Problems from Another Time

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

Gun metal of a certain grade is composed of 16% tin and 84% copper. How much tin must be added to 410 pounds of this gun metal to make a composition of 18% tin?

Purse of Denari

Four men already having denari found a purse of denari; each man has a different amount of denari before they found the purse. Find out how much denari each man has.

Snowdrift on the Tracks

A railway train strikes a snowdrift which creates a constant resistance. How long does it take the snow to stop the train?

A River Runs Through It

Wanting to know the breadth of a river, I measured a base of 500 yards in a straight line close by one side of it.

Travelling Men 2

Two men start walking at the same time and travel a distance. One is walking faster and completes the journey sooner. How fast did each man travel?

Fine Parisian Wine

Two wine merchants enter Paris, one of them with 64 casks of wine, the other with 20.

Diameter of the Earth

The highest point of the Andes is about 4 miles above sea level.

Square

The square of a certain number multiplied by itself and by 200 is 446,976. What is the number?

An Apple a Day

A man entered an orchard through 7 gates, and there took a certain number of apples. When he left the orchard, he gave the first guard half the apples he had and 1 apple more.

Logarithms: The Early History of a Familiar Function - Appendix: Student Tasks

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