Someone asked me the other day if I missed teaching, having been retired for almost two years now.
I gave my standard answer. “I do miss the students and their energy but I sure don’t miss the marking and all the administrivia surrounding teaching.”
Upon further reflection, I realize there is something else I miss…. and that’s the actual math. Doing a Sudoku or Kenken puzzle does not replace my love for the Queen of Sciences. I do miss math for its beauty, its underlying simplicity, and its challenge. I also miss the opportunity to share my passion for mathematics with young people.
With that preamble, please allow me to indulge myself by sharing my favourite math problem with you. It goes like this.
The circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km (over 40 million metres). Now imagine for a moment that a rope of that exact length could be tied snugly around the equator, so snugly in fact that not even a mouse could squirm under it. Now, magically, suppose you could add 10 metres to the length of the rope and then refit it around the equator again. This time, of course, there will be a bit of slack and the rope would gently rise by a uniform amount above the entire equator.
Here’s the question. Exactly how much higher would the rope rise evenly above the equator? How much difference will that 10 metres make, if any? Could an ant or mouse now squeeze under the rope? What about a cat or a dog?
Please make my day and e-mail me your answer at mjdaoust@hotmail.com
Bonus marks for elegant solutions!
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