by Dave Youngs
This month's Puzzle Corner is a collection of puzzles
dealing with letters of the alphabet. While they are not necessarily mathematical
in nature (although one could argue this point), these puzzles have a place
in a well-rounded mathematics curriculum.
Alphabetical Puzzlers is a collection of four puzzles
that use letters of the alphabet in a puzzling (please forgive the pun) manner.
The first two puzzles are similar; solving one should help students solve
the other. Both of these puzzles have two lists, with each of the letters
from a to w placed into one or the other
of these lists according to a certain rule. Students are challenged to discover
that rule. They are then challenged to determine into which lists the x,
y, and z should be placed.
The last two puzzles are also similar. Once one of them is solved
(which may take some time), the other solution should quickly follow. Both
these puzzles consist of a list of letters in a series with the last three
letters missing. Students are challenged to determine the next letters in
each series.
These puzzles, especially the last two, may prove to be frustrating
for many students since their solutions require divergent thinking. Once each
puzzles' secret is uncovered, students may wonder why they didn't
come up with the solution much sooner.
One of the goals of this activity is to give students an opportunity
to think divergently. Another goal is to build students' persistence in problem-solving.
These goals are not well served if the first student to solve the puzzle blurts
out the answer, robbing the other students of the chance to discover their
own solutions. To prevent this from happening, caution students not
to give away the answers. Explain that there will be a time later
in the week when those who have solved the puzzles can share their answers.
That said, we hope that you find these puzzles both challenging and enjoyable.
Worksheet
