Problem of the Week

James Madison University
Department of Mathematics and Statistics


Rules: The "Problem of the Week" is a weekly (or biweekly) puzzle or problem of a mathematical nature which should be accessible to most students of "Calculus Age" and up. Each problem has a deadline two weeks from the date it is posted. Once the deadline for a problem has passed, the author of the best solution will receive a $5.00 gift certificate from Dave's Taverna. If there is more than one acceptable solution, the winner will be chosen at random from those.

Stay well-fed; solve the problem of the week.


Problems for Fall 2003:

  • POW #1: The Fourth Wheel
    • Posted 9/30/03, due 10/14/03
    • The problem
    • The solution
    • The winner: Tim Wade
    • Also submitted correct answers: Chris Babb, Charles Duckworth, Joe Kahn, Mike Kelly, and Brian Weimerskirch.

  • POW #2: Towers of Hanoi
    • Posted 10/8/03, due 10/22/03
    • The problem
    • The solution
    • The winner: Andrew Richter
    • Also submitted correct answers: James Kokorelis, Patrick Lintner and Minxiang Zheng.

  • POW #3: Mislabeled Boxes
    • Posted 10/22/03, due 11/5/03
    • The problem
    • The solution
    • The winner: Ben Thomas
    • Also submitted correct answers: Josh Blake, Justin Creasy, Ben Evers, and Tim Wade.

  • POW #4: Relabeling Dice
    • Posted 10/30/03, due 11/12/03
    • The problem
    • The solution
    • The winner: Justin Creasy
    • Also submitted correct answers: Kristi Abraham and Kenny Hart.

  • POW #5: Disambiguating Keys
    • Posted 11/12/03, due 12/3/03
    • The problem
    • The solution
    • The winner: Justin Curry
    • Also submitted correct answers: Josh Blake.



Problems of the Week for the current semester



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