Project Gutenberg's Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney

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Title: Amusements in Mathematics

Author: Henry Ernest Dudeney

Release Date: September 17, 2005 [EBook #16713]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Transcribers note: Many of the puzzles in this book assume a
familiarity with the currency of Great Britain in the early 1900s. As
this is likely not common knowledge for those outside Britain (and
possibly many within,) I am including a chart of relative values.

The most common units used were:

the Penny, abbreviated: d. (from the Roman penny, denarius)
the Shilling, abbreviated: s.
the Pound, abbreviated: L

There was 12 Pennies to a Shilling and 20 Shillings to a Pound, so there
was 240 Pennies in a Pound.

To further complicate things, there were many coins which were various
fractional values of Pennies, Shillings or Pounds.

Farthing 1/4d.

Half-penny 1/2d.

Penny 1d.

Three-penny 3d.

Sixpence (or tanner) 6d.

Shilling (or bob) 1s.

Florin or two shilling piece 2s.

Half-crown (or half-dollar) 2s. 6d.

Double-florin 4s.

Crown (or dollar) 5s.

Half-Sovereign 10s.

Sovereign (or Pound) L1 or 20s.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should be adequate to
solve the puzzles in this book.

Exponents are represented in this text by ^, e.g. '3 squared' is 3^2.

Numbers with fractional components (other than 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4) have a +
symbol separating the whole number component from the fraction. It makes
the fraction look odd, but yeilds correct solutions no matter how it is
interpreted. E.G., 4 and eleven twenty-thirds is 4+11/23, not 411/23 or
4-11/23.

]




AMUSEMENTS IN MATHEMATICS

by

HENRY ERNEST DUDENEY


In Mathematicks he was greater
Than Tycho Brahe or Erra Pater:
For he, by geometrick scale,
Could take the size of pots of ale;
Resolve, by sines and tangents, straight,
If bread or butter wanted weight;
And wisely tell what hour o' th' day
The clock does strike by algebra.

BUTLER'S _Hudibras_.


1917




PREFACE


In issuing this volume of my Mathematical Puzzles, of which some have
appeared in periodicals and ot...

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