Problems from Another Time

Individual problems from throughout mathematics history, as well as articles that include problem sets for students.

The third part of a necklace of pearls, broken in a lover's quarrel, fell to the ground...

How many calves, goats and pigs did the farmer buy?

Two men starting from the same point begin walking in different directions. Their rates of travel are in the ratio 7:3.

Logarithms: The Early History of a Familiar Function - Introduction

The authors recount the 'great tale' of Napier's and Burgi's parallel development of logarithms and urge you to use it in class.

Landscaping

A person has a circular yard that is 150 ft. in diameter, and wishes a walk of equal width made round it within the fence...

Woodcutter

A woodcutter starts to fell a tree 4 feet in diameter, and cuts half way through. One face of the cut is horizontal, and the other face is inclined to the horizontal at an angle of 45 degrees. Find the volume of the wood cut out.

Round Pond in Rectangular Garden

A round pond sits in a rectangular garden. Its center is inaccessible; however, you know the distances from each corner of the garden to the circumference of the pond: 60, 52, 28, and 40 yards. What is the radius of the pond?

Peano on Wronskians: A Translation - Additional References in the Articles

How a translation of Peano's counterexample to the 'theorem' that a zero Wronskian implies linear dependence can help your differential equations students

Gardening

An oblong garden is a half yard longer than it is wide and consists entirely of a gravel walk...

The Speculator's Buy

A speculator bought stock at 25% below par and sold it at 20% above par. He gained $1560. How much did he invest?