March 2009
Problem of the Month

College Math



Can you rank the college logos from the equations below?
Each logo has a value from 1 to 5, and no two logos have the same value.







Give the answer for each of the following logos:
Wyoming Cowboys =
Wake Forest Demon Deacons =
Texas Longhorns =
Clemson Tigers =
Colorado State Rams =





Solution to the Problem:

Wyoming Cowboys = 3
Wake Forest Demon Deacons = 1
Texas Longhorns = 5
Clemson Tigers = 2
Colorado State Rams = 4

Let A = Demon Deacon
Let B = Tiger Paw
Let C = Cowboy
Let D = Longhorn
Let E = Ram

Then you can write five equations:

A + A = B
A + B = C
C + B = D
E + A = D
B + B = E

There are several ways to solve this.

(1) From the first two equations, you can get C = 3A.

Since all five letters must be in the range from 1 to 5,

A must equal 1 (anything larger forces C to be greater than 5).

Hence, C = 3.

Then, since B = 2A, B equals 2.

Then E = 4 and D = 5.

(2) Since B = 2A and E = 2B,
then E = 4A.

This forces A to be 1 and the rest follows.



Correctly solved by:

1. K. Sengupta Calcutta, INDIA
2. Jacob Harmon Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
3. Jeremy Harmon Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
4. Halie Gardner Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
5. Isabelle Patnode John Handley High School,
Winchester, Virginia
6. Courtney Feathers John Handley High School,
Winchester, Virginia
7. Meagan Leonard John Handley High School,
Winchester, Virginia
8. Aubrey Wilkerson John Handley High School,
Winchester, Virginia
9. Ben Clarke John Handley High School,
Winchester, Virginia
10. Richard K. Johnson La Jolla, California
11. Emily Stapp Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
12. Michelle Johnson Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
13. Shay Murray Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming
14. Mark O. Kampman Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, Wyoming


Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher