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        riddles >> easy >> Match Equations
        
(Message started by: BNC on Jan 29th, 2003, 1:53am)
Title: Match Equations
Post by BNC on Jan 29th, 2003, 1:53am
In each of the following three, move a single match to form valid equations. The = and + are composed of two matches each.

1. \/|+|=\/

2. \/|+|=\/|

3. \/|+|=|||


// title modified by willywutang 2:54 AM 2/4/2003
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by towr on Jan 29th, 2003, 2:27am
1. [hide]\/+|=\/|[/hide]

2. [hide]\/||-|=\/|[/hide]

3. [hide]\/|-||=|||[/hide]
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by BNC on Jan 29th, 2003, 2:54am
3. 6 - 2 = 3  ???
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by wowbagger on Jan 29th, 2003, 4:02am
3. [hide]\/| / || = |||[/hide]
which comes about by [hide] taking the horizontal match of the "+" and using it as a slash and the remaining vertical match forming a 2 with the match to its right[/hide].
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by BNC on Jan 29th, 2003, 4:52am

on 01/29/03 at 04:02:35, wowbagger wrote:
3. [hide]\/| / || = |||[/hide]
which comes about by [hide] taking the horizontal match of the "+" and using it as a slash and the remaining vertical match forming a 2 with the match to its right[/hide].


Nice! I didn't think if that one...
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by Phil on Jan 29th, 2003, 6:17am
3. But that requires moving two matches. Instead, take one of the ||| match sticks and lay it across the = to make an unequal sign, or angle one of the = matchsticks to make an awkward but readable > sign.
How about this one? (and no touching the equal sign)
V+I=IX
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by wowbagger on Jan 29th, 2003, 6:34am

on 01/29/03 at 06:17:52, Phil wrote:
3. But that requires moving two matches.

No, it doesn't. If the "+" in the original position lies near the "II", but quite far from the "VI", I'd say it works just fine.


Quote:
Instead, take one of the ||| match sticks and lay it across the = to make an unequal sign, or angle one of the = matchsticks to make an awkward but readable > sign.

What you end up with in this case is hardly an equation, is it?


Quote:
How about this one? (and no touching the equal sign)
V+I=IX

Are you expecting [hide] \/ + | = \| /[/hide] or something like that? (I assume the "one match only"-restriction applies)
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by RexJacobus on Jan 31st, 2003, 7:25am
_
l_l

I can't quite get the top match to line up just right but I think you can probably imagine four matches set in a square.  Move one and only one and form a completely different square.

Rex
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by aero_guy on Jan 31st, 2003, 11:43am
hmm, puzzling.  This isn't what you are looking for, but you can break one.

_ _|    |
|_ _|

becomes

|_   |
|_|_|

Heck, I can make as many squares as you like, though there is the pesky leftover parts sticking out.

Other than that I thought of changing perspective when moving it out of plane, but can't quite make that work out to a square.  Requires some more thought.
Title: Re: Some more match riddles
Post by Chronos on Feb 3rd, 2003, 4:24pm
Good one, RexJacobus, but I'm not sure it really belongs in the same thread as all of these others.

Incidentally, I just managed to get three physicists to stare at a square drawn on the board for five minutes.  Fun stuff.
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Brett Danaher on Feb 5th, 2003, 10:06am
I got the equation problems above, but the square made of matchsticks, changed into a different square just by moving one stick....

In any convential sense that is not possible, since once you have three parts of a square the final part has only one possible location.  

So I must not be thinking creatively enough, although I did try thinking in three dimensions.  Any clues or answers from the peanut gallery here?  Did the physicists get it or did they just decide after 5 minutes of trying that it was not as important as proving the Copenhagen interpretation of reality?
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by poseur on Feb 5th, 2003, 11:12am
Think algebra, not geometry.
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Brett Danaher on Feb 5th, 2003, 11:44am
I'm an idiot.  I can't believe I did not see that.  Thanks for the help, though.  


Not that this post will add any value, but since when has that stopped any of us?
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Pietro K.C. on Feb 5th, 2003, 12:10pm
Since no one posted this particular one-match solution to

3. VI + I = III,

here's an alternative:

 _
VI + I = II
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by BNC on Feb 5th, 2003, 12:17pm

on 02/05/03 at 12:10:38, Pietro K.C. wrote:
Since no one posted this particular one-match solution to

3. VI + I = III,

here's an alternative:
<removed>
[/color]


That is what I had in mind.
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by wowbagger on Feb 6th, 2003, 2:06am

on 02/05/03 at 12:10:38, Pietro K.C. wrote:
<the intended solution>

Ouch! It took me over five minutes to figure out why it works! :P
Oh well, I'll blame it on Pietro's artistic abilities. ;)


on 02/05/03 at 11:44:57, Brett Danaher wrote:
Not that this post will add any value, but since when has that stopped any of us?

ditto
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Pietro K.C. on Feb 6th, 2003, 2:34pm
You guys should have seen the performance a few of my friends gave when trying to solve a similar match puzzle. It was something like

VI = II,

the intended solution of which is (don't look if you don't want a hint for #3):
  _
VI = I


They came up with:

* VI != I
* I VI = I (where V is a sort of X for multiplication)
* IVI = I
* /I = III
* my friend's girlfriend tried taking a I from the II and making a gradient sign out of the V, so VI would become "gradient of 1", but couldn't find a convincing explanation of how I would represent the null vector :)
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by BehemothCat on Apr 30th, 2003, 11:37am
Another basic solution is

1. [hide]IV + I = V[/hide]
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Kitty on Apr 30th, 2003, 11:53am
To hide you answers:

[ hide ]    [/ hide ]

Without the spaces. You better do it or Icarus will give the lecture about it  ;D
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Icarus on Apr 30th, 2003, 4:00pm
I don't tell 'em to hide, just HOW to do it! (And point them to the FAQ forum (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=riddles_suggestions) so they can find answers to other questions.)
Title: |Re: Match Equations
Post by mistysakura on May 1st, 2003, 12:59am
Four matches different square (this is definitely not the intended solution)
[hide]   _
\| |  and imagine the leftmost three matches are a square root sign.  sq. root of 1 = 1, which is a perfect square.[/hide]
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by Da_Stoph on Jul 5th, 2003, 10:46pm
im not sure if anyone said this yet, hoqever it doesnt appear that they have. the question merely asks for valid equations so you could simply take one stick in each problem and put it over the equal sign diagonally thus making it not equal. i dont know how to show that here in the post but im sure u all know what im talking about. it may seem like cheating but the question only says valid answers. PeAcE
Title: Re: Match Equations
Post by BNC on Jul 6th, 2003, 4:25am

on 07/05/03 at 22:46:57, Da_Stoph wrote:
im not sure if anyone said this yet, hoqever it doesnt appear that they have. the question merely asks for valid equations so you could simply take one stick in each problem and put it over the equal sign diagonally thus making it not equal. i dont know how to show that here in the post but im sure u all know what im talking about. it may seem like cheating but the question only says valid answers. PeAcE


Look at posts 6,7 in this thread.


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