DU Math experts - homework help needed!!!

[SW FL Dem]

Hubby and I used to be good at math, but that was almost 30 years ago. Our son has a "math challenge" assignment that has to be done tonight. We got most of the problems. The one that is stumping us is as follows:

You have 4 toothpicks arranged as follows


____________
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
_______________


Move one toothpick to make a perfect square - (that's the easy part!!)
Then do IT (bold in original) in a different way to make another perfect square. Any help welcome!

[Guy Fawkes]

1. move it like:

___________________1
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-----------2
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||
34


move 2 up from the bottom. To make a second, move 1 down.

[eyesroll]

2. Could perfect square actually mean 1, 4, 9, 16, etc.?

I don't really see any of this in toothpicks, though. Maybe the actual toothpicks would be more revealing.

Could this be roman numerals? (I = 1; IV = 4; IX = 9; ... C = 100) Could you remove one of the vertical toothpicks to make a C?

[Catch22Dem]

4. I'm with you

Having an impossible time visualizing

[SW FL Dem]

10. Ding ding Ding!

Moving one tooth pick, you can make a 4! Thanks!!

[DS1]

3. what are the 14 exclamation points?

[Ready4Change]

5. Maybe make a really small square?

I think a perfect square means sides of equal size, with 90 degree corners.

So, move the lower toothpick up to make a tiny square?

-------------------------
! !
-------------------------
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
! !

Just guessing.

[SW FL Dem]

6. The graphic didn't work.

Let my try again.

Three toothpicks form a U shape, the fourth is sticking out at a 90 degree angle from the top left of the U.

[Sentath]

7. Ah, in that case I think the answers are

One) slide the 4th toothpick to the right to make a geometric square.
Two) relocate that 4th toothpick completely to to depend from the lower right corner of the u to make a crude '4'.

i think
{rlg}

[DS1]

8. looks good to me!

:bounce:

[SW FL Dem]

11. those are the answers we got. :)

[Career Prole]

9. I see two choices.

That toothpick which was at right angles at the top left of the 'U'?
Move it to the bottom right of the 'U' oriented vertically to make the numeral 4.

Or...since they emphasized the word "it" in the problem, spell the word "it" with three toothpicks, use the top of the "T" to turn the "T" into an "X" or a "V" as Eyesrolling suggested, for a Roman numeral perfect square.

[I_like_chicken]

13. I dont think the idea is to make a 4

I think you can make a large perfect square, and then a small perfect square with parts of the toothpicks coming out of the corners. Nothing in the rules says you can't do that.

[SW FL Dem]

14. You can only move one toothpick each time

[TXlib]

12. Is it a math problem, or a riddle?

If it's a straight math problem, then I'm stumped about making a second perfect square.

But referring to it as 'a perfect square' hints that it may be a riddle, and making a '4' might be the answer.