It is my hope that, as soon as you’re done figuring this problem out, you’ll be on your way to a wonderful (and professionally arranged and totally safe) fireworks display. What follows is not an SAT question, but if you enjoy math enough to visit my blog regularly and try these challenge questions, my hope (more…)
I wanted to take it easier on you guys after last week’s hard-as-hell question, so here’s one that could actually appear on an SAT. This week’s prize: you and your future random college roommate will have remarkably similar tastes in music. Trust me — it matters. After m days, the average (arithmetic mean) temperature for (more…)
Source: Married to the Sea. This started out as an Old MacDonald’s farm question. No wait, I thought to myself, not depressing enough. The prize this week: You’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that you probably solved this problem in less time than I spent staring at my computer screen trying to come up with a clever prize (more…)
I’ve spruced it up a tad, but an extremely similar question was #17 (not even #20!) on an SAT in 2006. The prize this week (pardon my proselytizing): Someday you will be as good at something as Mike Miller is at songwriting. Put your answers in the comments; I’ll post the solution here Monday. Good luck! UPDATE: (more…)
Good luck to all you warriors out there giving it your all one last time before the summer. May your June SAT scores be well worth all your hard work. This weekend’s challenge is a bit of a logic question. The prize if you get it: nobody in your testing room will assault your senses (more…)
Krispy Pizza, one of my local joints. Source. This is a bit off-topic, but I saw Arcadia last night on Broadway, and it blew me away. I can’t stop thinking about it. If theater is your thing and tickets are within your means, then you should run and not walk. I still have chills. Even (more…)
I actually wasn’t going to do a weekend challenge this week because it was a super busy week, culminating in today’s flight to Minnesota with my whole family for a wedding we’re attending tomorrow, but this question came to me on the plane and I think it’s good enough to post from the hotel. Prize (more…)
Very sorry for the disappearing and reappearing blog the past 24 hours or so. Blogger has had some difficulties, but I’ve used it for the better part of a decade without incident, so this one won’t send me running for the hills. I’m assured that the super long post I wrote and posted yesterday about (more…)
First of all, if you’re taking the May SAT tomorrow then I wish you the best of luck. You might want to sit this one out, at least until after your test. The prize this week for the first correct answer: domesticated animals will be able to understand what you say to them for 24 (more…)
NOT A REAL PLANE ON FIRE. Source. Appropriately for May Day, this question will cause you to send distress signals. Prize this week: you get to strut around all weekend telling people how much smarter you are than they, and they have to humbly agree. You may force up to three strangers to “kiss the (more…)
Prize this week: you get to decide, once and for all, whether Marshmallow Peeps or Cadbury Creme Eggs are the better candy. No longer will disagreements be chalked up to “difference of opinion.” Once you issue your decree, it will be a matter of record. Minor dissent will be tantamount to outright prevarication. Think you (more…)
Rage guy cookie from knowyourmeme.com. Same prize as last weekend for whoever gets this first (either on the blog, or on Facebook; you’re competing against each other here). Any $5 album from Amazon.com. Ready? A small town has 3 theaters in it. Last Saturday night, the average age in the first theater was 29, and (more…)
Hey all. Here’s your weekend challenge question. The prize this weekend: any $5 album from the Amazon mp3 store. I can only give you the prize if I can get in touch with you (using your email or Disqus/Google/Yahoo/Twitter/Facebook account), so please don’t be completely anonymous if you want the prize. (m + n + p (more…)
Pretty easy question here, so I’ll attach a prize of fairly small value, but that might still be fun: the first person to comment with the answer gets to name a character in a future word problem on this site, and what they do/sell/wear/eat. For example: “Rita is the diaper changer at a daycare center (more…)
This is a little harder than a typical SAT question, and obviously formatted with a bit more flair and color than the College Board would use, but it deals with the same concepts you’ll need to master to kick the SAT where it hurts most, so have a go at it: I looked out my (more…)
