the square of which gives one label, 494,209. A complementary solution (through 27x = 37x + 1) can at once be found by 10^n - 703 = 297, the square of which gives 088,209 for second label. (These non-significant noughts to the left must be included, though they lead to peculiar cases like 00238 - 04641 = 4879, where 0238 - 4641 would not work.) The special case 999 1 we can write at once 998,001, according to the law shown above, by adding nines on one half and noughts on the other, and its complementary will be 1 preceded by five noughts, or 000001. Thus we get the squares of 999 and 1. These are the four solutions.

114.--CURIOUS NUMBERS.

The three smallest numbers, in addition to 48, are 1,680, 57,120, and 1,940,448. It will be found that 1,681 and 841, 57,121 and 28,561, 1,940,449 and 970,225, are respectively the squares of 41 and 29, 239 and 169, 1,393 and 985.

115.--A PRINTER'S ERROR.

The answer is that 2^5 .9^2 is the same as 2592, and this is the only possible solution to the puzzle.

116.--THE CONVERTED MISER.

As we are not told in what year Mr. Jasper Bullyon made the generous distribution of his acc.u.mulated wealth, but are required to find the lowest possible amount of money, it is clear that we must look for a year of the most favourable form.

There are four cases to be considered--an ordinary year with fifty-two Sundays and with fifty-three Sundays, and a leap-year with fifty-two and fifty-three Sundays respectively. Here are the lowest possible amounts in each case:-- 313 weekdays, 52 Sundays 112,055 312 weekdays, 53 Sundays 19,345 314 weekdays, 52 Sundays No solution possible. 313 weekdays, 53 Sundays 69,174 The lowest possible amount, and therefore the correct answer, is 19,345, distributed in an ordinary year that began on a Sunday. The last year of this kind was 1911. He would have paid 53 on every day of the year, or 62 on every weekday, with 1 left over, as required, in the latter event.

117.--A FENCE PROBLEM.

Though this puzzle presents no great difficulty to any one possessing a knowledge of algebra, it has perhaps rather interesting features.

Seeing, as one does in the ill.u.s.tration, just one corner of the proposed square, one is scarcely prepared for the fact that the field, in order to comply with the conditions, must contain exactly 501,760 acres, the fence requiring the same number of rails. Yet this is the correct answer, and the only answer, and if that gentleman in Iowa carries out his intention, his field will be twenty-eight miles long on each side, and a little larger than the county of Westmorland. I am not aware that any limit has ever been fixed to the size of a "field," though they do not run so large as this in Great Britain. Still, out in Iowa, where my correspondent resides, they do these things on a very big scale. I have, however, reason to believe that when he finds the sort of task he has set himself, he will decide to abandon it; for if that cow decides to roam to fresh woods and pastures new, the milkmaid may have to start out a week in advance in order to obtain the morning's milk.

Here is a little rule that will always apply where the length of the rail is half a pole. Multiply the number of rails in a hurdle by four, and the result is the exact number of miles in the side of a square field containing the same number of acres as there are rails in the complete fence. Thus, with a one-rail fence the field is four miles square; a two-rail fence gives eight miles square; a three-rail fence, twelve miles square; and so on, until we find that a seven-rail fence multiplied by four gives a field of twenty-eight miles square. In the case of our present problem, if the field be made smaller, then the number of rails will exceed the number of acres; while if the field be made larger, the number of rails will be less than the acres of the field.

118.--CIRCLING THE SQUARES.

Though this problem might strike the novice as being rather difficult, it is, as a matter of fact, quite easy, and is made still easier by inserting four out of the ten numbers.

First, it will be found that squares that are diametrically opposite have a common difference. For example, the difference between the square of 14 and the square of 2, in the diagram, is 192; and the difference between the square of 16 and the square of 8 is also 192. This must be so in every case. Then it should be remembered that the difference between squares of two consecutive numbers is always twice the smaller number plus 1, and that the difference between the squares of any two numbers can always be expressed as the difference of the numbers multiplied by their sum. Thus the square of 5 (25) less the square of 4 (16) equals (2 4) + 1, or 9; also, the square of 7 (49) less the square of 3 (9) equals (7 + 3) (7 - 3), or 40.

Now, the number 192, referred to above, may be divided into five different pairs of even factors: 2 96, 4 48, 6 32, 8 24, and 12 16, and these divided by 2 give us, 1 48, 2 24, 3 16, 4 12, and 6 8. The difference and sum respectively of each of these pairs in turn produce 47, 49; 22, 26; 13, 19; 8, 16; and 2, 14. These are the required numbers, four of which are already placed. The six numbers that have to be added may be placed in just six different ways, one of which is as follows, reading round the circle clockwise: 16, 2, 49, 22, 19, 8, 14, 47, 26, 13.

I will just draw the reader's attention to one other little point. In all circles of this kind, the difference between diametrically opposite numbers increases by a certain ratio, the first numbers (with the exception of a circle of 6) being 4 and 6, and the others formed by doubling the next preceding but one. Thus, in the above case, the first difference is 2, and then the numbers increase by 4, 6, 8, and 12. Of course, an infinite number of solutions may be found if we admit fractions. The number of squares in a circle of this kind must, however, be of the form 4n + 6; that is, it must be a number composed of 6 plus a multiple of 4.

119.--RACKBRANE'S LITTLE LOSS.

The professor must have started the game with thirteen shillings, Mr. Potts with four shillings, and Mrs. Potts with seven shillings.

120.--THE FARMER AND HIS SHEEP.

The farmer had one sheep only! If he divided this sheep (which is best done by weight) into two parts, making one part two-thirds and the other part one-third, then the difference between these two numbers is the same as the difference between their squares--that is, one-third. Any two fractions will do if the denominator equals the sum of the two numerators.

121.--HEADS OR TAILS.

Crooks must have lost, and the longer he went on the more he would lose. In two tosses he would be left with three-quarters of his money, in four tosses with nine-sixteenths of his money, in six tosses with twenty-seven sixty-fourths of his money, and so on. The order of the wins and losses makes no difference, so long as their number is in the end equal.

122.--THE SEE-SAW PUZZLE.

The boy's weight must have been about 39.79 lbs. A brick weighed 3 lbs. Therefore 16 bricks weighed 48 lbs. and 11 bricks 33 lbs. Multiply 48 by 33 and take the square root.

123.--A LEGAL DIFFICULTY.

It was clearly the intention of the deceased to give the son twice as much as the mother, or the daughter half as much as the mother. Therefore the most equitable division would be that the mother should take two-sevenths, the son four-sevenths, and the daughter one-seventh.

124.--A QUESTION OF DEFINITION.

There is, of course, no difference in area between a mile square and a square mile. But there may be considerable difference in shape. A mile square can be no other shape than square; the expression describes a surface of a certain specific size and shape. A square mile may be of any shape; the expression names a unit of area, but does not prescribe any particular shape.

125.--THE MINERS' HOLIDAY.

Bill Harris must have spent thirteen shillings and sixpence, which would be three shillings more than the average for the seven men--half a guinea.

126.--SIMPLE MULTIPLICATION.

The number required is 3,529,411,764,705,882, which may be multiplied by 3 and divided by 2, by the simple expedient of removing the 3 from one end of the row to the other. If you want a longer number, you can increase this one to any extent by repeating the sixteen figures in the same order.

127.--SIMPLE DIVISION.

Subtract every number in turn from every other number, and we get 358 (twice), 716, 1,611, 1,253, and 895. Now, we see at a glance that, as 358 equals 2 179, the only number that can divide in every case without a remainder will be 179. On trial we find that this is such a divisor. Therefore, 179 is the divisor we want, which always leaves a remainder 164 in the case of the original numbers given.

128.--A PROBLEM IN SQUARES.

The sides of the three boards measure 31 in., 41 in., and 49 in. The common difference of area is exactly five square feet. Three numbers whose squares are in A.P., with a common difference of 7, are 113/120, 337/120, 463/120; and with a common difference of 13 are 80929/19380, 106921/19380, and 127729/19380. In the case of whole square numbers the common difference will always be divisible by 24, so it is obvious that our squares must be fractional. Readers should now try to solve the case where the common difference is 23. It is rather a hard nut.

129.--THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS.

Any number (not itself a square number) may be multiplied by a square that will give a product 1 less than another square. The given number must not itself be a square, because a square multiplied by a square produces a square, and no square plus 1 can be a square. My remarks throughout must be understood to apply to whole numbers, because fractional soldiers are not of much use in war.

Now, of all the numbers from 2 to 99 inclusive, 61 happens to be the most awkward one to work, and the lowest possible answer to our puzzle is that Harold's army consisted of 3,119,882,982,860,264,400 men. That is, there would be 51,145,622,669,840,400 men (the square of 226,153,980) in each of the sixty-one squares. Add one man (Harold), and they could then form one large square with 1,766,319,049 men on every side. The general problem, of which this is a particular case, is known as the "Pellian Equation"--apparently because Pell neither first propounded the question nor first solved it! It was issued as a challenge by Fermat to the English mathematicians of his day. It is readily solved by the use of continued fractions.

Next to 61, the most difficult number under 100 is 97, where 97 6,377,352 + 1 = a square.

The reason why I a.s.sumed that there must be something wrong with the figures in the chronicle is that we can confidently say that Harold's army did not contain over three trillion men! If this army (not to mention the Normans) had had the whole surface of the earth (sea included) on which to encamp, each man would have had slightly more than a quarter of a square inch of s.p.a.ce in which to move about! Put another way: Allowing one square foot of standing-room per man, each small square would have required all the s.p.a.ce allowed by a globe three times the diameter of the earth.

130.--THE SCULPTOR'S PROBLEM.

A little thought will make it clear that the answer must be fractional, and that in one case the numerator will be greater and in the other case less than the denominator. As a matter of fact, the height of the larger cube must be 8/7 ft., and of the smaller 3/7 ft., if we are to have the answer in the smallest possible figures. Here the lineal measurement is 11/7 ft.--that is, 1+4/7 ft. What are the cubic contents of the two cubes? First 8/7 3/7 8/7 = 512/343, and secondly 3/7 3/7 3/7 = 27/343. Add these together and the result is 539/343, which reduces to 11/7 or 1+4/7 ft. We thus see that the answers in cubic feet and lineal feet are precisely the same.

The germ of the idea is to be found in the works of Diophantus of Alexandria, who wrote about the beginning of the fourth century. These fractional numbers appear in triads, and are obtained from three generators, a, b, c, where a is the largest and c the smallest.