Mathematics Stack Exchange
Mathematics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [recreational-mathematics]

Mathematics done just for fun, often disjoint from typical school mathematics curriculum. Also see the [puzzle] and [contest-math] tags.

Recreational mathematics is a general term for mathematical problems studied for the sake of pure intellectual curiosity, or just for the enjoyment of thinking about mathematics, without necessarily having any practical application or expectation of deep theoretical results.

Recreational mathematics problems are often easy to understand even for people without an extensive mathematical education, even if the theory they lead to may turn out to be surprisingly deep. Thus, recreational mathematics can serve to attract the curiosity of non-mathematicians and to inspire them to develop their mathematical skills further.

Many typical recreational mathematics problems fall into the fields of discrete mathematics (combinatorics, elementary number theory, etc.), probability theory and geometry. Important contributors to recreational mathematics are Sam Loyd and Martin Gardner.

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Role of a difference in generating symmetric palindromes

An example : 923456781-123456789=799999992 Now divide it by the difference between the terminal digits, i.e. 9-1=8 So 799999992/8=99999999 Another example : 52314780-02314785=49999995/5=99999999 But if we do : 799999992/9=88888888 and…
Pradip Saha
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Slope increasing despite global maximum decreasing.

If we let $s(x)=\sin(x)$, and $s^n(x)$ is the $n$'th iteration of $s(x)$, and $$f(x)=s^n(x)-s^{n}(\frac{\pi}{2})s(x)$$For some constant $n$. As we increase $n$ from $0$, the global maximum increases, but then after $n=16$, it decreases again, and…
Jacob Claassen
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A ferry can carry 20 bus or 32 cars. if the ferry is loaded with 15 bus, then how many cars would be in the ferry?

A ferry can carry 20 bus or 32 cars. if the ferry is loaded with 15 bus, then how many cars would be in the ferry ?
Russel Ahmed
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Find the points hidden on the plane

Inspired by a childrens game. Two points $p_1$ and $p_2$ are hidden at two random locations with real coordinates $(x,y)$ in a coordinate system. A point-like representation of you is placed at the origin. The objective is to find the coordinates of…
Ola
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How Many Squares Can Be Obtained By Drawing 6 Same-Sized Squares?

Question is very understandable. We have 6 of the same-sized squares. By putting/using them together, how many squares can we get at max? For instance; if we would have 2 same-sized squares, we could get 3 squares by putting them from middle and…
Oğuzhan Karataş
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Two cars one $10$mph faster than other start at same point and travel in opposite directions.

In $3$ hours they are $288$ miles apart. Find the rate of both cars. I get wrong answer and can't figure out why. Isn't $\frac{288}{3}=96$ the rate of the first car and $96+10= 106$ the rate of the second car? Why do I have to do this…
HOGTDM
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Mathematical induction proving positive integers

Prove that if $n$ is a positive integer, then $7^n-1$ is a multiple of $6$.
Sbonga
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What is the Purpose (and useful examples) of Expressions?

This idea has been in my head for a while. When in mathematics, or preferably in a practical situation, such as an occupation, do we use expressions? What is the point of an expression if it does not contain an answer - something we can derive and…
PlanetAlexanderProjects
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Determine minimum selling price based on cost and fees

I'm sure that this is a really simple equation but I just can't seem to wrap my brain around it. I am trying to find out a minimum selling price based of the following: Product Cost + Shipping Cost + Fees (% based on Minimum Sales Price) = Minimum…
Austin Colby
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How to figured out a % of an unknown

I suck at math this question will probably be basic for you guys. I work on a commission basis $3$ people in a truck and we split it , 1st person gets $38$% , 2nd gets $37$% , 3rd gets $25$%. I'm trying to figure out if the 2nd person made $151.99$…
user408742
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Find Volume of a Wineglass - a Slice

A spherical wineglass, known diameter, is brim full of wine. What is the width of any vertical parallel slice with a volume of 1/4 of the wine? Assume that the height of the wineglass is known.
D Abbott
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Xmas Summation 2016

Given that $$\begin{aligned} f(1)&=\text{partridge in a pear tree}\\ f(2)&=\text{turtle doves}\\ f(3)&=\text{French hens}\\ f(4)&=\text{calling birds}\\ f(5)&=\text{golden rings}\\ f(6)&=\text{geese a-laying}\\ f(7)&=\text{swans…
Hypergeometricx
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What happens to an integer number if I keep dividing it by 2?

I wrote a while loop that would keep on dividing an integer by $2$, and to stop when the result is equal to $0$, the the last result was $5\times 10^{-324}$. Then $0$. Why is this so ?, the value reached is still divisible by $2$ and should result…
Osama Salama
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Chameleon puzzle

There are many chameleons in the zoo. Before breakfast some of them were red and all the others were blue. After breakfast, half of the red chameleons became blue. After dinner, half of all chameleons which were blue at that time became red,…
gofish
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Is there a finite number of theorems in Mathematics?

I was just thinking, is it possible to prove that certain mathematical field (e.g. linear algebra) has a finite number of theorems? If yes, do all the areas of mathematics have finite number of theorems or are there some areas with infinite number…
Ana S. H.
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