Thursday, September 10, 2009

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 6): Element-ary School Math Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 6): Element-ary School Math Puzzle:
Q: Take the names of the first nine elements of the periodic table: hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine. Select one letter from each of these names in order to spell a familiar nine-letter word. Hint: It's a word used in math.
Did I give this away with the reference to elementary school in the title? Well there are many terms we learn in our formative years of school, so I don't think it's too big of a giveaway. However, if it did spoil the puzzle for you, get over it. On the other hand, if you want another clue, look to a puzzle we had in August.

Edit: The puzzle in question was from August 2008 where the answer was FRACTION/RATIO. This week's hint was "get over it..."
A: NUMERATOR
Posted by Blaine at 9:10 PM
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35 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here. Thank you.
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  2. I'm so on top of things today that I have already submitted my answer.
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  3. The World over, the gender of folks who are on the bottom of the ratio is directly proportional to the STANDARD MEASURE of aaaaall things societal, that is, androcentrism. Still.
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  5. Sorry there was an erratum on my last post...
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  6. Liane said, "We receuved about a thousand entries this week.

    Answer submitted after a bit of logical thinking, paying strict attention to the details.
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  7. Edward James Olmos meets Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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  8. It's funny Liane never mentions the ratio of correct entries to the total number of submissions. On some occasions she does disclose the number of correct entries, but without giving the total number of submissions. As a rational thinker, I would be interested in both.
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  9. In the meantime, while we're on the association with math, here's a puzzle I created:

    If 6 equals 13, 17 equals 19, 21 equals 26, and 25 equals 23, what does 30 equal?
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  10. Quite a few degrees of freedom to play around with for this week's question.
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  11. Lorenzo beat me to it...but I'll Be Back!
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  12. There's only a fraction of a chance I'll get this right, but I'm going to guess anyway...Wolfgang - 33?
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  13. The word most often paired with this week's answer can be found by taking one letter from each of the first 11 elements and rearranging.
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  14. JenJen: Thanks for taking on my puzzle, but 33 is incorrect. Here's a "hint": in my puzzle, the number 33 does not equal anything, and no other number equals 33. I'll post another hint tomorrow.
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  15. I got it within 1 minute this week. Its a new personal best. I was in the middle of moving my office from the basement too. Maybe working upstairs helps me think.
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  16. I'm sure that there are numerous atrocious solutions to this one, but there's only one that I found that really works.

    Wolfgang, do any numbers equal 31 or 32 or is 30 the largest number that has an equal?
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  17. Last week's puzzle about Nero reminded me that much is questionable about his history. Did he fiddle and commit arson, or, in fact, start an urban renewal project in a pragmatic way? Did he really commit suicide as reported by Suetonius's uncorroborated account? Did he escape to "the east" as it was rumored for 20 years, or were his ashes interred in an urn at Rome?
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  18. Nice thing about this puzzle, since it contains Carbon, is that it is organic!

    Yum. Answer is in.

    -- Other Ben
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  19. Dave, it just so happens 33 doesn't work. You should remain expansive in your imagination...
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  20. Basics are the top priority in solving this puzzle
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  21. All right--here, as promised, is another hint to my puzzle: 10 equals 4, and 29 equals 21. I'll have one more hint tomorrow if you should need it. In the meantime: happy Labor Day, everyone!
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  22. Wolfgang, if 21=26 and 29=21, does 26=29 or 29=26?
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  23. Dave, think back on an NPR puzzle that ran a few months ago. Look around you far and wide. Again, be expansive about your horizon.
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  24. I would imagine that everyone is keeping on "top" of the answer for this week's puzzle.
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  26. OK--here's the watershed hint for my puzzle: 48=44, and 50=44. Yes! Both 48 and 50 equal 44. Howzat?
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  27. Regarding Liane's comment on the number of entries each week, she seems to always mention the total number of entries, rather the exact count of correct answers. From that I deduce that they probably don't read through all the submissions. If they have 3000 entries, for example, they probably generate a random number between 1 and 3000 and then look at that specific answer. If it is correct, they call that person to see if he/she available. If not, they repeat the process. That might also explain why we often don't hear alternate answers given on the air.
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  28. Dave: Re Dave's Puzzle #12 posted Sun Aug 30,
    07;24:00 PM PDT. I'm still pondering.
    Answer, please.
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  29. Geri, et al., the puzzle was as follows:

    Replace the first letter of a country's name with the two letters immediately preceding that letter in the alphabet, i.e., replace a Z with X and Y. Rearrange those letters to get the name of a former leader of that country.

    Hint: I guess that I would be a real doll for giving you the answer, but I'll have none of that.
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  30. I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.


    Susan

    http://dclottery.info
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  31. Geri, et al., do you want another hint?
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  32. I really did make a mistake on the first post, but this triggered a more subtle hint in the second:

    "erratum on" = anagram of numerator
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  33. Dave, YES, YES, absolutely YES.
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  34. Okay, Geri, somebody last week gave the clue, b.k. B and K are the initials of a well known actor whose most famous role was about this country. As I stated earlier, I could be a real DOLL but I'll have NONE of that (think food here).
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  35. Geri, that last posting was from me, but my son was signed onto gmail and it posted with his nickname. Sorry.
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