October 3, 2005
Problem of the Week

Vanity Plates
by David Pleacher



If these famous mathematicians were alive today, they would probably be sporting the license plates below.   Can you identify the owner of each vanity plate?
Click on the plate for a hint.



























Solution to the Problem:

State Vanity Plate Mathematician
Virginia: 1 4 6 4 1 Pascal
Georgia: 1 1 2 3 5 8 Fibonacci
Ohio: 7 - 24 - 25 Pythagoras
dy / dx Leibniz
(0,0) Descartes
Connecticut: 5/9 (F - 32) Celsius
Florida: FLUXION Newton
s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c) Heron
Michigan: E I PI 1 O Euler
Pennsylvania: 5 0 5 0 Gauss
South Carolina: ELEMENTS Euclid

 

My wife (a math major) looked at Michigan's license plate and told me that the answer was Old MacDonald (ee-ii-pi-ii-oo). She is such a kidder.

Here are some great answers that were sent in for the extra credit:

Contributed by: Vanity Plate Mathematician
Sagar Patel MC 2 Einstein
Olivia Quach
Sharina Smith
E IS MCC Einstein
Keith Mealy
Patrick McDuffee
Maggie Morrison
Andrew Montoya
E MC2 Einstein
John DeBergh R LA TIV T Einstein
Walt Arrison FOR E A Fourier
Torbjorn Jansson 1/0 Bhaskara
Jeffrey Gaither
Erin Fennacy
XN YN ZN Fermat
Jo Monhollen MARGINS Fermat
Danny Gordon 4 COLORS Wolfgang Haken
Ben Swartz MYOO(N) Mobius
Stephen O'Hara PI - 314 Archimedes





Correctly solved by:

1. Sagar Patel Columbus, Georgia
2. Olivia Quach Harrisonburg, Virginia
3. Walt Arrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4. John Funk Ventura, California
5. Keith Mealy Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Charlie Cumiskey Columbus, Georgia
7. Torbjorn Jansson Orebro, Sweden
8. Jeffrey Gaither University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
9. Slayton Gilmore Columbus, Georgia
10. Jo Monhollen Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California
11. Russell Beaty Columbus, Georgia
12. Sharina Smith Newport News, Virginia
13. Heather Brown Winchester, Virginia
14. Patrick McDuffee Harrisonburg, Virginia
15. Charles Washington Winchester, Virginia
16. Ben Swartz Winchester, Virginia
17. Carter Galbraith Columbus, Georgia
18. Danny Gordon Columbus, Georgia
19. Tristan Collins Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
20. Elizabeth Carlson Winchester, Virginia
21. Phillip Diana Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
22. Erin Fennacy Fresno, California
23. Maggie Morrison Winchester, Virginia
24 John DeBergh Winchester, Virginia
25. Andrew Montoya Winchester, Virginia
26. Stephen O'Hara Winchester, Virginia
27. Andrew Barnes Winchester, Virginia
28. Jesie Biggs Winchester, Virginia
29. Trish Nicholson Jasper, Indiana



Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher