# Math Help - Help with a strange maths problem

1. ## Help with a strange maths problem

Hi everybody, I am working on a design project and i'm hoping somebody can help me. I need a beautiful maths problem (something that looks good to the eye on paper) that has the answer of 2,009. I don't want any words included just symbols and numbers. Being a completely maths no hoper i am looking for a honest answer.
thankyou

2. Originally Posted by philly
Hi everybody, I am working on a design project and i'm hoping somebody can help me. I need a beautiful maths problem (something that looks good to the eye on paper) that has the answer of 2,009. I don't want any words included just symbols and numbers. Being a completely maths no hoper i am looking for a honest answer.
thankyou
$2009*\displaystyle\sum_{i=2}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}$?

3. Originally Posted by Swlabr
$2009*\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}$?
Thankyou Swlabr, it certainly is beautiful to the eye, sadly i don't understand it! This may seem like a daft question but is the 2009 you have put down at the beginning, the solution, or is it part of the " maths problem"?

4. Originally Posted by philly
Thankyou Swlabr, it certainly is beautiful to the eye, sadly i don't understand it! This may seem like a daft question but is the 2009 you have put down at the beginning, the solution, or is it part of the " maths problem"?
It is both part of the problem and the solution.

$
\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}=1
$

and so mutiplication by 2009 will yield 2009...it's not actually that good a problem, I suppose. I just like the sequence and try to get it in everywhere!

A neater way of posing it would be $\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{2009}{i^2}$.

5. Originally Posted by Swlabr
It is both part of the problem and the solution.

$
\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}=1
$

and so mutiplication by 2009 will yield 2009...it's not actually that good a problem, I suppose. I just like the sequence and try to get it in everywhere!

A neater way of posing it would be $\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{2009}{i^2}$.
$
\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}= \frac{{\pi}^2}{6} \ldots
$

$
\displaystyle\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{i^2}= \frac{{\pi}^2}{6} \ldots
$
Thankyou for explaining Swlabr, as much as i like the look of your problem, unfortunately
i need one where 2009 is only the solution and not used as part of the problem!
Any ideas?

7. The Chat Room is not the place to ask for math help! This should be obvious.

8. Originally Posted by philly
Hi everybody, I am working on a design project and i'm hoping somebody can help me. I need a beautiful maths problem (something that looks good to the eye on paper) that has the answer of 2,009. I don't want any words included just symbols and numbers. Being a completely maths no hoper i am looking for a honest answer.
thankyou
I think this looks nice

$\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\sqrt{\pi}t^7e^{-t}-6062e^{-t^2}}{\sqrt{\pi}}dt=2009$

9. Originally Posted by philly
Hi everybody, I am working on a design project and i'm hoping somebody can help me. I need a beautiful maths problem (something that looks good to the eye on paper) that has the answer of 2,009. I don't want any words included just symbols and numbers. Being a completely maths no hoper i am looking for a honest answer.
thankyou
Sorry but this is a completely ridiculous thing to ask, for the following reasons:

1. None of us know your mathematical background. Furthermore, you say you're "completely maths no hoper":
(a) This a relative statement. Hopeless compared to what ....?
(b) If you're as hopless as you say you are, you probably wouldn't understand any of the replies you're likely to get.
(c) If this is for some sort of assessed classwork, you will probably have very little intellectual ownership of whatever is suggested here that you decide to submit.

2. None of us know the context of the question.

3. None of us know what your criterion of beautiful is.

You've been given a perfectly good and resaonable answer by TheEmptySet which nevertheless I doubt you will be able to use for the reasons given above. This is likely to be a common theme.

If you give a complete and thorough description of what your mathematical background is and what the purpose of this question is, maybe something useful to you can be posted.

Otherwise, this thread is going to end up as an exercise in something completely different to what was intended.

10. Originally Posted by mr fantastic
Sorry but this is a completely ridiculous thing to ask, for the following reasons:

1. None of us know your mathematical background. Furthermore, you say you're "completely maths no hoper":
(a) This a relative statement. Hopeless compared to what ....?
(b) If you're as hopless as you say you are, you probably wouldn't understand any of the replies you're likely to get.
(c) If this is for some sort of assessed classwork, you will probably have very little intellectual ownership of whatever is suggested here that you decide to submit.

2. None of us know the context of the question.

3. None of us know what your criterion of beautiful is.

You've been given a perfectly good and resaonable answer by TheEmptySet which nevertheless I doubt you will be able to use for the reasons given above. This is likely to be a common theme.

If you give a complete and thorough description of what your mathematical background is and what the purpose of this question is, maybe something useful to you can be posted.

Otherwise, this thread is going to end up as an exercise in something completely different to what was intended.
1. My question is not ridiculous, and you suggested i ask it.
2. I was asking for help, because i could not answer the question myself and i was hoping somebody else might be interested enough in helping me.
3. It is for a design idea i'm working on.
4. I said 'beautiful to the eye' which i think is pretty straight forward.
5. I think i am possibly asking the wrong people.
6. When i tried to access The Empty Set answer, all i got was his photo and name. I have now got his reply to my "ridiculous" question, which i am going to thank him for.

11. Originally Posted by philly
1. My question is not ridiculous, and you suggested i ask it.
2. I was asking for help, because i could not answer the question myself and i was hoping somebody else might be interested enough in helping me.
3. It is for a design idea i'm working on.
4. I said 'beautiful to the eye' which i think is pretty straight forward.
5. I think i am possibly asking the wrong people.
6. When i tried to access The Empty Set answer, all i got was his photo and name. I have now got his reply to my "ridiculous" question, which i am going to thank him for.
1. I didn't say your question was ridiculous, I said it was ridiculous to ask it without more background (I gave reasons for this). There is a big distinction between the two. Had you provided more background it wouldn't have been ridiculous.

2. - 4. I have already given reasons in my earlier post.

5. And yet you got a reply that, it would seem, you're very happy with.

Insead of arguing with and criticising me it would be more constructive to provide the background I asked for in my previous reply.

12. Originally Posted by TheEmptySet
I think this looks nice

$\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\sqrt{\pi}t^7e^{-t}-6062e^{-t^2}}{\sqrt{\pi}}dt=2009$
Thankyou for your answer, I appreciate it. Would you mind if i used it for a christmas card idea? This would only be sent to about 50 people and i would not be selling them. I quite understand if this is a problem for you., just let me know. I try and take a different approach every year, and having had a 'tricky year' i thought a lateral approach would be a tricky maths problem!

13. I am sorry if you think I am arguing and criticising you, it is not my intention. I think there might be a lack of understanding on both sides. To answer your background question, I have not studied maths since school which was over 30 years ago. But over the years i have worked as a pattern cutter, a carpet designer, and as a graphic designer, these all have a certain amount of maths involved, but not in a way that is transferable to this particular question.

14. Originally Posted by philly
I am sorry if you think I am arguing and criticising you, it is not my intention. I think there might be a lack of understanding on both sides. To answer your background question, I have not studied maths since school which was over 30 years ago. But over the years i have worked as a pattern cutter, a carpet designer, and as a graphic designer, these all have a certain amount of maths involved, but not in a way that is transferable to this particular question.
OK. If you'd just said in your first post "I want to make a Christmas card with a real cool looking equation whose solution is 2009", all this misunderstanding would have been avoided! In fact, instead of me saying it's "ridiculous to ask this" I probably would have said "this is a great idea" and posted a suggestion (which probably would have looked pretty lame compared to what TES posted).

Originally Posted by philly
Thankyou for your answer, I appreciate it. Would you mind if i used it for a christmas card idea? This would only be sent to about 50 people and i would not be selling them. I quite understand if this is a problem for you., just let me know. I try and take a different approach every year, and having had a 'tricky year' i thought a lateral approach would be a tricky maths problem!
Perhaps you could include $\copyright \emptyset$ as a subscript somewhere ....

15. Originally Posted by mr fantastic
OK. If you'd just said in your first post "I want to make a Christmas card with a real cool looking equation whose solution is 2009", all this misunderstanding would have been avoided! In fact, instead of me saying it's "ridiculous to ask this" I probably would have said "this is a great idea" and posted a suggestion (which probably would have looked pretty lame compared to what TES posted).

Perhaps you could include $\copyright \emptyset$ as a subscript somewhere ....
I have been known to over complicate things, but this can lead to interesting thought processes and discussions!
Think the mathematicians joke might be a bit wasted on me, but glad you're left smiling (at least I understood the copyright bit!)

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