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Mathemagic
IT IS FUN!!!You won't believe it, unless you spend time here,how much fun, maths can be.

A few words....

Mathemagic is more of a webjournal than a website.This means that instead of the pages being static,they will continue to change.

This is your journal.You are welcome to contribute puzzles,jokes,essays,anecdotes,views etc.You can send your contributions to my email address.

You can also raise issues,debate,send alternate answers-even incomplete ones,if you feel that your approach is novel but you have been unable to argue it through to the end.


May be we can start with a very small puzzle as a starter.

PUZZLE 1

This hardly involves any mathematics in terms of arithmetic,calculus etc.,but involves logic and lateral thinking

You enter a queer housein which in the front room there are three lamp switches. There is a long corridor after which there is a children's study room where there are three table lamps. You are allowed to walk from the front room to the study room only once;but you should identify all the three switches with the corresponding lamps.Can you do it? If so,how?

You can send your answer to my email address.

ANSWER

{DOUBLE CLICK}

PUZZLE2

Many of you may have come across this problem as well as the solution, as it appears in one of the very famous books called "One,Two,Three...Infinity".I will give the problem first.

A drunkard is leaning against a lamp post outside a bar completely sozzled.He takes off suddenly in one direction, but he is so drunk that his direction changes totally randomly after every step.If he walks totally randomly with every step,and if his each step length is R,what is his expected distance from the lamp post after having taken N steps?

Now the question is :- Can you solve this problem using Euclid's Geometry and elementary principles of probability?

If you have already attempted and want a hint to help you find the solution please click here.

HINT

ANSWER TO PUZZLE2

PUZZLE 3

Just to wrap up this lot of puzzles here is the last one.

A shopkeeper bought a balance{common balance-i.e., with a pair of scales}.His father who set him up was a bit of a miser and gave him a 40kg block of iron and asked him to divide into 4 weights.His customers who come to the shop for purchases may buy any integer weight of goods from 1Kg to 40Kg but demand to be served by weighing only once.

Can you help him to divide this iron block into four portions in such a way that he can satisfy any customer's any purchase by weighing only once with those weights? Here is one more puzzle sent by one of the readers.Write the number (numeral) four on a piece of paper, then write number (numeral) five to the right of the four leaving a space between the two numbers. Now, place a common mathematical symbol/function between the two numbers which produces a number that is greater than four and less than five.I am not going to give the answer to this one as it is very simple actually.

HINT


ANSWER FOR PUZZLE3


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