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Holiday Puzzle 2015 #12 – Counting Triangles

December 12th, 2015 by John Lehet

ShapeGame5PDFToday’s puzzle is another Counting Shapes (like day 2 of this years Holiday Puzzles).  As with many puzzles, the concept of Counting Shapes puzzles is very straight-forward and getting an answer is very easy, but getting the correct answer is a bit more challenging.

In today’s puzzles, you will be presented with a collection of triangles. All you need to do is count how many triangles are in each picture. I suggest that you take your time and count twice, as it is easy to miss a few on the first count.

Below is an interactive version with three puzzles. Enter your count in each of the three boxes and then select check. You will not be told which of the three (if any) are correct, only if all three are correct. The first puzzle is easier than the other two, but still take your time and good luck! Click here for a download of the puzzle.

 

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! If you get stuck and would like the solutions, use the “Contact Us” button and we will reply.  Take your time and see if you can get all three correct on the first attempt!

In order to use the interactive puzzle, you need to have adobe flash enabled.

Holiday Puzzle 2015 #2 – Counting Rectangles

December 2nd, 2015 by John Lehet

Today’s puzzle is a Counting Shapes puzzle that was very popular in last years Holiday Puzzles.  As with many puzzles, the concept of Counting Shapes puzzles is very straight-forward and getting an answer is very easy, but getting the correct answer is a bit more challenging.

In today’s puzzles, you will be presented with a collection of rectangles. All you need to do is count how many rectangles are in each picture. I suggest that you take your time and count twice, as it is easy to miss a few on the first count.

Below is an interactive version with three puzzles. Enter your count in each of the three boxes and then select check. You will not be told which of the three (if any) are correct, only if all three are correct. The first puzzle is easier than the other two, but still take your time and good luck! Click here for a pdf version of the puzzle.

 

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! If you get stuck and would like the solutions, use the “Contact Us” button and we will reply.  Take your time and see if you can get all three correct on the first attempt!

In order to use the interactive puzzle, you need to have adobe flash enabled.

Here are a few hints:

the number of squares in the first puzzles is not 3; the number of squares in the second puzzle is greater than 4; and the number of squares in the third puzzle is greater than 10.

Tuesday Twister #16 – More Venn Challenges

October 1st, 2015 by John Lehet

Today’s Twister is a follow on to #14 and #15. Venn diagrams is again the theme, but this time you’re given a set and you have to select ALL of the areas of the Venn diagram to which it corresponds. There are two sets, A and B. Each displayed set is a combination of these two sets using Complement, Union or Intersection. It important to realize that one or more areas may be selected, by clicking in the desired area (selected areas are in orange). If you want to deselect an area, just click a selected orange area and it will return to it’s original color. Finally, the blue area can be selected – it corresponds to being outside of both sets A AND B.

Here’s a quick review of basic set concepts:
– the INTERSECTION of two sets is the area they have in common
– the UNION of two sets is their entire area
– the COMPLEMENT of a set is the area outside the set


In a two-set Venn diagram, there are four areas that can be selected.
1. the area outside of both sets A and B (the blue area)
2. the area in the middle (the “football shape” in both sets A and B)
3. the area in set A, but not in set B (the yellow moon shape on the left)
4. the area in set B, but not in set A (the yellow moon shape on the right)


When you have selected all of the areas for the set, select the Check button to check your solution. When successfully completed, a New Game button will appear so you can play again. You can always select the Reset button to reset the game to the start.

Good luck with the puzzles. Have fun and I hope they help you to better understand and master two set Venn diagrams!

Tuesday’s Twister #15 – Venn – 3 Sets

September 22nd, 2015 by John Lehet

“Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.” – Leonard Nimoy

Today’s Twister is a follow on to #14. Venn diagrams is again the theme, but this time it’s with three sets. I have created another interactive game that will help you understand and master Venn Diagrams with three sets. As last time, let’s start by quickly reviewing three set Venn Diagrams. In each puzzle, there will be three big circles (outlined in black). There is a circle on the top left, a circle on the top right and a circle on the bottom. The circle on the left will contain objects of a selected shape – either Circle, Square or Triangle. The circle on the right will contain objects with 0, 1 or 2 holes. The circle to the bottom will contain objects of a selected color – Red, Blue or Green. To the left of the Venn diagram, there are 27 objects. All you have to do is cover each dot in the Venn diagram with a shape. Unlike the last puzzle, there will be a number of shapes left over (exactly 15) and a dot may possibly be correctly covered by multiple shapes.

To move a shape, first click on it and it will be outlined with a star in its center. Then click the black dot to which you want to move the shape. This will move the shape. If you want to return a moved shape, just click it and it will return to the bottom area. When all of the objects are placed, then a Check button will appear that allows you to check your solution. When successfully completed, a New Game button will appear so you can play again.

Good luck with the puzzles. Have fun and I hope they help you to better understand and master two set Venn diagrams. My next twister will be a three set Venn diagram – which will be even more challenging!

Tuesday’s Twister #14 – Venn Goes Interactive

September 19th, 2015 by John Lehet
"A place for everything.  Everything in it's place" - Ben Franklin

A place for everything. Everything in it’s place” – Ben Franklin

Today’s Twister is Venn diagrams with two sets. I have created an interactive game that will help you understand and master Venn Diagrams. First let’s quickly review Venn Diagrams. In each puzzle, there will be two big circles (outlined in black). The circle on the right will contain objects of a selected shape – either Circle, Square or Triangle. The circle to the left will contain objects of a selected color – Red, Blue or Green. At the bottom of the Venn diagram, there are nine objects, 3 circles, 3 squares and 3 triangles. For each shape, there are three colors, so for example there is a red circle, a blue circle and a green circle. All you have to do is place each shape, all nine of them, correctly in the Venn diagram.

To move a shape, first click on it and it will be outlined with a star in its center. Then click the black dot to which you want to move the shape. This will move the shape. If you want to return a moved shape, just click it and it will return to the bottom area. When all of the objects are placed, then a Check button will appear that allows you to check your solution. When successfully completed, a New Game button will appear so you can play again.

Good luck with the puzzles. Have fun and I hope they help you to better understand and master two set Venn diagrams. My next twister will be a three set Venn diagram – which will be even more challenging!

SAT Math Blast – #6

September 9th, 2015 by John Lehet

Here’s the sixth SAT Math Blast for those preparing for the SAT this Fall.

Topic – Geometry Level – Easy/Moderate Questions – 10

Remember, just select “START” to give it a try. Use the “NEXT” and “PREV” buttons to navigate and when you’ve answered all of the questions, select “COMPLETE”. You’re results will be posted. Also, you will be able to return to any of the questions to review (just select the question number in the results window).

As always, I hope you enjoyed this post. Please pass it onto others who may enjoy and please click LIKE below if you like it! (you need Adobe Flash in order to interactively run the above exam)

Tuesday’s Twister #1 – Counting Shapes

December 30th, 2014 by John Lehet

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” – Yogi Berra

Today is the start of a new puzzle series that I’ve named “Tuesday’s Twister”. Every Tuesday I will post a new puzzle.  I’m hoping that each Tuesday Twister that I post will be for all ages.  I’ve decided to kick things off with Counting Shapes as this was the most popular of the Holiday Puzzles.  Check out the Counting Shapes post from the 20th of December.

As with many puzzles, the concept of Counting Shapes puzzles is very straight-forward and getting an answer is very easy, but getting the correct answer is a bit more challenging.

In today’s puzzles, you will be presented with a picture which is a collection of squares. All you need to do is count how many squares are in each picture. I suggest that you take your time and count twice, as it is easy to miss a few on the first count.

Below is an interactive version with three puzzles. Enter your count in each of the three boxes and then select check. You will not be told which of the three (if any) are correct, only if all three are correct. The first puzzle is easier than the other two, but still take your time and good luck! Click here for a pdf version of the puzzle.

 

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! If you get stuck and would like the solutions, use the “Contact Us” button and we will reply.

In order to use the interactive puzzle, you need to have adobe flash enabled.

Here are a few hints:

the number of squares in the first puzzles is not 4; the number of squares in the second puzzle is greater than 10; and the number of squares in the third puzzle is greater than 20.

Puzzle #9 – Shape Puzzles – Triangles

July 21st, 2014 by ewcAdmin
I ran into Isosceles. He had a great idea for a new triangle! Woody Allen

“I ran into Isosceles. He had a great idea for a new triangle!”
Woody Allen

It’s been some time since my last post. I was overcome by events, but now I’m back. Today is a relatively easy set of puzzles. However, beware! These are counting shape puzzles, where the shape is always a triangle. Just count the number of triangles. Pretty simple, but oddly enough most people miss the first puzzle. So here goes, how many triangles are in the following image.

2014Jul21-1Many people say “2”, the triangle on the left and the triangle on the right.  But really there are three triangles, the left, right and the big triangle (made up of both of them).  Well if you missed that here’s another chance, how many triangles can you count in the following image?

2014Jul21-2

Essentially this figure is the right-side triangle from the first figure, with two lines added.  In all, there are five triangles.  Look again if you didnt count five.  Let’s reflect this figure about the vertical side to generate the next figure.  Essentially, we just “doubled” the second figure to make the third figure.  How many triangle can you count?  Is it twice as many as in the second figure?

2014Jul21-3

Although the second figure was doubled (via reflection) to make the third figure, the number of triangles more than doubled.  The number of triangles in the third figure is thirteen.  Now let’s make the fourth figure by removing the center line from the third figure.  How many triangles can you count?

2014Jul21-4

The number of triangles in the fourth figure is five, just like in the second figure.  Again, a straight forward puzzle that is often missed.

Good luck with the puzzles and pass them along to others who may enjoy them!