Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles.

It's a good Sunday. A former colleague texted me this puzzle today. 

Try it. It's a good one. You don't need to read Spanish to figure out what it's asking. I'm going to give this to my classes tomorrow. Will rich discussions take place? I am hoping so. And I don't think it will take up too much time. Try it, and THEN scroll down for a hint if you need it.

...

...

...

...

...

What's cool about this problem is that all of the numbers are odd, and there is no way to add three odd numbers to get an even. An odd + an odd = even, and then an even + odd = odd. So there must be (as always) a trick. Should I give you the answer? Email me at lisa.winer@saintandrews.net if you want the answer. 

I am hoping that in class, we can talk about why this is the case: that even numbers can be represented as 2n, and odds as 2n+1, and so on. 

_________________________

Why else is it a good Sunday? A former student texted me this link today, which she said made her think of me: 11 Difficult Food Riddles That’ll Stump Pretty Much Everyone - Buzz Feed. She is a foodie and I am a puzzle freak, so this is truly the best of both worlds. I have blogged about giving a Plexer of the Day, and this would be fun to give when you have a few minutes left at the end of class. Here is the first one:

_________________________

It's also a good day because I love doing the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle. Here is a picture of Tiki and me working on it...

BUT YOU MUST LOOK BELOW FOR  SOME COOL PROBLEMS from the NYT!! This came out last month: Are You Ready For Math Whiz Camp?

The question below is my favorite question, but all 5 were great class openers. 

(Click here for a great article on BEAM, an experimental program in Manhattan for students with a high aptitude for math and who come from low-income populations).

_________________________

I really liked these Relay Race Puzzles from Chris Smith. I haven't tried them yet, but I hope to. You may need to join TES to view them, but so far, it has been free for me. TES has many resources to look through! Below is an example of two cards from one of the several relay races...many are holiday themed and directions are given as well. 

_________________________

I love this link from Mindhow.com that gives 12 challenging brainteasers. Here is one of my favorites.

_________________________

There are so many links with fun puzzles...I have them saved in a folder on Google Chrome so I can easily access them as well as save them when I find new ones. This is unrelated, but some of my students will soon be working on a project where they will teach a video lesson,  and a subset of that group will be using stop-motion animation. Here is a very cool professional video called "Fresh Guacamole" that I enjoyed watching that I will share with them.  So clever!