Mathematics Problem Of the Week

Fall 2002

POW #1

A Matter of Ages

"That's good of you and Pat," said Bob, picking up a little photo on his colleague's desk. "But who's the other man?"

Mary smiled. "That's my son, Norbert" she replied. " Maybe you'll meet him now that he's back home for a while."

Bob examined the photo more closely. "I'll take your word for it, but you must have started young!"

"Come on." Mary smiled. "The cube of Pat's age is the difference between the squares of Norbert's age and mine, so you see, he's not that old."

"No logic in that." Bob shook his head. "Just words."

Mary sighed. "Okay. My age is exactly in the same ratio to Norbert's as his is to Pat's, and I've taken all three in complete years."

What are their ages?

Due Friday, September 6^th at Noon.

Solutions should be submitted to Dr. R. Lock's mailbox in the Math office or sent via e-mail to rlock@stlawu.edu.

Presentation counts! The prize-winning entry will be selected from all correct submissions, based on the clarity, creativity and elegance of the solution.

Look for the SLU POW on the Web at http://it.stlawu.edu/~math/activities/