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Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Secondary curriculum
  • Problem
  • Student Solutions
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee

They were standing under a tree, each with an arm round the other's neck, and Alice knew which was which in a moment, because one of them had "DUM" embroidered on his collar, and the other "DEE."

"I suppose they've each got 'TWEEDLE' round at the back of the collar," she said to herself.

Two brothers were left some money, amounting to an exact number of pounds all in coins, to divide between them. DEE undertook the division.

"But your heap is larger than mine!" cried DUM.

"True," said DEE. "Allow me to present you with one-third of my heap."

DUM added it to his heap, and after looking thoughtfully at the now gigantic pyramid, he suddenly exclaimed "I am well off now! Here is half of the heap for you."

"You are generous," said DEE, as he swept up the money. "Two-thirds of this heap is the least I can offer you."

"I will not be outdone in generosity!" cried DUM, hastily handing over three-quarters of his property.

"Prudence is a virtue," remarked DEE. "Content yourself with two-thirds of my present wealth."

"One-third of mine is all I can now afford!" retorted DUM.

"And now, if I give you one pound," remarked DEE, "we shall, I think, be square?"

He was right. How much money was shared between them?

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Sum Equals Product

The sum of the numbers 4 and 1 [1/3] is the same as the product of 4 and 1 [1/3]; that is to say 4 + 1 [1/3] = 4 � 1 [1/3]. What other numbers have the sum equal to the product and can this be so for any whole numbers?

Special Sums and Products

Find some examples of pairs of numbers such that their sum is a factor of their product. eg. 4 + 12 = 16 and 4 × 12 = 48 and 16 is a factor of 48.

As Easy as 1,2,3

When I type a sequence of letters my calculator gives the product of all the numbers in the corresponding memories. What numbers should I store so that when I type 'ONE' it returns 1, and when I type 'TWO' it returns 2, and so on.

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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