Category: Math Puzzles
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How Would You Tether Your Goat?
A goat is tethered to the edge of a circular paddock, with a lead adjusted so that the goat can eat just half of the field. So can you tell us how long the tether must be? Here’s a smoother paraphrased version that preserves the meaning while reading more naturally: At first glance, it seems…
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A Maths Puzzle About Pirates Shooting In A Circle🏴☠️
Here’s a classic maths retold: 1,024 pirates stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle, numbered 1 through 1,024. On the captain’s whistle, the 1st pirate shoots the 2nd, the 3rd shoots the 4th, and so on around the ring — every shooter spares the one beside them and fells the one just past. The fallen…
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Let’s Look At This 2026 Maths Exam For Gifted Students In Iraq
I was scrolling on Reddit today and came across this difficult maths exam from Iraqi High School for gifted students. As someone who has completed a 3-year undergraduate degree in mathematics, I’d say similar problems also appeared on my first year exams in multivariable calculus and differential equations. Somehow it’s more ‘satisfying’ to do calculus-based…
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Can You Solve This Classic Geometry Puzzle?
I was browsing through Twitter and came across this very interesting problem by @Pratik Matematik. There are two ways to solve it, one using geometry, the other relying on trigonometric formulas! Once again, this is a good moment to pause the article and give the problem a go yourself. When you’re ready, keep reading for the…
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Twin Stars: Deng Yu, Hong Wang, and the Proofs That Moved a Century-Old Mountain
On July 23, 2026, at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia, the Fields Medal went to four mathematicians. Two of them, Deng Yu and Hong Wang, share more than a stage. They share a classroom. Both entered Peking University’s School of Mathematical Sciences in 2007, and nearly two decades later they became the first…
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How To Find The Arc Length And Its Surface Area?
In this article, we will take a deep dive into the derivations of the arc length of a curve and the surface area of the revolution of a curve. Without further ado, let’s dive in! If you have been enjoying the content on our blog, consider checking out our website here. I have made some…
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Do You Think You Can Study Maths At Oxford University?
The function f, defined for whole positive numbers, satisfies f(1) = 1 and also the following rules f(2n) = 2f(n) and f(2n + 1) = 4f(n) The question is, how many numbers n satisfy f(n) = 16? Once again, this is a good moment to pause the article and give the problem a go yourself.…
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A Classic Maths Puzzle: How Many Cats Are Needed?
If three cats catch three rats in three minutes, how many cats will catch 100 rats in 100 minutes? I will present to you the standard answer to this, which I am sure most of you have come across countless times. After that, I’d like to offer you an alternate perspective regarding this puzzle. Once…
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Should You Roll Or Not?
Two bullets are loaded into a gun’s round barrel consecutively. The barrel has a capacity of 6. The gun is fired once, but no bullet is shot. So does rolling the barrel (shuffling) before next shot increase the probability of firing a bullet? Once again, this is a good moment to pause the article and…