Problem of the Week

Welcome to
The Problem of the Week
("I know it don't thrill you; I hope it don't kill you." -- Elvis Costello)

Reflections for the Holidays

(12/17/98) You are inside a room in which two mirrored walls meet in a corner to form a 45 degree angle. If you are l feet from the wall on your left and r feet from the wall on your right, how far from the corner should you look in order to see your left and right profiles?

Previous Problems

(12/7/98) Area as Arc Length
(11/23/98) An Envelope Problem
(11/16/98) A Nonnegative Determinant
(10/26/98) A Sum of Reciprocals
(10/19/98) A Definite Integral
(10/12/98) Mine Sweeping
(10/5/98) An Odd Symmetric Matrix
(9/21/98) Beads at the Vertices of a Regular N-gon
(9/14/98) Concurrent Medians of a Quadrilateral
(9/8/98) The Social Security Matrix Problem
(8/31/98) The Balance Scale Problem
(8/24/98) The Skittles Problem