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This problem was shared on Twitter by Dr. Catharine Young @catgyoung, who noted that she has a PhD but is stumped by a math problem for 4th graders!
As usual, watch the video for a solution.
4th Grade Problem Stumps Adults
Or keep reading.
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“All will be well if you use your mind for your decisions, and mind only your decisions.” Since 2007, I have devoted my life to sharing the joy of game theory and mathematics. MindYourDecisions now has over 1,000 free articles with no ads thanks to community support! Help out and get early access to posts with a pledge on Patreon.
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Answer To 4th Grade Problem Stumps Adults
(Pretty much all posts are transcribed quickly after I make the videos for them–please let me know if there are any typos/errors and I will correct them, thanks).
At first it seems impossible since shading 2 of the small squares will leave either an unshaded rectangle or two unshaded squares. But are there other ways to shade the squares in half?
The top row shows two ways to shade each small square in half so the resulting unshaded portion is a square.
But nothing in the problem states you have to shade each small square in half. The bottom row has examples of shading the large square in half leaving an unshaded square.
But any rotation or translation of the unshaded area is also a solution, such as this solution.
What a nice puzzle!
Reference
Tweet from Dr. Catharine Young @catgyoung
https://twitter.com/catgyoung/status/1780732556989591721
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