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3
Eliminate Possibilities
This strategy forms the basis of logical deduction. Consider
all the possibilities, and then eliminate those that lead to
contradictions. Health care professionals must conduct tests
to eliminate possibilities when diagnosing an illness.

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ANNIE: Well, his alibi checked out. It can’t be Jerry who put the arsenic
in the deceased’s soup.
BETSY: Yeah, but who? We checked out everybody who went to
the estate that day: the letter carrier, the gardener, the cook,
the chauffeur—even the butler, though it was his day off.
That eliminates everybody. I don’t know who else it could be.
ANNIE: I don’t know. There has to be something . . . someone we
overlooked.

I t sounds like a tough case for Annie and Betsy. They’ve been
working hard on it for at least 10 minutes and must wrap it up
in the next 47 minutes, because their show has just been canceled and
there’s no possibility for a two-part show. Annie and Betsy are busy
eliminating possibilities before they themselves are eliminated from the
airwaves—possibly forever.

Eliminating possibilities is a powerful problem-solving strategy.

Sherlock Holmes used this strategy quite extensively. In his words,
“Once you have eliminated the impossible, then whatever is left, no
matter how improbable, must be the solution.” In this chapter you
will solve some problems by eliminating possibilities. Let’s start with
a made-up game of Twenty Questions.
Two people are playing this game. One player says, “I’m thinking
of a number between 1 and 100, inclusive. You may ask whatever
twenty questions you like, and I will respond with yes or no answers.
To keep the game fair, I will always respond truthfully.”

Question Response Comments

Is it greater than 50? Yes Good question. All numbers less than 51
are eliminated.
Is it 62? No Wasted guess. It eliminates only one
number (62).
Is it 13? No Really wasted guess. The number 13 was
eliminated earlier because the number we
want is greater than 50.

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Is it 3842? No
Is it greater than 75? Yes Good question. Eliminates about half the
remaining numbers.
Is it odd or even? Yes
Is it odd? No Eliminates about half the remaining
numbers.
Is it 83? No Bad guess. We know the number is not odd.
Is it less than 85? Yes Good; a further narrowing down.
Is it less than 80? Yes Again good.
Is it 76? No
Is it 78? Yes

You probably use this strategy in your daily life. For example, you
consider and eliminate possibilities when you decide what to watch
on TV or what to have for dinner. Restaurant customers often use the
strategy of eliminating possibilities when ordering dinner. Many people
decide what to eat based not on what they want but on what they
don’t want. After eliminating foods they obviously don’t like, they often
settle on choosing among three or four items. The decision may come
about something like this: Imagine that Artie is out to dinner with his
family. “Let’s see, the chicken sounds good, but so do the pasta, the
steak, and the salmon. Well, the salmon comes poached with a white
wine cream sauce, and I really would rather have it broiled with lemon,
so I’ll skip that. The chicken sounds great, but it comes with artichokes,
and the thought of artichokes scares me. The steak sounds really good,
but my wife says I’ve been eating too much red meat lately. (I think
what she really means is, it’s too expensive.) So I’ll go with the pasta.”
When eliminating possibilities, it helps to remember the possibilities
that have already been eliminated. Solve the next problem by
eliminating possibilities.

PENNY’S DIMES, PA RT 2

Penny’s favorite coin is the dime, as we saw in Chapter 2. Since we last saw
Penny, she has spent some of her dimes and has acquired some more. She
doesn’t know how many she has now, but she knows she has fewer than 100.
One day she was arranging them on her desk in different ways. She found
that when she put them into piles of 2, there was 1 left over. When she put

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them into piles of 3, again there was 1 left over. The same thing happened when
she put them into piles of 4. She then tried putting them into piles of 5 and
found that there were none left over. How many dimes does Penny have?
Solve this problem before continuing. (There is more than one correct answer.)

Five clues are given in this problem:

Make a list of clues
from the problem. 1. When divided by 2, the remainder is 1.

2. When divided by 3, the remainder is 1.

3. When divided by 4, the remainder is 1.

4. When divided by 5, the remainder is 0.

5. There are fewer than 100 coins.

This problem will clearly demonstrate that it’s important to
consider all possibilities before eliminating some. Here’s how a group
of students—Marli, James, Dennis, and Troy—solved this problem.
(Note: You might want to review the divisibility rules in the appendix.)

JAMES: Let’s start with the first clue. I’ll list all the numbers that give
a remainder of 1 when divided by 2. (He wrote down the list
shown below.)

3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, . . .
MARLI: (interrupting him) Wait a minute, this can be done more
efficiently. I like your list because it’s systematic, but I think
we can improve it. Instead of just considering one clue at a
time, I think we can compress this by using two of the clues
from the beginning.
DENNIS: Good idea, Marli. Let’s try using clues 1 and 2.
TROY: I think we should use clues 4 and 5 instead.
DENNIS: Why not 1 and 2?
TROY: I chose 4 because it involves the fewest numbers, and 5
Use the clue because it is so easy. So here is a list of all the numbers less
that gives the than 100 that are divisible by 5. (He then wrote the list
shortest list.
below.)

5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95

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JAMES: Now we can go back and reconsider clue 1. My initial list

Compress the list by showed us that the number we’re looking for is odd. Because
applying more than
we’re trying to eliminate possibilities, let’s cross off all the
one clue.
even numbers in Troy’s list. (He crossed off the numbers as
shown.)

5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95
MARLI: Now let’s continue on through the clues. Clue 2 allows us
to cross off any number that is not 1 greater than a multiple
of 3. Let me explain that. Clue 2 says, “When she put them
into piles of 3, again there was 1 left over.” That means if
you divide the number of dimes by 3, the remainder would
be 1. So we have to keep each number that is 1 more than
a multiple of 3.
DENNIS: Oh, I see. That means we have to eliminate each number
that is not 1 more than a multiple of 3.
JAMES: I don’t get it. Can you give me an example?
MARLI: Okay. For example, 5 is 2 more than a multiple of 3, so we
can cross it out. We can also cross out 15 because it’s a multiple
of 3. On the other hand, we can’t cross out 25 because it’s
1 more than 24, which is a multiple of 3. Thus, we can
eliminate the multiples of 3—15, 45, and 75—and numbers
that are 2 more than a multiple of 3—5, 35, 65, and 95.
(She crossed off those numbers in the revised list.)

5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95

TROY: That leaves us with 25, 55, and 85. Finally, we apply clue 3
and cross out any number that is not 1 greater than a multiple
of 4. That means we can cross off 55 because it’s 3 more than
a multiple of 4 (52
4  13).
JAMES: That leaves us with the numbers 25 and 85. Each of these
satisfies all the clues. Which is the correct answer?
MARLI: I guess we can’t tell for sure.

This problem has more than one possible answer. You may be
Some problems accustomed to math problems having only one answer. This is true
have more than one
for many types of equations and problems, but it won’t always be true
correct answer.
for the problems in this book. In this respect, this book mirrors life,

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that is, there isn’t always one correct answer for a problem, just as
there isn’t only one correct approach to finding an answer. In this course,
when you solve a problem ask yourself whether you have the only
answer or there are others to consider. We warned you that this problem
had more than one answer, but we may not always warn you!

Eliminating possibilities is a way of organizing information. That

is, you can eliminate certain possibilities after you organize the
information given in a problem. It often helps to consider the
possibilities systematically, as in the last problem. The strategy of
eliminating possibilities also contains aspects of the guess-and-check
strategy, which you’ll explore in Chapter 6: Guess and Check.
One particular form of eliminating possibilities is a strategy that is
often used in problem solving and in formal mathematics. This strategy
is called proof by contradiction or indirect proof. In this book we
will refer to this strategy as seeking contradictions. The diagram
below shows the process of seeking contradictions:

Make an assumption.

Apply the assumption.

The assumption doesn’t work. The assumption works.

(The assumption is wrong!) (We didn’t learn anything.)

To seek contradictions, (1) make an assumption about the

problem and (2) see what happens to the problem when you apply
the assumption. This strategy has two possible outcomes: Either
it works or it doesn’t work. “It doesn’t work” is the contradiction
we’re seeking because it allows us to eliminate the assumption as
a possibility. Although “it works” seems to be a good sign, all it really
does is confirm that an existing possibility is still an existing possibility.
Seeking contradictions is a common strategy for eliminating
possibilities, especially when other possible eliminations are not
evident. You’ll use this strategy in this chapter, especially when you

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solve the cryptarithmetic puzzles. You’ll also see this strategy in

Chapter 4: Use Matrix Logic.
The strategy of seeking contradictions is very useful in problems
that involve truth tellers and liars. Variations of this type of problem
have been around for years. Solve the next problem by seeking
contradictions.

WHO IS LYING?

Jim tells lies on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. He tells the truth on all other
days. Freda tells lies on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. She tells the
truth on all other days. If they both say “Yesterday I lied,” then what day is it
today? Solve this problem before continuing.

Danyell solved this problem by seeking contradictions. First she

organized the information by setting up a chart of the two liars and the
days of the week.
MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT SUN
JIM T T T T L L L
FREDA T L L L T T T

“Assume that today is Monday. Both people tell the truth on Monday,
so the statement ‘Yesterday I lied’ must be true for both. But yesterday
was Sunday, and only Jim was lying yesterday. Because Freda told the
truth on Sunday, her statement is false. This is the contradiction we
were seeking, because Freda is supposed to tell the truth on Monday.
So today is not Monday.
“Assume that today is Tuesday. Jim is telling the truth, so when
he says ‘Yesterday I lied,’ it is supposed to be true. But yesterday was
Monday, and Jim tells the truth on Monday. So today can’t be Tuesday.
A similar argument can be made for Wednesday and Thursday, and
in Freda’s behalf on Saturday and Sunday.
“Now we have reached a contradiction for every day except Friday,
so all days except Friday have been eliminated. It seems that the
answer is Friday. I’ll check.

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“Today must be Friday. Because Jim lies on Friday, his statement

‘Yesterday I lied’ is false. That works because on Thursday Jim tells the
truth. Now consider Freda. She tells the truth on Friday, so her statement
‘Yesterday I lied’ must be the truth because she lies on Thursday. So I
concluded that today is Friday, having reached contradictions for every
other day and having shown that Friday worked.”

In the next problem you’ll eliminate possibilities, seek contradictions,

and maybe guess a little bit. Problems like this are sometimes called
cryptarithms. Doing math problems for pleasure may seem strange to
you, but over the years many people have enjoyed cryptarithmetic
problems just for fun. We hope you enjoy them, too.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Gordon and Pearl lived on a farm in Concordia, Kansas, with their father,
Emil, and their mother, Olive. One day Gordon asked his father, “Dad, what
happened to that cat I used to have?” Pearl, overhearing this, said, “Yeah, and
I used to have a horse. Where is she?” Emil replied, “Gordon’s tomcat and
Pearl’s old nag were not much use. I traded them for my new goat.”
Olive then said, “Hey, that sounds like a good cryptarithmetic problem.
Let’s see if we can solve it.” She wrote down GTOM  PNAG
EGOAT.
Each letter stands for a different digit, 0 through 9. No two letters stand
for the same digit. Determine which digit each letter represents.
There are two clues. G
5, and A represents an odd digit. Do this
problem before reading on.

Ms. Pieracci’s class discussed this problem together.

SILAS: The first thing we can do is fill in that every G
5.

G T O M
5
 P N A G
5
E G O A T
5

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MS. PIERACCI: Let’s make two lists. One list for all the digits, and
Use a list to keep another list for the letters. Notice in this problem there
track of what you
are only eight letters, so we won’t need to use all ten
know.
digits.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 G T O M P N A E
G 5

SIOBHAN: E has to be 1. When you add two numbers together,

even if they are 9,999 plus 9,999, the answer is at most
19,998. That means E has to be 1.
MS. PIERACCI: That’s good. Does anyone see anything else?
BRENT: I see something kind of weird. In the first column
G  P
G. That makes me think that P must be zero,
because G  0
G. So I think P
0.
LEXIE: Wait a minute. That also happens in the third column,
where O  A
A. So O must be zero too.
MS. PIERACCI: But no two letters can represent the same digit, so
O and P can’t both be zero. Besides, P can’t be zero
because no number can start with a zero. If it started
with a zero, it would be a three-digit number and
not a four-digit number.
LEXIE: That’s right. Something is messed up here.
SIOBHAN: P can’t be zero anyway. If P were zero, then the answer
could not possibly be a five-digit number. You can’t
add 5 thousand something to a three-digit number and
end up with 15 thousand something.
KATSU: What if P is 9?
LEXIE: How could P be 9? If you add 5 and 9, you get 14,
not 15. The G in EGOAT wouldn’t be a G, it would
be something else.
TYLER: I think I see what Katsu means. If there were a carry
into the thousands column, then you could add
1 (carry)  5  9
15. The two G’s would both be 5.
KATSU: Right. You have to have a carry.

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MS. PIERACCI: What’s the largest digit you can carry when you add
two numbers?
SILAS: 1. Even if you had 9  9  a carry, it’s only equal to 19.
So the biggest number you can carry is 1.
KATSU: So P is 9, and there is definitely a carry into the thousands
column.
LEXIE: So does that mean that O has to be zero?
CLASS: Yes.

This is what the solution looks like so far.

carries 1
G T O M 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5 0 O E G P

 P N A G G T O M P N A E
9 5 5 0 9 1
E G O A T
1 5 0

LUCY: Now what do we do?

MS. PIERACCI: How about figuring out which other columns will have
carries in them?
LUCY: The tens column won’t. We have that zero in the tens
column and the two A’s are the same, so we can’t have
a carry into the tens column because that would make
the two A’s different.
BRENT: The hundreds column can’t have a carry either. The
tens column can’t add up to be high enough.
MS. PIERACCI: That’s great. Finding out that a column does not have
a carry in it is just as important as finding out that it
does have a carry in it. Now what?
NATALIE: I think we need to make a list. The hundreds column
adds up to 10, because O is zero, and there is a carry into
the next column. Let’s make a list of all the digits that
add up to 10, like 7 and 3, 8 and 2, and so on.
CLINT: Shouldn’t we make the list systematic?

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MS. PIERACCI: Good idea. Let’s set up the list. (She wrote it on the
board.)

T: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
N: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
MS. PIERACCI: Is there anything we can eliminate from this list?
SIOBHAN: Yes. Let’s eliminate all the numbers we used already:
0, 1, 5, and 9. And we couldn’t use 5 and 5 anyway,
because T and N have to be different.
MS. PIERACCI: Great. (She crossed out some numbers. These were left.)

T: 8 7 6 4 3 2 carries 1 0 0
N: 2 3 4 6 7 8 G T O M
5 0

P N A G
9 5
E G O A T
1 5 0

MS. PIERACCI: What else can we eliminate?

EMMA: What if we look at M? In the ones column, we have
M
G  T. We already know that G is 5. Since our list
has T in it, couldn’t we add a row for M too?
SHARON: I get it. If T is 8, then M has to be 3, because 3
5  8.
BJ: Are we looking for 8 or 18?
KEINAN: We’re looking for 8. We know that we don’t have a
carry into the tens column.
MS. PIERACCI: Let’s add the possible M’s to the list and then look for
contradictions. Which possibilities will not work?

T: 8 7 6 4 3 2
N: 2 3 4 6 7 8
M: 3 2 1 x x x
TAYA: Only the first three are going to work. When T is 4, for
example, M would have to be 1 in order for 1 plus 5

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to equal 4, because we can’t have a carry. If we could

have a carry, then M could be 9, since 9
5  14.
MS. PIERACCI: So we have contradictions for all but three possibilities.
BRANDY: M can’t be 1, because E is already 1.
RODRIGO: So there are two answers that work. What do we
do now?
SARA: Aren’t we forgetting something? A has to be an odd digit.
CORIE: Yes, so let’s look at the two possible answers.

If T is 8, then N is 2 and M is 3: If T is 7, then N is 3 and M is 2:

carries 1 0 0 carries 1 0 0
G T O M G T O M
5 8 0 3 5 7 0 2

P N A G
P N A G
9 2 5 9 3 5
E G O A T E G O A T
1 5 0 8 1 5 0 7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
O E N M G T P O E M N G T P

SARA: Now let’s look at the letters that are left for A. In the
second case, there are no odd digits left for A.
CORIE: Right, but in the first case the odd digit 7 is left for A. So
the first case has to be the answer, with A equal to 7.
The digits 6 and 4 don’t get used.
carries 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
G T O M O E N M G A T P
5 8 0 3

P N A G G T O M P N A E
9 2 7 5 5 8 0 3 9 2 7 1
E G O A T
1 5 0 7 8

MS. PIERACCI: Great job everyone.

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Solving cryptarithmetic problems is a terrific example of eliminating

possibilities. The class solving this problem made many useful points
that will help you solve problems of this type. The main points are
summarized here.

• Write down the problem with large letters, keeping a space

underneath for the digits as you figure them out.

• Carries are important; pay attention to whether a column carries

or doesn’t carry. Record both carries and noncarries.

• Make a list of the digits from 0 to 9 and write in the letters as you
find them.

• Make a list of the letters in the problem and write in the digits
as you find them. It also helps to count the letters to discover
whether you will use all ten digits.

• The maximum carry when adding two numbers is 1.

• Look for situations like those in this problem, where a digit plus
a different digit equals the first digit. In this problem, we had
G  P
G. This can happen only if P is equal to 0, or if P is equal
to 9 with a carry. This situation occurs often in cryptarithmetic
problems.

• Make lists of possibilities that add to a known digit.

• Eliminate things from your lists and then add other digits to your
list for each remaining possibility.

• Try alternative possibilities. There may be more than one

solution.

• Seek contradictions as a way to eliminate possibilities.

• Don’t give up.

The Benefits of Working in Groups

The solution to the Down on the Farm problem also illustrates some
important points about working in groups and about class discussions.
Each person who worked on this problem contributed something to
its solution. Students who contributed useful ideas didn’t necessarily
know that their ideas would lead to a solution. Share your thinking with

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one another, even if you haven’t solved the problem or your work turns
out to be wrong. Mistakes often trigger good ideas. You and other
people will benefit from the exchange of information and the thought
process. This solution had the benefit of an instructor to facilitate
the process. When you work in groups on your own, having someone
summarize the group’s findings every once in a while may help.
Some people resent the idea that they might require a second or even
a third brain to solve a problem. Their perception is that accepting the
help of another means they are not smart enough to solve the problem
on their own. This perception usually passes quickly as the group
works toward a solution. Although it is probable that you can eventually
solve most problems by yourself, access to the ideas of other people
is very beneficial: Solutions are usually achieved more quickly, and
seeing how other people think will make you a better thinker.
Studies have shown that the number-one reason people are fired
from jobs is their inability to work well with others. Most jobs require
significant group interaction. You will be more successful if you are
comfortable in the group environment. Cooperation and communication
are essential to all social organizations, including families, and solid
friendships are based on good communication. Working with others
is a skill that cannot be overemphasized. Problem solving offers a good
opportunity to further develop this skill.

Remember that many problems cannot be solved by using only one

strategy. As you work through this book, you’ll come across more
and more problems that may require several strategies to solve. The
next problem requires that you use two strategies together: making
a systematic list and eliminating possibilities. The problem is tough
and a little tricky. Take your time, and be sure you consider all
possibilities before eliminating some.

DOWNTOWN DELI

Seymour owns his own business. He makes deli sandwiches, which he wraps
to retain their freshness and then distributes to several convenience stores
for resale. One of his favorite sandwiches is the Sausage and Meatball Combo,
but it has a very low distribution. In fact, only three stores take deliveries of
the Sausage and Meatball Combo: two Fast Stop stores and one Circle B store.

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One morning, Seymour suffered an unfortunate accident. He slipped on

the floor and banged his head. He seemed to be fine, except that when he
was out on his delivery route, he couldn’t remember which streets the three
Sausage and Meatball Combo stores were on. The streets were numbered
from 1st Street up to 154th Street, and he remembered that the two Fast Stop
stores were on streets whose numbers added up to 50. He also remembered
that the Circle B store was two streets away from one of the Fast Stop stores,
and he remembered that he called the Sausage and Meatball Combo his
“prime” favorite because all three stores were on prime-numbered streets.
Unfortunately, the information he remembered wasn’t enough to get him
to the stores.
He called his friend Gus, and Gus remembered that Seymour had told
him the product of the numbers of the streets the stores were on, but Gus
could remember only the last digit of the product. This proved to be enough
for Seymour, who promptly double-parked, whipped out a pencil, made a
systematic list, and eliminated possibilities to find the answer.
Now it’s your turn to re-create Seymour’s heroics.

Richard solved this problem as follows. FS #1 FS #2

Make a systematic First he considered the streets that the Fast
list. Stop stores could be on. He made a systematic 1 49
list of all the pairs of odd numbers that add 3 47
to 50. He used odd numbers because even 5 45
numbers cannot be prime. (The exception
7 43
to this is 2, but 2 would be paired with 48,
which obviously is not prime.) He knew 9 41
some of the odd numbers weren’t prime, but 11 39
he listed them anyway because he wanted 13 37
to be careful not to accidentally eliminate any
possibilities before he considered them. 15 35
17 33
19 31
21 29
23 27
25 25

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Next he eliminated all the numbers that FS #1 FS #2

Eliminate numbers weren’t prime: 1, 49, 45, 9, 39, 15, 35, 33, 21,
that don’t comply.
27, and 25. He also eliminated the numbers
3 47
they were paired with, even if they were 47 3
prime. He was left with four pairs: 3 and 47, 7 43
7 and 43, 13 and 37, and 19 and 31. Now he
43 7
had a better idea of the possible combinations
of streets the Fast Stop stores could be on. 13 37
However, he didn’t know specifically which 37 13
store was on which street. For instance, was 19 31
the first store on 3rd Street and the second
on 47th Street, or was it the other way
31 19
around? To make sure he accounted for all
possible combinations, he added his four pairs to the list in reverse
order: 47 and 3, 43 and 7, 37 and 13, and 31 and 19. His revised
list is shown above.
Next he added a third column to FS #1 FS #2 CB
represent the street the Circle B store
was on. He knew that the Circle B
3 47 45
store was two streets away from 3 47 49
one of the Fast Stop stores. He didn’t 47 3 1
worry about which store the Circle B
47 3 5
store was near because he’d already
listed all the possible combinations 7 43 41
of Fast Stop stores, but he did want 7 43 45
to consider whether or not the 43 7 5
Circle B store was two streets up
or two streets down from a Fast Stop
43 7 9
store. This meant that each third 13 37 35
number he added to his list would 13 37 39
have to be 2 greater than or 2 less
37 13 11
than the second number. He revised
his list as shown at right, adding all 37 13 15
possible combinations. 19 31 29
19 31 33
31 19 17
31 19 21

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However, Richard needed to FS #1 FS #2 CB

consider only third numbers that
were prime. For example, the first set
47 3 5
of Fast Stop numbers was 3 and 47. 7 43 41
The two possible third numbers for 43 7 5
this pair were 45 and 49, but neither
37 13 11
of these numbers is prime so he
didn’t have to consider them. When 19 31 29
he eliminated all the third numbers 31 19 17
that were not prime, he was left
with the list at right.
Now consider the last clue of the problem. When Gus told Seymour
the last digit of the product of the three numbers, Seymour was able to
figure out the answer. Richard didn’t know the product, but it is enough
for him to know that if Seymour knew the product, Seymour could
figure it out. See if you can figure out the answer before reading on.
For each set of numbers
in the list, Richard added
Last
the last digit of their
FS #1 FS #2 CB Digit
product to his list. Note 47 3 5 5
that he needed only the
7 43 41 1
last digit of the product.
For instance, the product 43 7 5 5
There’s a shortcut 47  3  5
705 ends 37 13 11 1
for finding the last
in 5. To save himself 19 31 29 1
digit of a product.
from having to multiply
all the numbers, he used
31 19 17 3
a multiplication shortcut.
He simply multiplied the digits in the ones places of the numbers to
figure out what the last digit of the total product would be. For example,
for 7  43  41 he multiplied 7  3  1
21, which ends in 1, the
last digit of the product of 7  43  41.
Richard noticed that 3 appears in the Last Digit column only once,
whereas 5 appears twice and 1 appears three times. Thus, because
Seymour was able to deduce the correct combination once he knew
only the last digit of the product, the last digit must be 3. Otherwise,
without more information he wouldn’t have been able to figure out the
combination. Richard concluded that the streets were numbered 31,
19, and 17. This meant that the Fast Stop stores were located on 31st
Street and 19th Street and that the Circle B store was on 17th Street.

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This problem contains a key element that appears in a lot of puzzle

Look for hidden problems: You didn’t have all the information that Seymour had.
clues.
However, it was enough to know that if Seymour had the information,
then he could solve the problem. This bit of knowledge allows you
to solve the problem, too.

Eliminate Possibilities
Sometimes seeking contradictions is a valuable problem-solving
strategy. By listing all possibilities and eliminating the obviously
incorrect ones, you can narrow down the list of possible right answers.
Sometimes not all of the possibilities can be eliminated right away.
Use a systematic Detectives use the process of elimination as they try to solve crimes.
list to reduce
When they are able to eliminate some of the possible perpetrators
the number
of possibilities. quickly, they can concentrate on investigating the remaining suspects.
In highly circumstantial cases, they may follow up on their assumptions
by sifting through the evidence looking for contradictions. The person
for whom there is no contradictory evidence becomes the leading
suspect. One potential pitfall of this strategy is that there may be
others, who were not investigated, for whom there is a motive but
no contradictory evidence.
Similarly, when you use the strategy of eliminating possibilities,
Beware of you may have to make an assumption and follow that line of thinking
assumptions that
until you reach either a contradiction or a solution. If you reach a
lead directly to a
solution. More than contradiction, you know you can go back and eliminate that assumption.
one solution may On the other hand, if you reach a solution, you need to go back and
be possible. check all remaining possible assumptions, because they may also lead
to a solution.

Problem Set A
1. S Q U A R E R O OT S

The square root of 4356 is an integer. Without a calculator, determine

what that integer is by eliminating possibilities. Do the same for 8464.

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2. H OW M A N Y L I N E S ?

Stu counted the lines of a page in his book. Counting by threes gave
a remainder of 2, counting by fives also gave a remainder of 2, and
counting by sevens gave a remainder of 5. How many lines were on
the page?

3. EGGS IN A BASKET

If the eggs in a basket are removed two at a time, one egg will remain.
If the eggs are removed three at a time, two eggs will remain. If the
eggs are removed four, five, or six at a time, then three, four, and five
eggs will remain, respectively. But if they are taken out seven at a time,
no eggs will be left over. Find the least number of eggs that could be
in the basket.

4. DA RT B O A R D

Juana threw five darts at a dartboard. The possible scores on the target
were 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Each dart hit the target. Which of these total
scores can be quickly identified as “not possible”: 38, 23, 58, 30, 42, 31,
26, 6, 14, or 15? (Don’t spend more than 1 minute on this problem.)

5. FIND THE NUMBER

If you multiply the four-digit number abcd by 4, the order of digits

will be reversed. That is, abcd  4
dcba. The digits a, b, c, and d are
all different. Find abcd.

6. WOW, WOW, S O C O O K !

Denée was having an argument with her roommate, W O W

Frankie, about whether or not Frankie could cook. After W O W
arguing for a while, Denée said, “Wow, wow, so cook!”
+ S O
Frankie, who was a math teacher, noticed that what
Denée said might be a cryptarithm. She sat down to C O O K
work on it, and Denée ended up cooking dinner. Each
letter in the cryptarithm stands for a different digit. (Hint: K
9.)

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7. N E L S O N + C A R S O N = R E WA R D

A story from the Old West tells the tale of two famous outlaws named
Nelson and Carson. The wanted poster calling for their arrest indicated
that a substantial reward would be offered to the person who caught
up to both of them and brought them in for trial. Amazingly, it turned
out that the poster contained a great cryptarithm. All who saw the
poster realized this and spent their time solving the puzzle rather than
looking for Nelson and Carson! When Nelson and Carson heard all the
ruckus about the poster, they also tried to solve the problem. However,
they weren’t too bright and ended up visiting their local sheriff for a
clue. He told them that N
5, and then he arrested them. They solved
the problem during the time they spent
N E L S O N
in jail. Each letter in the cryptarithm stands
for a different digit. Find the digits that + C A R S O N
the other letters represent. R E W A R D

8. T H E T H R E E S Q UA R E S

Three cousins, Bob, Chris, and Phyllis, were sitting around watching
football on TV. The game was so boring that they started talking
about how old they were. Bob (the oldest) noticed that they were all
between the ages of 11 and 30. Phyllis noticed that the sum of their
ages was 70. Chris (the youngest) pointed out, “If you write the square
of each of our ages, all the digits from 1 to 9 will appear exactly once
in the digits of the three squares.” How old was each person?

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9. TO T E L L T H E T R U T H

Many puzzle books contain puzzles that involve people or creatures

who are either liars or truth tellers. You no doubt know from experience,
for instance, that many talking dogs are notorious liars. Imagine that
you have just encountered three talking dogs and you ask them
whether they are liars or truth tellers. Dog 1 says something that
you do not understand. Dog 2 says, “He said he was a truth teller.”
Dog 3 says, “Joe is lying.” You then ask, “Which one of you is Joe?”
Dog 2 says, “I am the only Joe.” Dog 3 points to Dog 1 and says, “He
is the only Joe.” Determine whether each dog is a liar or a truth teller,
or whether it can’t be determined.

10. F O U R C O L L E G E R O O M M AT E S

Thuy (the tallest) is older than Miguel (the lightest). Jerel (the oldest)
is shorter than Nate (the heaviest). No one has the same rank in any
category. For example, if someone is the second tallest, he can’t also
be the second heaviest or the second oldest. Rank the four roommates
in each category: age, height, and weight.

11. THE LETTER FROM COLLEGE

The story goes that a young man away at college needed some extra
cash. He sent his mother this plea. He wanted her to send the amount
indicated by the following sum: SEND  MORE
MONEY. Each
letter stands for a different digit, 0 through 9. No two letters stand for
the same digit. How much money did the young man want? (Assume
that there is a decimal point between N and E because his mother is
probably not willing to send ten thousand or so dollars to her son on
request.)

12. W R I T E YO U R OW N

Create your own problem that has to be solved by eliminating

possibilities. In your problem you may want to somehow use the
systematic-list problem you created in Chapter 2: Make a Systematic
List. You also may want to try making up a cryptarithmetic problem.

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C L A S S I C P RO B L E M S
13. TURKEYS

Among Grandfather’s papers a bill was found:

72 turkeys $_67.9_

The first and last digits of the number that obviously represented the
total price of those fowls are replaced here by blanks, for they have
faded and are now illegible. What are the two faded digits and what
was the price of one turkey?

Adapted from How to Solve It by George Pólya.

14. S C R A M B L E D B OX TO P S

Imagine that you have three boxes, one containing two black marbles,
one containing two white marbles, and one containing one black marble
and one white marble. The boxes were labeled for their contents—
BB, WW, and BW—but someone has switched the labels so that every
box is now incorrectly labeled. You are allowed to take one marble at
a time out of any box, without looking inside, and by this process of
sampling you are to determine the contents of all three boxes. What is
the smallest number of drawings needed to do this?

Adapted from The Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions by
Martin Gardner.

15. THE TRIAL

A king tried his political prisoners based on Frank Stockton’s story

“The Lady or the Tiger?” The prisoner must choose one of two doors.
Behind each door is a room containing either a lady or a tiger. It is
possible that both rooms contain ladies or both rooms contain tigers,
or that one room contains a lady and the other room contains a tiger.
If the prisoner chooses the room with the lady, he goes free. If he
chooses the room with the tiger, he is eaten. There is a sign on each
door. The king tells the prisoner that the signs on the doors are either
both true or both false.
The sign on door I says “At least one of these rooms contains a
lady.” The sign on door II says “A tiger is in the other room.” Which
room should the prisoner pick?

Adapted from The Lady or the Tiger? and Other Logic Puzzles by Raymond Smullyan.

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16. T H E C O N S P I R ATO R S ’ C O D E

A correspondent sends this interesting puzzle: Two conspirators had

a secret code. Their letters sometimes contained little arithmetical
sums relating to some quite plausible discussion and having an entirely
innocent appearance. In their code each of the ten digits represented
a different letter of the alphabet. Thus, on one occasion, a letter
contained a little sum in simple addition that, when the letters were
substituted for the figures, read as follows:
F L Y
F O R
 Y O U R
L I F E

It will be found an interesting puzzle to reconstruct the addition sum

with the help of the clue that the letters I and O stand for the figures
1 and 0, respectively.

Adapted from 536 Puzzles and Curious Problems by Henry Dudeney, edited by
Martin Gardner.

Problem Set B
1. T H E S I D E WA L K A R O U N D T H E G A R D E N

We have a garden that measures 17 feet by 20 feet. We want to pour

concrete for a 3-foot-wide sidewalk around the garden. To make the
forms for the concrete, we will need to buy some 2-by-4-inch lumber.
How many feet of lumber will we need just for the perimeter of the
walk? (Consider both the inside and the outside perimeter.)

2. A NUMBER OF OPTIONS

Dusty Rhodes is planning to buy a new mountain bike. The different

available options are as follows.

a. She can choose either regular tires or extra-heavy-duty tires.

b. She can choose to get plastic, vinyl, cloth, or leather for the seat.

c. She can choose a paint color: brown, silver, or black.

In how many different ways can she order her new bike?

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3. GOOD DIRECTIONS?

I stopped at a street corner and asked for directions to Burger Jack.

Unfortunately, the person I asked was Larry Longway, whose directions
are guaranteed to be too complicated. He said, “You are now facing
north. Go straight for two blocks. Turn left. Go straight for one block.
Turn right. Go straight for three blocks. Turn right. Go straight for five
blocks. Turn right. Go straight for three blocks. Turn left. Go straight
for one block. Turn right. Go straight for four blocks. Turn left. Go
straight for two blocks. Turn left. Go straight for one block. Turn left.
Go straight for five blocks, and you are there.” By the time I arrived,
I was out of breath and Burger Jack was closed. Please give me the
directions for the shortest path from my original spot to Burger Jack.
(Assume no streets have dead ends.)

4. HIGH SCORERS

The five starters for the Seaside Shooters scored all the team’s points
in the final basketball game of the season. Regina Reporter covered the
game, but later her notes were accidentally destroyed. Fortunately she
had taped some interviews with the players, but when she played
them back only a few quotes seemed relevant to the scoring. She knew
the final score was 95 to 94. Using the players’ observations, determine
how many points each of them scored.

KELLENE: Everybody’s totals were odd.

SHAUNTAE: Donna was fourth highest with 17 points. I scored
12 more points than Kellene.
MARTINA: Kellene and I scored a total of 30 points. I outscored her.
HALEY: The last digit in everybody’s score was different.
DONNA: Our highest scorer had 25 points.

5. WAY S TO S C O R E

The Chicago Bears score 18 points in a football game. In how many

different ways can the Bears score these points? Points are scored as
follows: A safety is 2 points, a field goal is 3 points, and a touchdown is
6 points. After a touchdown is scored, the team may get 1 extra point
for a kick, 2 extra points for a 2-point conversion, or 0 points if they
fail on either of the above.

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