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Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 230

Oct. 1, 2000
This month's problem is sure to get your goat.

Problem 230 - Pet project

Deadbeat Dave's had it with mowing his lawn. It's such an effort to drag out the mower, and he's always missing something important. While Dave ponders his situation, his daughter, Lonely Little Liddie, keeps bugging him to come outside and play. Suddenly, Dave has an idea and he sends his wife to the county auction. If they get Little Liddie a goat to play with and tie it off in the yard, Dave's problems will be solved forever. How much ground can the goat cover assuming the tree is 10 ft in diameter and the rope is 25 ft in length? Ignore the height of the peg in the tree as well as the goat's extension beyond the end of it's leash.

Solution to September's problem, 229:

We couldn't have put it better or more eloquently than Mike Weaver of Portland, Conn., and we couldn't have drawn it better than Doug Thornberry of Highland City, Fla.:

Chip should follow astronomical signs,
In order to grow his precious pines.
With moonlight beaming from afar,
He must plant them as a five-pointed star.

Winner's circle

Fun problem 228:
Spittin' mad August, 1999:
Total entries: 53
Number correct: 32 (60.4%)
Winner: Bob Dykes of Urbandale, Iowa
Bob’s prize: Maple V software

Maple V is an interactive computator that provides a mathematical environment for manipulating symbolic algebraic expressions, arbitrary-precision numerics, graphics, and programming. Its library features over 2,700 functions used in many scientific and engineering applications. The software is available for Windows 98, 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.11, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, plus UNIX and Linux platforms.

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Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 229

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