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Math Puzzle for April 25, 2025

by Jeff Smith On In Puzzles | Comments Disabled

Two happy Aquarians hold the water hose

Alameda Post - Two kids hold a garden hose that sags and forms a shallow half circle between them. A Distance labeled capital D is marked between the kids' hands. Around halfway between the two kids' hands, the lowest point of the curve is labeled lowercase d distance from one child's hand. [1]
Photo courtesy Jeff Smith.

Layla and Tristan are watering their mother Jolie’s plants.
The distance D between their hands, holding the hoses, is exactly 183 centimeters.
The lowest point the hose sags is a distance d of 72 centimeters from Layla’s hand.
At the lowest point, the hose is 35 centimeters above the ground.
Leaving Layla’s hand, the hose is 82 centimeters above the ground.
Leaving Tristan’s hand, the hose is 60 centimeters above the ground.
Jolie, an Encinal grad, recognizes the hose is a close approximation of a parabola.

Find the length L of hose between Layla’s hand and Tristan’s hand.

First correct answer arriving at [email protected] [2] wins a Tucker’s Ice Cream gift card.

Last week’s winner [3] was Lucy Seereiter with A = 1984 sq. cm. M = 11.01274 gms.

Jeff Smith is a former Math teacher and a retired US Navy Lieutenant Commander. Reach him at [email protected] [2].