Math Puzzle: Move the Matchstick

Move three matchsticks around so that the coin is inside the house. You cannot move the coin, and the house must have exactly the same shape as before.

Five matchsticks are arranged in the shape of a houselike pentagon, with a coin sitting just outside the pointed top.

Spektrum der Wissenschaft, restyled by Amanda Montañez

Three matchsticks have been moved from the shape of a houselike pentagon, which had a coin just outside its pointed top. The rearrangement retains the same shape, but it is now oriented on a diagonal, with the coin in a corner of the pentagon’s base.

Spektrum der Wissenschaft, restyled by Amanda Montañez

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This puzzle originally appeared in Spektrum der Wissenschaft and was reproduced with permission.

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