#212 Sound off
Set by Alison Kiddle
“Why isn’t the sound working?” Mum muttered as she hit the mute key on the remote control.
“You’ve probably got the wrong remote, Mum,” Sam said. “Remember, it’s the long, thin one for the television, the wide one for the set-top box and the little one for the speakers. Which one did you mute?”
“I can’t remember,” said Mum, as she got her thinking cap on to try to fix things.
To get sound, all three remotes have to be unmuted. Mum came up with the most efficient system for cycling through the possible combinations of muting and unmuting, and got to work. What is the maximum number of presses needed if she wanted to be sure of getting the sound back?
Solution next week
#211 Cross purposes
Solution
Debbie crosses out 33, forcing Hoi to cross out 3, and Debbie wins with 51.
Quick quiz #192
set by Bethan Ackerley
1 What are the structures that make up the mycelium of a fungus called?
2 Anne McLaren's research led to the development of which medical technology?
3 Which of these insects gives birth to live young: aphids, tiger beetles or silkworms?
4 Where in the body would you find a coloboma?
5 Objects in the Kuiper belt that have a similar orbital period to that of Pluto are known as what?
Quick quiz #192
Answers
1 Hyphae
2 In vitro fertilisation, or IVF
3 Aphids
4 In the eye: it is a condition where there is a fissure in one of the structures of the eye, such as the iris
5 Plutinos