Math Line Puzzles Join the Dots    Rosebush Puzzles Puzzle 1 Puzzle 2 Puzzle 3 M Puzzle Toothpick Puzzle                 Back to K12 Math Puzzles

Join the Dots      Question: Can you connect 9 dots laid out 3x3 using 4 straight lines, without lifting your pencil from the paper?    Suggested Materials: paper pencil 4 sticks of uncooked spaghetti and 9 pennies or 4 toothpicks and 9 Cheerios or other flat breakfast cereal or whatever other manipulative is handy to simulate the lines and dots    Procedure: Place 9 "dots" on your desk or table. Using the 4 sticks experiment with connecting the dots using 4 straight lines. (Or just use pencil and paper.)    Questions to ask yourself as you work: Can you do the puzzle if the lines do not cross each other? Must your lines stay within the grid of dots? What if you extend a line past the edges of the arrangement of dots? A hint...    Solution (Don't look 'til you're ready to give up!)

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