In the illustration we have a sketch of Sir Edwyn de Tudor going to rescue his love, who was held captive by a neighbouring wicked baron.
Sir Edwyn calculated that if he rode at fifteen miles an hour he would arrive at the castle an hour too soon, while if he rode at ten miles an hour he would get there just an hour too late.
Now, it was of the first importance that he should arrive at the exact time appointed, in order that the rescue that he had planned should be a success, and the time of the tryst was five o'clock, when the captive would be taking afternoon tea.
The puzzle is to discover exactly how far Sir Edwyn de Tudor had to ride.
Sir Edwyn De Tudor, Amusements In Mathematics, Henry Ernest Dudeney.
If Sir Edwyn left at noon and rode 15 miles an hour, he would arrive at four o'clock, which is an hour too soon. If he rode 10 miles an hour, he would arrive at six o'clock, which is an hour too late. But if he went at 12 miles an hour, he would reach the castle of the wicked baron exactly at five o'clock, which is the time appointed.
The text above is the answer given in the book, and below is a method of finding the answer.
If we call the distance to the castle, D and use the fact that Time = Distance ÷ Speed, we have:
Travelling at 15 mph:
Time1 = D ÷ 15 (an hour too soon)
Travelling at 10 mph:
Time2 = D ÷ 10 (an hour too late)
The time gap between these two times is 2 hours, therefore
Time2 – Time1 = 2
D ÷ 10 – D ÷ 15 = 2
Multiply throughout by 30:
3D – 2D = 60
D = 60 miles.
???
Puzzle 2
Place the words below into pairs.
You will then have 5 lots of eight letters, each of which is an anagram of at least one other word.
Can you find the 5 pairings, and at least one anagram each?
During a recent gymnastics gala, four athletes competed in three events, the vault, the beam, and the floor.
Chris came third on the floor. The athlete who came second in the vault won the beam event. The athlete who came second on the beam won the floor. Emery beat Alex in every event. The athlete who won the vault came second on the floor. Billie came last in the vault.
Can you determine who finished where in each event?
Hint
Could Alex have come first or second in any event?
Answer Vault Beam Floor
#1 Emery Chris Billie
#2 Chris Billie Emery
#3 Alex Emery Chris
#4 Billie Alex Alex
Reasoning
By (1), Chris came third on the floor. By (6), Billie came last in the vault.
Vault Beam Floor
#1
#2
#3 Chris
#4 Billie
By (2), the athlete who came second in the vault won the beam event, let's mark these as X.
By (3), the athlete who came second on the beam won the floor, let's mark these as Y.
By (5), the athlete who won the vault came second on the floor, let's mark these as Z. Vault Beam Floor
#1 Z X Y
#2 X Y Z
#3 Chris
#4 Billie
By (4), Emery beat Alex in every event, therefore Alex can't have won any event, nor come second (because of X, Y, and Z). So, Alex came third on the vault, and last on the floor. Vault Beam Floor
#1 Z X Y
#2 X Y Z
#3 Alex Chris
#4 Billie Alex
Looking at the vault, Z can't be Chris because Z came second on the floor (but we know Chris came last). So, Z must be Emery, and X is Chris. Vault Beam Floor
#1 Emery Chris Y
#2 Chris Y Emery
#3 Alex Chris
#4 Billie Alex
Looking at the floor, Y is Billie. Vault Beam Floor
#1 Emery Chris Billie
#2 Chris Billie Emery
#3 Alex Chris
#4 Billie Alex
By (4), Emery beat Alex on the beam. Vault Beam Floor
#1 Emery Chris Billie
#2 Chris Billie Emery
#3 Alex Emery Chris
#4 Billie Alex Alex
??
Puzzle 4
Which four vegetables have been merged together?
cab swe rpr eed oaa etn
