Question:
Is there any unsolvable math questions?
Giggles!
2007-12-13 09:37:41 UTC
I was just wondering,Im so rubbish a Maths lol
23 answers:
Steve J
2007-12-13 09:47:48 UTC
Hi Stacey.

In theory, everything should be soluble. i think the biggest problem currently unresolved is, an equation to turn a square of a certain area into a circle of a certain area (and vice versa). Some smarty pants may crack it one day, though.

Cheers, Steve.
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:40:41 UTC
yeah if you don't have enough info, you can't solve things.







oh and 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2



= 806
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:40:09 UTC
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2
Merlyn
2007-12-13 09:47:15 UTC
Yes and no. There have been questions, or rather theorems and postulates that have been posed that appear to be true but have not been proved. As the field of Mathematics advances some problems are solved.



For example, in the mid 1600's Fermat pose a theorem, called "Fermat's Last Theorem" which was unproven until the 1990's. The type of mathematics needed to prove the theorem were not developed or discovered until the mid 1900's.



http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Fermat's_last_theorem.html



The Riemann hypothesis is still unproven, but will, more than likely one day be proven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis



Now there are some problems that are impossible. For example, the integral of e ^ (x^2) :



∫ exp( x^2) dx



has no closed form solution. there is no function whose derivative is exp(x^2). So if you were asked to find the closed form solution to the integral, then yes this is an unsolvable math problem.



You can always construct unsolvable probelms as well.
azteccameron1
2007-12-13 10:22:24 UTC
There exist within maths problems which are undecidable. This was actually proved by Godel. There also exist problems as yet unsolved. Kepler's theorem for the closest packing of regular spheres as face-centered cubic is yet unproved.

Golbach's conjecture that every even number is the sum of two primes is unproved.

The Reimann hypothesis that the R/z function has non-trivial poles with a real part=1/2. ($1M prize!)

(Erdos showed that in any partion n>2n there must exist a prime, which is a consequence of the Goldbach conjecture, so I would guess that this is the track to prove GP and perhaps even Rz)

The problem with Godels proof is that it does not specify all problems which are not provable.So 1,2 and 3 could be by definition intractable.
mathdummie11
2007-12-13 09:57:45 UTC
1. The Goldbach conjecture.



2. The Riemann hypothesis.



3. The conjecture that there exists a Hadamard matrix for every positive multiple of 4.



4. The twin prime conjecture (i.e., the conjecture that there are an infinite number of twin primes).



5. Determination of whether NP-problems are actually P-problems.



6. The Collatz problem.



7. Proof that the 196-algorithm does not terminate when applied to the number 196.



8. Proof that 10 is a solitary number.



9. Finding a formula for the probability that two elements chosen at random generate the symmetric group S_n.



10. Solving the happy end problem for arbitrary n.



11. Finding an Euler brick whose space diagonal is also an integer.



12. Proving which numbers can be represented as a sum of three or four (positive or negative) cubic numbers.



13. Lehmer's Mahler measure problem and Lehmer's totient problem on the existence of composite numbers n such that phi(n)|(n-1), where phi(n) is the totient function.



14. Determining if the Euler-Mascheroni constant is irrational.



15. Deriving an analytic form for the square site percolation threshold.



16. Determining if any odd perfect numbers exist.



The Clay Mathematics Institute (http://www.claymath.org/millennium/) of Cambridge, Massachusetts (CMI) has named seven "Millennium Prize Problems," selected by focusing on important classic questions in mathematics that have resisted solution over the years. A $7 million prize fund has been established for the solution to these problems, with $1 million allocated to each. The problems consist of the Riemann hypothesis, Poincaré conjecture, Hodge conjecture, Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture, solution of the Navier-Stokes equations, formulation of Yang-Mills theory, and determination of whether NP-problems are actually P-problems.



In 1900, David Hilbert proposed a list of 23 outstanding problems in mathematics (Hilbert's problems, a number of which have now been solved, but some of which remain open. In 1912, Landau proposed four simply stated problems, now known as Landau's problems, which continue to defy attack even today. One hundred years after Hilbert, Smale (2000) proposed a list of 18 outstanding problems.



K. S. Brown, D. Eppstein, S. Finch, and C. Kimberling maintain webpages of unsolved problems in mathematics. Classic texts on unsolved problems in various areas of mathematics are Croft et al. (1991), in geometry, and Guy (1994), in number theory.



SEE ALSO: Beal's Conjecture, Catalan's Conjecture, Fermat's Last Theorem, Hilbert's Problems, Kepler Conjecture, Landau's Problems, Mathematics Contests, Mathematics Prizes, Poincaré Conjecture, Problem, Solved Problems, Szemerédi's Theorem, Twin Primes.
anonymous
2007-12-13 15:56:00 UTC
This is taken from a longer article about Gregory Chaitin's work.



Number theory is the foundation of pure mathematics. It describes how to deal with concepts such as counting, adding, and multiplying. Chaitin's search for Omega in number theory started with "Diophantine equations"--which involve only the simple concepts of addition, multiplication and exponentiation (raising one number to the power of another) of whole numbers.



Chaitin formulated a Diophantine equation that was 200 pages long and had 17,000 variables. Given an equation like this, mathematicians would normally search for its solutions. There could be any number of answers: perhaps 10, 20, or even an infinite number of them. But Chaitin didn't look for specific solutions, he simply looked to see whether there was a finite or an infinite number of them.



He did this because he knew it was the key to unearthing Omega. Mathematicians James Jones of the University of Calgary and Yuri Matijasevic of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St Petersburg had shown how to translate the operation of Turing's computer into a Diophantine equation. They found that there is a relationship between the solutions to the equation and the halting problem for the machine's program. Specifically, if a particular program doesn't ever halt, a particular Diophantine equation will have no solution. In effect, the equations provide a bridge linking Turing's halting problem--and thus Chaitin's halting probability--with simple mathematical operations, such as the addition and multiplication of whole numbers.



Chaitin had arranged his equation so that there was one particular variable, a parameter which he called N, that provided the key to finding Omega. When he substituted numbers for N, analysis of the equation would provide the digits of Omega in binary. When he put 1 in place of N, he would ask whether there was a finite or infinite number of whole number solutions to the resulting equation. The answer gives the first digit of Omega: a finite number of solutions would make this digit 0, an infinite number of solutions would make it 1. Substituting 2 for N and asking the same question about the equation's solutions would give the second digit of Omega. Chaitin could, in theory, continue forever. "My equation is constructed so that asking whether it has finitely or infinitely many solutions as you vary the parameter is the same as determining the bits of Omega," he says.



But Chaitin already knew that each digit of Omega is random and independent. This could only mean one thing. Because finding out whether a Diophantine equation has a finite or infinite number of solutions generates these digits, each answer to the equation must therefore be unknowable and independent of every other answer. In other words, the randomness of the digits of Omega imposes limits on what can be known from number theory--the most elementary of mathematical fields. "If randomness is even in something as basic as number theory, where else is it?" asks Chaitin. He thinks he knows the answer. "My hunch is it's everywhere," he says. "Randomness is the true foundation of mathematics."



The fact that randomness is everywhere has deep consequences, says John Casti, a mathematician at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and the Vienna University of Technology. It means that a few bits of maths may follow from each other, but for most mathematical situations those connections won't exist. And if you can't make connections, you can't solve or prove things. All a mathematician can do is aim to find the little bits of maths that do tie together.



"Chaitin's work shows that solvable problems are like a small island in a vast sea of undecidable propositions," Casti says.
walker
2007-12-13 09:58:01 UTC
There are a lot of problems. Some of them are solved using mathematics, but the most of them are unsolvable, especially if the hypothesis of the problem is not correct.Even the hypothesis is correct the problem maybe unsolvable using mathematics, but we can solve it using a suitable software programme in the computer.
Phillip D
2007-12-13 09:46:07 UTC
Sure add your phone number plus the number 2. Subtract 3 times your age. Add 2 plus 3 and subtract the original by the number of people who died in the civil war.







Oh and to this

"Yes there is....



3 soldies arrive at a motel, the clerk charges them $30.00 for the night, each soldier gives them $10.00. They go up to the room. The clerk felt bad for charging full price to the soldiers so he had the bellboy take them $5.00... The bellboy before arriving kept $2.00 and gave the soldiers back $1.00.. so they payed $9.00 each for the room. if ....:



3x9=27

27+2=29



where is the other $1.00?"





The answer is they paid 25 add the bell boys 2 dollars devide that by 3 would be 9 each this means now they paid 27 dollars.. and the bell boy gave them 3 dollars back which makes 30 :).
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:46:18 UTC
Try the Riemann's Hipothesys, it has been unsolved by mathematicians for 150-200 years.
anonymous
2016-05-23 13:35:00 UTC
Actually, the math is incorrect. What the landlord kept is the difference in the price of the rent, not and addend for the original price in the rent. If the landlord gave back $5.00, the rent was $25.00, because $30.00- $5.00= $25.00. Instead he gave back $3.00, and rent is $30.00 - $3.00= $27.00. Now, because the landlord decided to keep $2.00, the rent is $2.00 higher, or $27.00 - $25.00= $2.00. Therefore, the correct problem should say 9 x3+3 which = (what each guy paid) times ( the number of guys) plus (the refund from the landlord).
ironduke8159
2007-12-13 09:42:13 UTC
Many. The nost famous are how to trisect an angle using only a compass and staigtedge, and how to construct a square equal in area to a given circle.
Barbarian
2007-12-13 09:41:32 UTC
No maths problems are unsolvable, but we don't have all the answers for ways to solve. Learning one part leads to the next
Jeremy K
2007-12-13 09:41:18 UTC
Sure there are lots. Some things just will never "add" up no matter how you formulate the equation. heh



Seriously though, there are some mathematical equations that can start out simple but get to a point that it is nearly impossible to solve.
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:40:35 UTC
Calculate to the last digit the number of pi



pi is an infinite number, so it would go on forever and you would never reach the last digit
Ash_Jx
2007-12-13 09:41:21 UTC
lots of them



e.g



http://mathworld.wolfram.com/UnsolvedProblems.html



-------------------Attention 999pheebs-----------------



you probably haven't learnt this but you will in time,



There is no square root of real negative numbers, but if we expand from real numbers set to a more larger set called the COMPLEX SET, then we we define an IMAGINARY UNIT



i such that



i^2 = -1 and i = sqrt( - 1) so for any negative number -n, and not just -1



then

sqrt( -n) = sqrt( -1 * n) = sqrt(-1) * sqrt(n) = i n
AK41
2007-12-13 09:41:46 UTC
unsolvable math questions? yea, 2x+1= 10, thats unsolvable
Pirate ♥ Kitten
2007-12-13 09:43:16 UTC
Yes there is....



3 soldies arrive at a motel, the clerk charges them $30.00 for the night, each soldier gives them $10.00. They go up to the room. The clerk felt bad for charging full price to the soldiers so he had the bellboy take them $5.00... The bellboy before arriving kept $2.00 and gave the soldiers back $1.00.. so they payed $9.00 each for the room. if ....:



3x9=27

27+2=29



where is the other $1.00?
*baby~stephie*
2007-12-13 09:40:08 UTC
whats the exact answer for pie lol
anordtug
2007-12-13 14:06:22 UTC
Yes, there are lots of them.
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:40:11 UTC
yeah
anonymous
2007-12-13 09:49:54 UTC
PI= 3.14 WOOO GOO ME!
nonoodles74
2007-12-13 09:41:25 UTC
square root of a minus number......... unless you leave it as a surd :)

Except the square root of minus one is i.


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