Think you're sharp?

[Aranian]

Here's one that's been torturing me for the last week:

You have a solid cube of butter. You get to make -5- planar slices through the cube. What is the maximum number of individual pieces you can cut the cube into?

Bwa ha ha.

 

[Rosebud]

Not too many people answering this one...guess none of us are sharp

 

[MinkSoul]

16

 

[Laurel]

18? One slice cutting it lengthwise, 2 diagonal cuts down its length (dividing it into 6 long pieces) then two cuts across its width in thirds (6x3=18). I'm sure that's wrong, but that's my guess.

 

[Naked Hunny]

i think its 24

 

[DevilMayCare]

I'm foolish enough to take a crack at this one. A cube has six planes. If one cuts the cube from corner to corner the two resulting pieces will each have five planes. So long as one end of each additional cut is a corner, that is the juncture of two planes, every subsequent segment will have five planes (top, bottom, left, right and back.). If my logic isn't totally messed up this would mean there is an infinite number of segments that could theoretically be cut.

 

[MinkSoul]

um.....Aranian.....

we need a definition of a "planar slice".....

 

[Aranian]

Planar = 2D

 

[Problem Child]

scratch 32...i'm still working on it



[Edited by Problem Child on 04-14-2001 at 11:11 PM]

 

[Always]

20

*grabs a stick of butter* you know there are many better uses for these things!

 

[Problem Child]

okay..I got 23, revised downward from 32.


hey these oddly shaped pieces of cheese are tasty. If I only had some crackers....

 

[His Whimsicality]

2 by 2 by 1 cuts = 18

 

[MinkSoul]

ok....this is driving me CaRaZy....

i sliced it side to side 3 times giving 4 pieces....

top to bottom 1 time doubling number to 8...

top to bottom again 90 deg rotation from the last cut giving 16 pieces...


how do you get 18, 20, 23?, 24....ect pieces?

 

[WriterDom]

1 piece.

it all melts back together no matter how you cut it