We are thrilled to continue the Problem Of The Month series, hosted by the Mathematics Department at Boise State University!
How Does it work? Each month we'll present a new problem. The following month we'll present a solution or solutions, and through it we'll learn more about mathematical fields, and how math is being used in our world today!
Who's it for? YOU! The problems and articles are for anyone interested. Whether you're in school (any grade!), college, or you just enjoy thinking about cool problems and learning interesting things - The Problem Of The Month is for YOU!
How do I participate? Have fun thinking about the problems and trying to solve them! If you'd like, you can send your solutions to mathoutreach@boisestate.edu for the possibility to have your solution mentioned and win some prizes!
Are there any prizes? Yes! We ask school students submitting solutions to write down the name of their school, their grade and the name of their math teacher. We will celebrate unique and creative solutions at the end of the month and and those solutions will win their senders some cool prizes.
Is there a mailing list? Yes! Scroll this page all the way down in order to join and stay informed. All are welcome to join the list and receive the problems and articles directly - students, teachers, parents, grandparents and anyone else!
Who's behind the scenes? This series is now continued by its third contributor, Josie Derrick. Hi! I joined the Mathematics Department at Boise State in December 2024, and am continuing the Problem Of The Month series. I hope that thinking about our problems will stimulate your imagination, and will be fun and interesting!
This month's problem is modified from a 2002 book called The Inquisitive Problem Solver. Given a specific set of rules, how fast can the Cookie Monster eat all the cookies?
Read the full problem and start pondering for yourself!
Inscribing shapes in other shapes is a problem mathematicians have been exploring for years! In this problem of the month, we explored a special case. Read the solution below, as well as learn about how it is related to an unsolved problem in mathematics!
Geared towards middle and high school students, the Boise Math Circle explores topics that are not usually covered in school. The goal is for each participant to feel a spark and discover something new for themselves. The meetings are intended to be stress-free and encouraging.
Fall 2026 Circle Sessions:
Meet at room 107 of the Math Building at Boise State University on
October 10th, 1-2:30pm
December 5th, 1-2:30pm
Meet in the library of Riverglen Jr. High School on
Tuesday October 20th, 3:30-5pm
Thursday December 10th, 3:30-5pm
If you like the problem of the month, you may like joining us at this year's Math Invitational at Boise State on November 14th
You can sign up as a team (4-6 students) or as partial teams (and we will group you with other partial teams to make a full team)!
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Po-Shen Loh
Two student divisions: “Geometry/Algebra” and “Pre-Calculus & Beyond”
Both individual and team events for all
Awards & Prizes for students & mentors
Lunch provided
Sign Up to Participate By October 17th
or
Note: There are more great problems from 2024 and earlier, but there has been recent legislation updating the accessibility requirements of public content affilitated with government agencies, which includes this website. As such, these resources which do not meet the accesibility requirements have been removed from the website. Feel free to reach out to mathoutreach@boisestate.edu if you would like to see these earlier problems.
Do you want to get updates when new problems and solutions are posted? All are welcome to join the list and receive the problems and articles directly - students, teachers, parents, grandparents and anyone else!