`t` to the 1/8th power
Math brain teasers require computations to solve.
How might a mathematician describe a number `t` held to the following condition:
When (t+1) is subtracted from t and the result is raised to the 1/8th power.
Answer
Imaginary Number.
Whenever (t+1) is subtracted from `t`, you will simply be left with -1. -1 raised to the 1/8th power is the same as taking the positive root of something. When taking the positive root of any negative number, you are left with an imaginary number.
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Comments
Phyllis 
Feb 01, 2001
| What is a rooth? |
jmanheim
Feb 02, 2001
| Your second sentence is syntactically incorrect. |
thephirm
Oct 18, 2001
| Your claim that taking the positive root of any negative number results in an imaginary number is incorrect. For example, the cube root of -1 is -1 (-1 * -1 * -1 = -1). However the even root of any negative number will be imaginary. |
canu
Jul 13, 2004
| The words in the teaser look like English words, but put together they have no meaning in English or in math. |
Sane 
Mar 20, 2005
| I did the subtraction wrong and came out with:
1/100 000 000
0.00000001
 |
darthforman
May 25, 2005
|  |
stephiesd
Dec 09, 2005
| i read it wrond after i did the subtraction, i read it as the -8th power, resulting in -1.
anyhow, we haven't covered imaginary numbers yet. i think they're next chapter. |
mr_brainiac
Jan 11, 2006
| I don't think that the answer is really an imaginary number, I think it's more likely an imaginary imaginary number, or maybe it's an imaginary imaginary imaginary number, or maybe it's ... |
lessthanjake789
Jan 29, 2006
| wrong... all of you. the number t is a positive, real number. let t = 100, t+1 = 101. t-(t+1) = -1, raised to the 1/8th is, truly an imaginary number, but as you can see, "t" is ANY real number, positive or negative. sorry, but poorly thought out teaser |
Methlos 
Mar 12, 2006
| I thing i might put my head under a pillow for a while |
Brainy_1
Mar 18, 2006
|  That hurt my head! Nice job though!  |
MadDog72
Mar 23, 2006
| I see four problems with this teaser:
1) It asks for the number t, not the value of (t-(t+1))^(1/.
2) Why bother with t? Isn't it obvious that if t+1 is subtracted from t, the result is -1?
3) The answer is vague. I actually computed the answer, only to find that all you wanted was 'imaginary'.
4) It's not an imaginary number! An imaginary number is a number of the form b*i, where i^2=-1. The answer is of the form a + b*i, where a is nonzero (there are actually 8 answers, but they are all of this form). The answer is complex and not real, but not imaginary either. |
Krystle
Jul 23, 2006
| wow, i'm not good at math at all  |
Qrystal
Jul 29, 2006
| I figured that a mathematician would call 't' TRIVIAL. After all, it got subtracted out of the situation right away.
There must be a way this teaser could be improved so that it asks what it means to ask... although of course MadDog72 is absolutely correct in stating that [-1]^[1/8] is technically considered complex, not imaginary.
Does anyone care that [-1]^[1/8] has 8 answers? 
Let A = cos(pi/. Let B = sin(pi/.
Then [-1]^[1/8] =
( A + B*i, B + A*i, -B + A*i, -A + B*i,
-A - B*i, -B - A*i, B - A*i, A - B*i )
Anyways, I don't care if anyone else doesn't care; I wrote it because I care. So there. |
Qrystal
Jul 29, 2006
| eeek my answer got invaded by sunglass dudes!
That should say:
Let A = cos[pi/8]. Let B = sin[pi/8]. |
dimez_00
Oct 22, 2006
| i figured this:
(t+1)-t=? ?^1/8 therefore i got
t+1-t=1 1^1/8=the 8th root of 1 which is 1 |
ChristheGreat
Nov 12, 2006
| Hmm.. you did't include the fact that pi to the 3rd power minus the radius of a duck's butt plus the deepness of a toilet = 5 times the 3rd trigonometric function plus the amount of time it takes for the final star to impact the earth causing free cake for everyone!  |
EA_KLEIN
Mar 15, 2007
| whoever wrote this has some loose marbles in his keppie |
jamesbond
Apr 19, 2007
| ya ryt |
SRB_1807 
Aug 17, 2011
| I love 2 eat ducks.. |
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