Cube

[cinelli]

How can you make a cube with five paper matches? No bending or splitting of matches is allowed.

Cinelli

[Gengulphus]

How can you make a cube with five paper matches? No bending or splitting of matches is allowed.

Spoiler...

Place them as follows on a flat surface (though without the small gaps):

/|
 |
 |
 |

The cube is 1^3 = 1. ;-)

Gengulphus

[GoSeigen]

How can you make a cube with five paper matches? No bending or splitting of matches is allowed.

Cinelli

Would I be right in guessing this is more a riddle than a puzzle and that the cube is 8?


GS

[UncleEbenezer]

How can you make a cube with five paper matches? No bending or splitting of matches is allowed.

Cinelli

Would I be right in guessing this is more a riddle than a puzzle and that the cube is 8?


GS

Would that be akin to making a square from three such matchsticks? Note that you could extend your solution to make other cubes including 125, 1000, or 125000.

Otherwise 27 would work much the same way. Or indeed 1, +1, or -1, according to height.

But all of these solutions use matchsticks, whereas the question asks about "paper matches" - whatever they might be. I think we need to figure out what that actually refers to. "Bending or splitting" may be a complete red herring.

[malkymoo]

Would I be right in guessing this is more a riddle than a puzzle and that the cube is 8?


GS

or 27?

Not sure why the matches need to be paper though.

[SteelCamel]

OK, this is probably too obvious.... Get another seven of them? You can then quite easily arrange them as the 12 edges of a cube. You never said "using only five paper matches"...

Or if we are looking for a cube number, how about "X - II" which is 10 - 2 = 8? You can make the X with two crossed matches, and the rest are singles, totalling five. They need to be paper matches as it makes it easier to cross them - a matchstick might fall off.

[cinelli]

Gengulphus was very quick off the mark with an acceptable answer. So is this:

-   -
/   /
-

(27). You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

[UncleEbenezer]

Gengulphus was very quick off the mark with an acceptable answer. So is this:

-   -
/   /
-

(27). You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

I'm disappointed. I imagined the answer would've been GoSeigen's implied VIII . Which of course leads to my other suggestions: a three-match square being IV, IX, or IL, and an extension being the observation that any number (e.g. V, X or L) raised to the power of III is a cube.

[kiloran]

You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

What's the problem? Make a square with 4 of the matches, then add the fifth across the middle. OK, it's a bit squashed, but it's still an 8

--kiloran

[UncleEbenezer]

You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

What's the problem? Make a square with 4 of the matches, then add the fifth across the middle. OK, it's a bit squashed, but it's still an 8

--kiloran

... which those of us of a certain age will remember from our pocket calculators and computers up to about 30 years ago.

[GoSeigen]

Gengulphus was very quick off the mark with an acceptable answer. So is this:

-   -
/   /
-

(27). You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

.===1===
|       |
2===3===4 
|       |
 ===5===

GS

[BobbyD]

Gengulphus was very quick off the mark with an acceptable answer. So is this:

-   -
/   /
-

(27). You would do well to make 8 from five matches.

Cinelli

.===1===
|       |
2===3===4 
|       |
 ===5===

GS

Make an 'X' with the first two matches, place the third match between the two ends at the bootom of the X, and the fourth match between the two ends at the top. Strike the fifth match and burn to the end.

[malkymoo]

I have thought of a way to make a cube out of four matches (all of them), can be wood ones if you like! Only slightly more tricksy than the original question.

Any advance on four?

[Gengulphus]

I have thought of a way to make a cube out of four matches (all of them), can be wood ones if you like! Only slightly more tricksy than the original question.

Any advance on four?

Well, there's a way to make a cube from just one match (all of it), and it too can be a wood one if you like. It's closely related to my solution with five matches earlier in the thread...

Any advance on one? ;-)

Gengulphus