Math Toy Puzzle #1 Solution
Last week, I posted about a math toy that my wife purchased. I also posted three puzzles related to this toy. The first puzzle is reprinted below: Recently, my wife bought the following wooden toy from a clearance bin at Target. It's a set of six dials, rainbow-colored, that are connected by a wooden axle. The dials are shaped like decagons, and each side of the dial is painted as follows: The red dial: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 The orange dial: The following mathematical operators, in this order: +, -, x, +, -, x, +, -, x, +. Note that there are consecutive plus signs on the dial. The yellow dial: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 The green dial: The = sign appears on all sides The blue dial: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 The purple dial: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Randomly (and independently) spin each of the six dials of the toy. Look at the mathematical statement that appears on the top of the toy. What is the probability that the mathematical statement is correct? Here is how I...