If you have a chocolate bar consisting of squares arranged in a rectangular pattern -- say 2 x 5 squares. Your task is to split the bar into small 1 x 1 squares (always breaking along the lines between the squares) with a minimum number of breaks (you may not lift up pieces and place them on top of each other). How many breaks will it take to break up a 2 x 5 chocolate bar into 1 x 1 squares? If the chocolate bar has m row by n columns, what is the minimum number of breaks needed to split it into 1 x 1 squares?

Solution to the Problem: The answer is 9 breaks for the 2 x 5 bar and (m) (n) - 1 for the m x n bar. It always takes one less than the number of chocolate squares. Click here for a demonstration. Click here for a puzzle about chocolate math!

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