Math Puzzle: Wrangle the Rectangles
The nine rectangles A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I overlap. Rectangle A intersects rectangles D and F; this relationship can be written in shorthand as A\(D, F). Furthermore,
B\(F, G)
C\(V, H)
D\(A,H)
E\(H,I)
F\(A,B,I)
G\(B,C,I)
H\(C,D,E)
I\(E, F, G)
Correctly label the rectangles with the letters A to I.
Only the four blue-shaded rectangles below intersect three other rectangles and therefore must be F, G, H, and I. H does not intersect F, G, or I, whereas I intersects both F and G. Therefore, H is the top-most blue-shaded rectangle and I is third from the top. Because B\(F, G) and E\(H, I), the two rectangles B and E can also be identified. The rest is simple.
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This puzzle originally appeared in Spektrum der Wissenschaft and has been reproduced with permission.
