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May's Problem

 

How many diagonals can be drawn in a convex 10 sided polygon?

 

A solution to this problem will appear along with next month’s problem.

 

Solution to April's Problem

If 1/x is the average of 1/4 and 1/6, find x.

ANSWER: 24/5 or 4 4/5


Solution:

The average of 1/4 and 1/6 is (1/4+1/6)/2=5/24. However, we want the reciprocal, which is 24/5=4 4/5.

 

For many additional problems we highly recommend the following books:

Math Olympiad Contest Problems Volume 2 edited by Richard Kalman

and

Math Olympiad Contest Problems for Elementary and Middle Schools by Dr. G. Lenchner are sources of many such problems.

Creative Problem Solving in School Mathematics 2nd Edition by Dr. George Lenchner can help you to teach solving these types of problems.