Stolen Truck Problem

Marilyn Burns is the founder of Math Solutions and the author of ten books for children. She uses exceptional problems to promote reasoning and sense making.

I have often heard that, “Good teachers borrow, great teachers steal.” So today, I am stealing one of Marilyn’s most famous problems. The problem recently appeared in our house — as I was preparing dinner one night last week, my sons were getting rowdy, and I needed a diversion. It’s incredibly wonderful to me that I can get them to settle down by saying, “Hey, wanna solve a math puzzle?” I gave them a modified version of Marilyn Burns’ horse problem, and talking about it kept them occupied for 20 minutes, which was just enough time for me to prepare a chicken and vegetable stir fry.

You can read the problem and submit your answer via the form below. Several solutions to the problem, as well as an analysis of all submitted solutions, will be posted on September 20 at Stolen Truck Solution.

If the form does not appear below, you can read the problem and enter your answer on this form. (Please don’t post your answer in the Comments, though.)