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Sums on Channel 4’s “Countdown”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2021

C. A. Glasbey
C. A. Glasbey*
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural Statistics Service, JCMB, The King’s Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ
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Extract

As part of a daily game-show on Channel 4 television, contestants on Countdown have to combine up to six numbers to produce a specified (but randomly chosen) three-digit result. For example, a few weeks ago they were given the numbers 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. By use of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (provided that the result is an integer) they had to use each number at most once to obtain the number 526. And they have only 30 seconds in which to do it! One possible solution turned out to be

(7 x 9 + 4) x 8 - 10 = 526.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 75 , Issue 472 , June 1991 , pp. 178 - 183
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1991

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References

1. Rouse Ball, W.W., Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Macmillan, London 1940.Google Scholar
2. Rouse Ball, W.W., Four fours : Some arithmetic puzzles, Math. Gazette No. 98, May 1912.10.2307/3603066CrossRefGoogle Scholar