Are you clever enough to write code for a top software company? Let’s see if you can solve a math problem about a hanging wire… This week’s Micro Softy deals with wires in the electric power grid.

Two telephone poles are each 50 feet high. For safety reasons, the electrical workers from the power company are instructed to make sure the power line connecting the tops of the two poles does not touch the ground. The power line between the poles is 100 feet long.

How far apart must the poles be to make sure the power line does not touch the ground?

I’ll prove the answer next Monday. Here’s the answer to last Monday’s puzzle:

Solution to Micro Softy 33:   How Fast Can a Person Age?

Here’s the question:

Two days ago, Kaylee celebrated her fifth birthday. Interestingly, next year she will be seven years old. How can this happen?

Here’s the answer.

Image Credit: Resni AI - Adobe Stock

Assume that today is January 1, 2025. Two days ago, when Kaylee celebrated her fifth birthday, it was December 30. That was in 2024. She will turn six years old this year on December 30, 2025. So next year, in 2026, she will turn seven.

So, in summary, two days ago Kaylee celebrated her 5^th birthday (in 2024). Next year (in 2026) she will be seven years old.

Here are links to all the earlier Micro Softies

Monday Micro Softy 33: How fast can a person age? Can a person go from being five this year to being seven next year? The solution to Micro Softy 32 is to remember what types of functions derivatives apply to.

Monday Micro Softy 32: Elementary calculus is inconsistent! This is a fascinating puzzle — one that usually stumps even my best graduate students. The solution to Micro Softy 31 is to work back from the end of the alphabet. You will notice a term you can easily solve.

Image Credit: moodboard - Adobe Stock

Monday Micro Softy 31: Elementary algebra. How much can an equation be simplified? In last week’s puzzle, the car was handling like a cement mixer because something was wrong with the tires. The solution lies in finding out what that is.

Monday Micro Softy 30: Driving a cement mixer. Why did the car with leaky tires suddenly start handling like a cement mixer, and then, just as suddenly, handle normally again? Micro Softy 29 shows that unambiguous facts can be stated in confusing language but cold hard logic can solve the puzzle.

Monday Micro Softies archive

Monday Micro Softy 29: A funeral lament in four lines. The funeral director was puzzled by Dan’s description of his relationship to the deceased but there was no question that his grief was sincere. Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 22 through 29 as well.

Monday Micro Softy 21: Finding More of the Deadly Fentanyl Pills. Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 11 through 20 as well.

At Monday Micro Softy 11: What Happened to That Other Dollar?, you will find links to the first ten Micro Softies. Have fun!