KEN KEN PUZZLES

Chapter 3: Problem Solving

WHAT IS A PUZZLE?
Dictionary says….
puz·zle
(pŭz′əl)n.
1. Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity
and often persistence in solving or assembling.
2. Something that baffles or confuses; an enigma: the puzzle of the
author's true identity.
3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment: I'm really in a puzzle
over how this happened.
Puzzles are not just motivational play. A significant part of the Law
School Admission Test is a kind of logic puzzle that sometimes appears in
schools only as a rainy-afternoon diversion for students who have finished
their "real" work! IQ tests and job-aptitude tests also frequently include
puzzles that schools often treat as dessert. Puzzles are fun, but are
extremely valuable ingredients in the "main diet," not just the dessert.
WHAT IS KENKEN PUZZLE?
Kenken puzzle ( also called MathDoku)

• arithmetic-based logic puzzle

• Invented by Tetsuya Miyamoto (a Japanese mathematics teacher) in
2004
• Ken has “knowledge” and “awareness” as synonyms
• Generates the thinking and problem-solving skills of students
• Similar to Sudoku puzzles
 Rules for solving a KenKen Puzzle
For a 3 by 3 puzzle, fill in each box( square ) of the grid with one of the numbers
1,2, or 3.

For a 4 by 4 puzzle, fill in each box( square ) of the grid with one of the numbers
1,2, 3 or 4.

For an n by n puzzle, fill in each box( square ) of the grid with one of the numbers
1,2, 3 , 4,…n-1, n.
 Rules for solving a KenKen Puzzle (cont.)

• Do not repeat a number in any row or column.

• The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine
(in some order) to produce the target number in the top left corner of the cage using
the mathematical operation indicated.
• Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number.
• A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or
column.
(refer to page 63 of your textbook)
Example 1:
 4
Cages with just one square should
be filled in with the target number.

2
 4 3
Fill up the violet cages by 4 and 3
since 4-3= 1
4

2
 4 3
Fill up the vacant box below 4 by
1.
4
Fill up the gray cage by 1 and 4
since 1+4=5.
1
Fill up the white cage by 3.

3 4 1 2
 4 3
Fill up the vacant white box by 2
since 3-2=1.
1 2 4
Fill up the green box by 1, 3 and 2
since 1+3+2=6.
2 3 1

3 4 1 2
 4 1 2 3
Fill up the vacant pink boxes by 4
and 3 since 4x3x1=12.
1 2 3 4
Fill up the blue cage by 1 and 2
since 21=1.
2 3 4 1

3 4 1 2
 SEATWORK
PLS. ANSWER NUMBERS 2 AND 4
ON PAGE 64