Maths For Fun :  Often, when I have time on my hands, I try to solve interesting mathematical questions of the following kind. Sometimes my friends and I create the problems, and sometimes we find them in 'fun books'. Why don't you try these problems?

Take your time!

1. Suppose I offer you a loan to start a safety matchstick production unit on the following terms:

• I shall first advance you Rs.50,000/- to set up your unit, and wait for 3 months so that you can buy the equipment and start production. (Assume that Rs.50,000/- is enough for this.)
• After the three months are over and you have started production, I shall give you Rs.50,000/- every day, for 60 days.
• In return, I ask you for very little. You shall give me one matchstick on the first day, double that (i.e.,2) on the second day, double that (i.e., 2x2=4) on the third day, and so on, for 60 days.
• On the 60th day, after the transactions are over, our agreement shall end, and we shall owe each other nothing. In exchange for the huge amount of money that I will have given you, I would be satisfied with the matchsticks you will have given me in 60 days.

a) Would you accept the offer!

b) Who will gain from this deal, and by how much?

2. A village has only one barber. He shaves all those men in the village who don't shave themselves. Will the barber shave himself?

3. You are given a wooden plank with three holes. The holes have the shapes of a square, a triangle and a circle. Can you make one plug from a wooden block that would exactly fit each of the three holes?

4. Consider the "number square", If you add the numbers in any row, or column, or diagonal, the sum will be the same, l5 in this case. Because of this property, the square is called a magic square. Can you make a 4 x 4 magic square with the numbers 1 to 16?

5. What is the biggest number that can be written using only four ones? (You are allowed to use any number operation, but the only digit you can use is 1, and that too 4 times. The answer is much larger than 1111.)

6. Arrange 24 persons in 6 rows, so that each row has 5 people.

Didn't you enjoy doing them? Whenever I'm travelling, or I'm not busy at work, I find that doing such problems are great fun. Similarly, children enjoy such mental activity, as long as the puzzles are within their mental reach.

Here's a chance for you to think up examples of 'recreational maths'!

E7) Create three problems/riddles/puzzles for children to help them feel that 'maths is fun'. Try them out on the children around you. Find out which ones they enjoyed, and why.

So far we have only spoken about one aspect of mathematics-its utility in our daily lives. But is this why mathematics is called "the queen of the sciences"? No. It is because of the beauty and power of mathematical concepts, which is due to the special features of mathematics that we will now discuss.