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Comments (21)
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Great way to start the morning! Thanks!
posted by Erin on 10-22-2009 at 8:14 am
I’ve always been scared to try my hand at these math squares, but this was surprisingly easy and makes me want to try others. Thanks Sandy!
posted by Ranger J on 10-22-2009 at 8:15 am
Thanks so much, Erin & Ranger J. I created one with all positive numbers and two given values to make it more accessible. I’m very pleased that you enjoyed it!
I’m hoping that, one of these days, we can develop a way to do these types of puzzles interactively on the site.
posted by Sandy Wood on 10-22-2009 at 8:35 am
Being horrible at math, this was a huge boost for me. Thank you!
posted by Steven on 10-22-2009 at 8:38 am
Actually, the way you’ve set up the square, algebraic rules don’t necessarily have to be remembered. All the multiplication and division signs occur before the plus/minus signs. Maybe you’ve got that disclaimer in there for future usage?!?
I guess that’s my way of saying, GREAT QUIZ!! Keep ‘em comin!
posted by J on 10-22-2009 at 8:43 am
pretty easy…..lets try some harder ones!
posted by Ian from Baltimore on 10-22-2009 at 9:15 am
J used the phrase I had in mind, Sandy – keep ‘em comin’!
posted by B on 10-22-2009 at 10:52 am
Yes, J, the instructions were intended to be the same for all of these puzzles. I figured it was best to make them clear on the first one so that you’ll all be used to them when we do another… (which we will, based on how much you folks seem to enjoy this one!)
posted by Sandy Wood on 10-22-2009 at 10:55 am
Yay! Great way to start the morning!
posted by Lindsey on 10-22-2009 at 11:02 am
Nice job Sandy
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 10-22-2009 at 11:12 am
I copied this puzzle down onto a piece of scrap paper to work on it. Would you believe I didn’t notice the “2″ and “7″ you spotted us? It took me quite a while to fill it in without that information, but you’ll be pleased to know that the solution’s unique and can be figured out from just the operations and row and column totals.
posted by Matthew on 10-22-2009 at 11:16 am
The algebraic rules did apply if you look at the second vertical column, but you could solve the puzzle without noticing that. It would make a huge difference if you looked at it as (a/b)+7 vs a/(b+7)
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 10-22-2009 at 11:22 am
The third vertical column does not follow the algebraic rules.
posted by ED on 10-22-2009 at 11:26 am
The third vertical column does not follow the algebraic rules.
Sure it does. When there are no parentheses to tell you differently, you do multiplications and/or divisions in order from left to right (or, in this case, from top to bottom). So, 6 / 2 x 5 -> 3 x 5 -> 15. Standard.
posted by Matthew on 10-22-2009 at 11:44 am
Way to easy. Make harder math puzzles.
posted by Aaron Hansen on 10-22-2009 at 12:12 pm
*too
posted by Aaron Hansen on 10-22-2009 at 12:13 pm
If you like this puzzle then you might like Ken Ken puzzles.
posted by Steve M on 10-22-2009 at 12:23 pm
This was fun….you know what makes it not fun?
When I go to the comments and see people writing stuff like “way too easy, make it harder” or “pretty easy”.
Just say thanks if the only thing that comes to your mind is to brag about how smart you are.
posted by KayTee on 10-22-2009 at 2:50 pm
Whoohoo!! I followed my instincts and got it right on the first try (pure luck). Made me feel so smart that I was beaming sunshine all day. Yay!! :)
posted by Christina on 10-22-2009 at 8:58 pm
Thanks, Christina – what a nice thing to say. You made my day too!
And KayTee? I fully understand your feelings regarding the comments. We have a very diverse audience, and any puzzle I compose is likely to be easy for some readers and hard for others, so “too easy” or “too hard” comments don’t tell me much. Your comment DID tell me a lot, though: that you had FUN. That makes it worthwhile, and I appreciate it very much.
posted by Sandy Wood on 10-22-2009 at 9:36 pm
I’m a pompous ass so I’ll say thanks for the 2 seconds of fun!
posted by Lola on 10-22-2009 at 9:53 pm