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Burning 1-Hour Fuses in 45 Minutes (Math Chat)

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Visit this site: http://www.maa.org/features/mathchat/mathchat_2_4_99.html
Author:Frank Morgan, MAA Online
Description: You have two one-hour fuses: lighting one end of a fuse will cause it to burn down to the other end in exactly one hour's time. You know nothing else about the fuses; in particular you don't know how long any segment of a fuse will burn, only that an entire fuse takes one hour. How can you tell when exactly 45 minutes have passed? Answer: This is possible, but it takes two good ideas...
Levels: Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
Languages: English
Resource Types: Problems/Puzzles, Articles
Math Topics: Calendars/Dates/Time, Calculus (Single Variable)

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