IN HONOUR OF Maths Week, as is our annual tradition, we’re setting our readers some puzzles. Give them a go!
‘Earth-measure’
Geometry is the branch of mathematics that studies the properties and relationships of shapes, sizes, and spaces. It focuses on the concepts of points, lines, surfaces, and solids and how they interact with one another in space.
Plane geometry includes two-dimensional shapes such as circles, triangles and polygons (many sided shapes). Solid geometry includes three- dimensional shapes such as spheres, pyramids, cubes and polyhedra (solids with many flat faces).
The term comes from the Greek words “geo,” meaning “earth,” and “metron,” meaning “measure,” suggesting that it was developed due to a need to measure land.
Important applications of geometry are the measurements of angles, distances, areas, and volumes.
1. In the diagram below the yellow square has side of length 1m. What is the area of the red square?
2. In landscaping your garden, you want to have a rectangle of lawn 10m by 4m with a path 0.5m wide running all around it. What is the total area of the lawn and path?
3. Which will give you more pizza, a) two 10-inch (diameter) pizzas or b) one 16-inch (diameter) pizza?
Thursday’s puzzles: The answers
1. Hamiltonian Cycle
2. One such journey plan for the travelling snake-oil salesman is as follows:
Come back tomorrow for the answers to today’s puzzle.
The puzzles this week have been compiled for The Journal by Eoin Gill of Maths Week Ireland and South-East Technological University (SETU).
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