2005 iTest Problems/Problem 26

Problem

Joe and Kathryn are both on the school math team, which practices every Wednesday after school until PM for competitions. The team was preparing for the iTest when Joe realized how crazy he was for not asking Kathryn out – the way she worked those iTest problems, solving question after question, almost made him go insane sitting there that day. He never felt the same way when she worked on preparing for other competitions – they just aren’t the same.

Kathryn always beat Joe at competitions, too. Joe admired her resolve and unwillingness to make herself look stupid, when so many other girls he knew at school tried to pretend they were stupid in order to attract guys.

So as time ticked away and that afternoon’s Wednesday practice neared an end, Joe was determined to strike up a conversation with Kathryn and ask her out. He really wanted to impress her, so he thought he’d ask her a really hard history of math question that she didn’t know. Naturally, she’d want the answer, and be so impressed with Joe’s brilliance that she’d go out with him on Friday night.

Great plan. Seriously.

When Joe asked Kathryn after class, “Who was the mathematician that died in approximately B.C. that developed a method for calculating all prime numbers?” Kathryn gave the correct response. What name did she say?

Solution

This is a mathematics history question. The correct answer is Eratosthenes.