Magic Math

Are You Puzzled?

If your child thinks math is so dreary, challenge him fyou've got sharp eyes or a way with words,
with these puzzles - which are pure fun.
challenge yourself to this Chanukah puzzle.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
ApieTree Editor

#1) Can you guess which group of
numbers, when added together, contains
the greater sum?

123456789
12345678
1234567
123456
12345
1234
123
12
1

or

987654321
87654321
7654321
654321
54321
4321

321
21
1

#2) In the year 2,200 B.C.E., the first
"Magic Square" was found in China.
Written on the back of a tortoise shell,
the puzzle revealed a square whose num-
bers equaled the same amount whether
added horizontally, vertically or diago-
nally.
Some came to believe that magic
squares held secret powers, so the
squares often were inscribed on amulets,
to provide "good luck."
More logical minds also have been
attracted to magic squares; Benjamin
Franklin liked to create them for fun.
Try your hand at making a magic square
(and if it's too easy, make certain that the
numbers in each corner also add up to
the same sum). Here's an example of one
magic square:

A) Take an ordinary 52-card deck.
B) In "random order, turn over cards.
Imagine that the first card is a 3. Set the
3 down, face up, then place on top of it
enough cards to make a pile of 10. Suits
and numbers on the cards atop the 3 do
not matter. Simply place down the 3,
then count 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 cards and
stop. Continue doing this, making sepa-
rate piles, until you have used all cards
in the deck. Piles should contain more
than 1 card, so simply place face cards
and 10s back in the deck to be used for
other piles. The ace counts as 1.
C) When you have made as many
piles as the deck allows (DO NOT
include any piles which cannot be com-
pleted to 10; hold any unused cards in
your hand), turn all the piles over, facing
down. Now, ask a friend to point to any
three piles. Pick up the rest of the piles
and keep the cards in your hand. Ask
your friend to turn over the top cards on
two piles, leaving one still face down.
You are now about to reveal to your
friend exactly what the hidden card is.
D) In your hand you hold all the
cards which could not be used to make
piles of 10, as well as the piles that your
friend did not select among his three.
Count out the number revealed by your
friend's top two cards. (Say he uncovered
a 2 and an 8; you would count out 10
cards). Next, count out 19 more cards
(this number will never change).
Finally, count out the number of cards
remaining in your hand. This is the
number that also will appear on the hid-
den top card.

#5) How is it that 6 x 5 = 8 x 4?

Chanukah Word Search

Can you find the following words in this puzzle? They may be horizontal or
diagonal, backwards or forwards.

Antiochus
Gelt
Lights
Oil

N

Dreidel
Holy Temple
Menorah
Eight Nights

Judah Maccabee

Miracle

T H W N J I Y R U V XT'AF

Z E E N Y U S C I T K HI-1MS

H

U Y D U D I UNZBFI F J

APR F U A D T H E P S H Y L

.RDLIF AHR

O

I

CZ I BE

0 E L P MET Y L 011DI K

NZ MCI Y A N Q Y K WI G

E

Q V WECBGDMEHTJ S

MT V Q A C T LP R T H X

L

A

L

C B F Z A Q R D N O R P V A

AI W N S B R J II VP W Q Y

T CGCNIE A G L E K C U H

G

M I R A C L E

DYE H J EII

E

MT P T T N Z C M NI R M X L

N

I W E S S WEB TOP T

#6) Is it possible that you have 11 fin-
gers?

•I I sclup cpuem

atp uo sia2ull DA9 snid cptrell Duo sl -up

438
951
276

— 9 L '6 ‘01 LIA10p 211p1MOD 'pun!
Duo uo *Id alp tpl:A1 "MS MON •spurg
yoq do m14 ;sr. 1! asmoD Jo (9#

#3) What is triskaidekaphobia?

x 8 pre

#4) Here is an amazing card trick, based
on mathematical principles, which even
the most brilliant math minds have been
able to explain. See if you can figure it
out!

(001 `()
= S x 9 (c#

I

laciumuaip Jo JEDI

69t9L9T80( 1 lEnbQ Lfic)g (1#
:S21.27X1SNV

Z

•

d

O

4 A 0

d

H 5 d

f

a

r

S

p,

If

EIZN

I-1

1

V I X A fl

1

J

A N J If 7,

A

N

H 1 N

www
th.14

12/26
2003

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