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Problems from Another Time

Individual problems from throughout mathematics history, as well as articles that include problem sets for students.

'He Advanced Him 200 Lambs of Gold': The Pamiers Manuscript - A Synthesis of Mediterranean Methods
Discussion of 15th century French manuscript, with translation of its problems, including one with negative solutions
Monkeys in a Tree
A tree 100 units high is 200 units distant from a well; from this tree one monkey climbs down and goes to the well...
Compound Interest
Suppose a man had put out one cent at compound interest in 1620, what would have been the amount in 1824, allowing it to double once in 12 years?
What Are the Odds?
Suppose that the probability of success in an experiment is a/(a+b). How many trials of the experiment are necessary to insure even odds on it happening at least once?
Free Fertilizer
If 12 oxen eat up 3 1/3 acres of meadow in 4 weeks and 21 oxen eat up 10 acres of exactly similar meadow in 9 weeks, how many oxen shall eat up 36 acres in 18 weeks? (Hint: The grass continues to grow.)
Where Cosine Meets Tangent
Determine by using algebra the number of degrees in the angle A where: cos A = tan A
Distribution of the Mangoes
Of a collection of mango fruits, the king took 1/6; the queen 1/5 the remainder, and the three princes took 1/4, 1/3 and 1/2 (of the same remainder); and the youngest child took the remaining 3 mangoes.
Apes in a Forest
In a forest, a number of apes equal in number to the square of 1/8 of the total number of apes are noisy. The remaining 12 apes are on a nearby hill irritated. What is the total number of apes in the pack?
The Square and the Cube
A number is required; that the square shall be equal to twice the cube.
The Sum of Its Parts
One says that 10 is divided into three parts and if the small part is multiplied by itself and added to the middle one multiplied by itself the result is the large one multiplied by itself...

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