Henry Ernest Dudeney/Modern Puzzles/104 - The Square Table-Top/Solution

Modern Puzzles by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $104$

The Square Table-Top

A man had three pieces of beautiful wood, measuring $12$ units, $15$ units and $16$ units square respectively.

He wanted to cut those into the fewest pieces possible that would fit together and form a small square table-tip $25$ units by $25$ units.

How was he to do it?

Solution

Piece $F$ is the $16$ by $16$ square.

Pieces $A$ and $B$ come from the $12$ by $12$ square.

Pieces $D$, $E$ and $F$ come from the $15$ by $15$ square.

Sources

• 1926: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Modern Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Solutions: $104$. -- The Square Table-Top
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Ansers: $328$. The Square Table-Top