Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T03:58:42.969Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An improbable game of darts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Tony Crilly
Affiliation:
City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Argyle Tower 2, Mongkok, Hong Kong
Stephen Suen
Affiliation:
City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Argyle Tower 2, Mongkok, Hong Kong

Extract

The general utility of the ‘pigeon hole principle’ (that if n + 1 pigeons are placed in n boxes one of the boxes contains more than one pigeon!) is neatly illustrated by the problem of showing that:

If seven darts land on a dartboard in any configuration whatsoever, there will always be two darts which are not more than a distance of one radius apart.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)