To be considered for publication on this blog, all word problems must be the original work of the submitter. Problems should be solvable using techniques no more advanced than those of ordinary high school algebra. Please use the following typographic conventions (particularly if your submission is written in plain text):
Separate operations from operands using space: a + b, not a+b. However, a/b, not a / b.
Use ^ for exponentiation: a to the b power is a^b.
Use parentheses when required, but also to clarify: (ab)/(c^2) is better than ab/c^2 even though normal rules of parentheses use do not require parentheses.
For square root, use ^(1/2): for example, (a^2 + b^2)^(1/2) = c gives the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
For other functions use typical abbreviations: sin(x), atan(1)
Use spaces around relation signs: a < b, not a<b.
Above all, aim for clarity and avoid ambiguity.
Send submissions to: m r . m a t h @ o r d e r i n g c h a o s . c o m
