by Bill Graham

Pigs & Turkeys

Farmer Humphrey raises pigs and turkeys. One day he noticed that the number of heads and wings was equal to the total number of feet. How many pigs and how many turkeys does Farmer Humphrey have?

Find as many solutions to this problem as you can.

Myrtle and Yertle Get Caught Speeding!

Myrtle and Yertle are going to race for thirty feet. Myrtle runs three feet per minute and has to rest for one minute every six feet. Yertle runs five feet per minute and has to rest for three minutes every ten feet. Which one will win the race?

A Question of Balance

In a box there are 27 new white pool cue balls, all look alike. All of them weigh the same except one. It weighs a little more than the rest. All you have is a balance scale but no weights. Show how by comparing sets of balls against each other, you can guarantee to find the heavy ball in only three tries or weighings.

How many additional weighings would be required if you only knew that one ball was different, but not whether it weighed more or less than the others?