14 Arithmetic & Algebraic Problems

was born; and I was told yesterday that the average age of the four of us is
thirty-nine years."
What was Robinson's age?

46. A DREAMLAND CLOCK

In a dream, I was travelling in a country where they had strange ways of

doing things. One little incident was fresh in my memory when I awakened. I
saw a clock and announced the time as it appeared to be indicated, but
my guide corrected me.
He said, "You are apparently not aware that the minute hand always moves
in the opposite direction to the hour hand. Except for this improvement, our
clocks are precisely the same as. those you have been accustomed to."
Since the hands were exactly together between the hours of four and five
oclock, and they started together at noon, what was the real time?

47. WHAT IS THE TIME?

At what time are the two hands of a clock so situated that, reckoning
as minute points past XII, one is exactly the square of the distance of the other?

48. THE AMBIGUOUS CLOCK

A man had a clock with an hour hand and minute hand of the same length
and indistinguishable. If it was set going at noon, what would be the first time
that it would be impossible, by reason of the similarity of the hands, to be
sure of the correct time?
Readers will remember that with these clock puzzles there is the convention
that we may assume it possible to indicate fractions of seconds. On this
assumption an exact answer can be given.

49. THE BROKEN CLOCK FACE

Colonel Crackham asked his family at the breakfast table if, without hav-
ing a dial before them, they could correctly draw in Roman numerals the
hours round a clock face. George fell into the trap that catches so many
people, of writing the fourth hour as IV, instead of I1II.
 Clock Puzzles 15

Colonel Crackham then asked them

to show how a dial may be broken into
four parts so that the numerals on
each part shall in every case sum to 20.
As an example he gave our illustra-
tion, where it will be found that the
separated numerals on two parts sum
to 20, but on the other parts they add
up to 19 and 21 respectively, so it fails.

so. WHEN DID THE DANCING BEGIN?

"The guests at that ball the other night," said Dora at the breakfast table,
"thought that the clock had stopped, because the hands appeared in exactly
the same position as when the dancing began. But it was found that they had
really only changed places. As you know, the dancing commenced between
ten and eleven oclock. What was the exact time of the start?"

51. MISTAKING THE HANDS

"Between two and three oclock yesterday," said Colonel Crackham, "I
looked at the clock and mistook the minute hand for the hour hand, and
consequently the time appeared to be fifty-five minutes earlier than it actually
was. What was the correct time?"

52. EQUAL DISTANCES

A few mornings ago the following clock puzzle was sprung on his pupils by
Professor Rackbrane. At what time between three and four oclock is the
minute hand the same distance from VIII as ·the hour hand is from XII?

53. RIGHT AND LEFT

At what time between three and four oclock will the minute hand be as far
from twelve on the left side of the dial plate as the hour hand is from twelve
on the right side of the dial plate?
16 Arithmetic & Algebraic Problems

54. AT RIGHT ANGLES

Rackbrane asked his young friends at the breakfast table one morning this
little question:
"How soon between the hours of five and six will the hour and minute
hands of a clock be exactly at right angles?"

55. WESTMINSTER CLOCK

A man crossed over Westminster Bridge one morning between eight and
nine oclock by the tower clock (often mistakenly called Big Ben, which is the
name of the large bell only, but this by the way). On his return between four
and five oclock he noticed that the hands were exactly reversed. What were
the exact times that he made the two crossings?

56. HILL CLIMBING

Weary Willie went up a certain hill at the rate of one and a half miles per
hour and came down at the rate of four and a half miles per hour, so that it
took him just six hours to make the double journey. How far was it to the top
of the hill?

57. TIMING THE CAR

"I was walking along the road at three and a half miles an hour," said Mr.
Pipkins, "when the car dashed past me and only missed me by a few inches."
"Do you know at what speed it was going?" asked his friend.
"Well, from the moment it passed me to its disappearance round a corner
took twenty-seven steps and walking on reached that corner with one
hundred and thirty-five steps more."
"Then, assuming that you walked, and the car ran, each at a uniform rate,
we can easily work out the speed."

58. THE STAIRCASE RACE

This is a rough sketch of the finish of a race up a staircase in which three

men took part. Ackworth, who is leading, went up three steps at a time, as
arranged; Barnden, the second man, went four steps at a time, and Croft, who
 Speed & Distance Puzzles 17

is last, went five at a time. Undoubtedly Ackworth wins. But the point is, how
many steps are there in the stairs, counting the top landing as a step?
I have only shown the top of the stairs. There may be scores, or hundreds,
of steps below the line. It was not necessary to draw them, as I only wanted
to show the finish. But it is possible to tell from the evidence the fewest pos-
sible steps in that staircase. Can you do it?

59. A WALKING PUZZLE

A man set out at noon to walk from Appleminster to Boneyham, and

a friend of his started at two P.M. on the same day to walk from Boneyham
to Appleminster. They met on the road at five minutes past four oclock, and
each man reached his destination at exactly the same time. Can you say
at what time they both arrived?

60. RIDING IN THE WIND

A man on a bicycle rode a mile in three minutes with the wind at his back,
but it took him four minutes to return against the wind. How long would it
take him to ride a mile if there was no wind? Some will say that the average
18 Arithmetic & Algebraic Problems

of three and four is three and one-half, and it would take him three and one-
half minutes. That answer is entirely wrong.

61. A ROWING PUZZLE

A crew can row a certain course upstream in eight and four-sevenths

minutes, and, if there were no stream, they could row it in seven minutes less
than it takes them to drift down the stream. How long would it take to
row down with the stream?

62. THE ESCALATOR

On one of the escalators on the London subway I find that if I walk down
twenty-six steps I require thirty seconds to get to the bottom, but if I make
thirty-four steps I require only eighteen seconds to reach the bottom. What is
the height of the stairway in steps? The time is measured from the moment
the top step begins to descend to the time I step off the last step at the bottom
onto the level platform.

63. SHARING A BICYCLE

Two brothers had to go on a journey and arrive at the same time. They had
only a single bicycle, which they rode in turns, each rider leaving it in the
hedge when he dismounted for the one walking behind to pick up, and walk-
ing ahead himself, to be again overtaken. What was their best way of arrang-
ing their distances? As their walking and riding speeds were the same, it
is extremely easy. Simply divide the route into any even number of equal stages
and drop the bicycle at every stage, using the cyclometer. Each man would
then walk half way and ride half way.
But here is a case that will require a little more thought. Anderson and Brown
have to go twenty miles and arrive at exactly the same time. They have only
one bicycle. Anderson can only walk four miles an hour, while Brown can
walk five miles an hour, but Anderson can ride ten miles an hour to Brown's
eight miles an hour.
How are they to arrange the journey? Each man always either walks or
rides at the speeds mentioned, without any rests.