Bearly There is an almost magical puzzle that is sure to fascinate students and teachers alike. It is patterned after the intriguing disappearing puzzles that were the rage in the late 19th and early 20th century. In these puzzles, pieces are rearranged or realigned in such a way that one or more of the objects pictured disappears or appears.
The puzzle presented here has three pieces: a long bottom piece and two shorter, top pieces. In one arrangement of these pieces there are 14 bears, in another, 13. The challenge facing students in this puzzle is to explain how this visual paradox works. While it may not look very mathematical in nature, this puzzle is full of interesting mathematics. In fact, one of the best explanations of the disappearing and appearing phenomenon is the mathematical one.
Bearly There (2.2 mb PDF) file.
Right-click (Control click on Mac) over the link above to download this puzzle to your computer.