Mathy Marriage

Match every woman to a man with arithmetic.

Each puzzle consists of a list of women, men, and numbers, where the women and men are numbers themselves. The goal is to apply arithmetic operations on women using numbers from numbers so that each woman is changed to be equal to one unique man. A number in numbers can be used only once.

Finally, the arithmetic operations consist of:

  • addition
  • subtraction
  • multiplication
  • division (must divide cleanly)

Each arithmetic operation must be applied to the woman, e.g. operation_two(operation_one(woman, num_one), num_two).

Admittedly, this may appear a bit confusing, so let’s see an example! Suppose we have the women, men, and numbers below:

women:  [19, 15, 22]
men: [20, 2, 3]
numbers: [4, 2, 5, 4, 5]

Then, a possible solution is the following:

woman 19 matched with man 2: ((19 + 5) / 4) - 4
woman 15 matched with man 3: 15 / 5
woman 22 matched with man 20: 22 - 2

Observe that:

  • Each number in numbers is used at most once, e.g. the only time the 2 is used is in the operation 22 - 2. Most solutions will require all to be used, but some may not!
  • Each woman is matched to a unique man who doesn’t necessarily appear at the same index as her.

Without further ado, here are some challenges. Grab some paper and a pencil and enjoy! Each puzzle was created programmatically, and is ensured to only have one solution!

Puzzle Difficulties:

Mild

Two Pairs, Three Numbers

Puzzle 1:

women:  [14, 22]
men:  [24, 23]
numbers:  [5, 2, 2]
Solution: 
woman 14 matched with man 23: (14 * 2) - 5
woman 22 matched with man 24: 22 + 2

Puzzle 2:

women:  [24, 15]
men:  [13, 10]
numbers:  [2, 6, 3]
Solution: 
woman 24 matched with man 10: (24 + 6) / 3
woman 15 matched with man 13: 15 - 2

Puzzle 3:

women:  [20, 8]
men:  [4, 2]
numbers:  [3, 5, 2]
Solution: 
woman 20 matched with man 4: 20 / 5
woman 8 matched with man 2: (8 - 2) / 3

Puzzle 4:

women:  [8, 23]
men:  [17, 1]
numbers:  [6, 2, 3]
Solution: 
woman 8 matched with man 1: (8 / 2) - 3
woman 23 matched with man 17: 23 - 6

Puzzle 5:

women:  [16, 7]
men:  [14, 24]
numbers:  [2, 5, 2]
Solution: 
woman 16 matched with man 14: 16 - 2
woman 7 matched with man 24: (7 + 5) * 2

Puzzle 6:

women:  [23, 6]
men:  [11, 16]
numbers:  [1, 2, 7]
Solution: 
woman 23 matched with man 16: 23 - 7
woman 6 matched with man 11: (6 * 2) - 1

Puzzle 7:

women:  [16, 7]
men:  [4, 18]
numbers:  [2, 4, 4]
Solution: 
woman 16 matched with man 4: 16 / 4
woman 7 matched with man 18: (7 * 2) + 4

Puzzle 8:

women:  [5, 24]
men:  [12, 11]
numbers:  [3, 7, 3]
Solution: 
woman 5 matched with man 12: 5 + 7
woman 24 matched with man 11: (24 / 3) + 3

Puzzle 9:

women:  [13, 10]
men:  [24, 8]
numbers:  [4, 2, 5]
Solution: 
woman 13 matched with man 8: 13 - 5
woman 10 matched with man 24: (10 * 2) + 4

Puzzle 10:

women:  [7, 14]
men:  [19, 18]
numbers:  [3, 2, 4]
Solution: 
woman 7 matched with man 19: (7 * 3) - 2
woman 14 matched with man 18: 14 + 4

Medium

Two Pairs, Four Numbers

Puzzle 1:

women:  [3, 23]
men:  [14, 12]
numbers:  [7, 1, 2, 7]
Solution: 
woman 3 matched with man 14: (3 * 7) - 7
woman 23 matched with man 12: (23 + 1) / 2

Puzzle 2:

women:  [1, 11]
men:  [14, 4]
numbers:  [1, 4, 1, 1]
Solution: 
woman 1 matched with man 4: 1 * 4
woman 11 matched with man 14: ((11 + 1) + 1) + 1

Puzzle 3:

women:  [23, 5]
men:  [3, 12]
numbers:  [5, 2, 2, 2]
Solution: 
woman 23 matched with man 12: ((23 + 5) / 2) - 2
woman 5 matched with man 3: 5 - 2

Puzzle 4:

women:  [24, 6]
men:  [16, 7]
numbers:  [5, 2, 2, 2]
Solution: 
woman 24 matched with man 7: (24 / 2) - 5
woman 6 matched with man 16: (6 + 2) * 2

Puzzle 5:

women:  [5, 21]
men:  [2, 12]
numbers:  [2, 3, 2, 4]
Solution: 
woman 5 matched with man 2: (5 - 4) * 2
woman 21 matched with man 12: (21 + 3) / 2

Puzzle 6:

women:  [17, 23]
men:  [11, 15]
numbers:  [5, 4, 6, 4]
Solution: 
woman 17 matched with man 11: 17 - 6
woman 23 matched with man 15: (23 - 4) - 4

Puzzle 7:

women:  [10, 24]
men:  [15, 1]
numbers:  [3, 4, 7, 2]
Solution: 
woman 10 matched with man 1: (10 / 2) - 4
woman 24 matched with man 15: (24 / 3) + 7

Puzzle 8:

women:  [9, 21]
men:  [15, 19]
numbers:  [2, 2, 7, 7]
Solution: 
woman 9 matched with man 15: ((9 + 7) / 2) + 7
woman 21 matched with man 19: 21 - 2

Puzzle 9:

women:  [14, 23]
men:  [5, 12]
numbers:  [1, 2, 1, 4]
Solution: 
woman 14 matched with man 12: 14 - 2
woman 23 matched with man 5: ((23 + 1) / 4) - 1

Puzzle 10:

women:  [17, 18]
men:  [21, 23]
numbers:  [3, 5, 5, 5]
Solution: 
woman 17 matched with man 21: ((17 - 5) - 5) * 3
woman 18 matched with man 23: 18 + 5

Hot

Three Pairs, Five Numbers

Puzzle 1:

women:  [18, 20, 21]
men:  [14, 5, 13]
numbers:  [4, 4, 7, 4, 4]
Solution: 
woman 18 matched with man 14: 18 - 4
woman 20 matched with man 5: 20 / 4
woman 21 matched with man 13: (21 - 4) - 4

Puzzle 2:

women:  [19, 15, 22]
men:  [20, 2, 3]
numbers:  [4, 2, 5, 4, 5]
Solution: 
woman 19 matched with man 2: ((19 + 5) / 4) - 4
woman 15 matched with man 3: 15 / 5
woman 22 matched with man 20: 22 - 2

Puzzle 3:

women:  [1, 13, 3]
men:  [23, 9, 6]
numbers:  [7, 2, 7, 4, 1]
Solution: 
woman 1 matched with man 6: (1 * 7) - 1
woman 13 matched with man 9: 13 - 4
woman 3 matched with man 23: (3 * 7) + 2

Puzzle 4:

women:  [18, 5, 16]
men:  [11, 19, 8]
numbers:  [3, 4, 4, 4, 5]
Solution: 
woman 18 matched with man 19: ((18 * 4) + 4) / 4
woman 5 matched with man 8: 5 + 3
woman 16 matched with man 11: 16 - 5

Puzzle 5:

women:  [12, 16, 1]
men:  [19, 14, 21]
numbers:  [5, 1, 5, 7, 4]
Solution: 
woman 12 matched with man 19: 12 + 7
woman 16 matched with man 21: 16 + 5
woman 1 matched with man 14: ((1 + 1) * 5) + 4

Puzzle 6:

women:  [7, 14, 6]
men:  [8, 15, 20]
numbers:  [1, 1, 4, 4, 7]
Solution: 
woman 7 matched with man 8: 7 + 1
woman 14 matched with man 15: 14 + 1
woman 6 matched with man 20: (6 * 4) - 4

Puzzle 7:

women:  [22, 15, 13]
men:  [21, 2, 18]
numbers:  [3, 5, 2, 6, 2]
Solution: 
woman 22 matched with man 18: (22 - 2) - 2
woman 15 matched with man 21: 15 + 6
woman 13 matched with man 2: (13 - 3) / 5

Puzzle 8:

women:  [11, 18, 21]
men:  [8, 3, 16]
numbers:  [5, 2, 1, 5, 4]
Solution: 
woman 11 matched with man 3: (11 + 4) / 5
woman 18 matched with man 8: (18 / 2) - 1
woman 21 matched with man 16: 21 - 5

Puzzle 9:

women:  [22, 7, 24]
men:  [10, 2, 20]
numbers:  [2, 2, 7, 1, 2]
Solution: 
woman 22 matched with man 20: 22 - 2
woman 7 matched with man 2: (7 / 7) + 1
woman 24 matched with man 10: (24 / 2) - 2

Puzzle 10:

women:  [20, 8, 7]
men:  [2, 3, 4]
numbers:  [1, 7, 5, 3, 3]
Solution: 
woman 20 matched with man 4: 20 / 5
woman 8 matched with man 3: (8 - 7) * 3
woman 7 matched with man 2: (7 - 1) / 3

Habanero

Four Pairs, Six Numbers

Puzzle 1:

women:  [7, 3, 20, 6]
men:  [8, 10, 23, 19]
numbers:  [5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 1]
Solution: 
woman 7 matched with man 10: (7 - 5) * 5
woman 3 matched with man 8: 3 + 5
woman 20 matched with man 19: 20 - 1
woman 6 matched with man 23: (6 * 3) + 5

Puzzle 2:

women:  [20, 4, 24, 19]
men:  [9, 8, 3, 6]
numbers:  [5, 7, 2, 2, 4, 2]
Solution: 
woman 20 matched with man 8: (20 / 2) - 2
woman 4 matched with man 9: 4 + 5
woman 24 matched with man 6: 24 / 4
woman 19 matched with man 3: (19 + 2) / 7

Puzzle 3:

women:  [20, 21, 19, 10]
men:  [17, 2, 14, 9]
numbers:  [1, 5, 1, 1, 3, 6]
Solution: 
woman 20 matched with man 14: 20 - 6
woman 21 matched with man 2: (21 / 3) - 5
woman 19 matched with man 17: (19 - 1) - 1
woman 10 matched with man 9: 10 - 1

Puzzle 4:

women:  [9, 24, 3, 5]
men:  [8, 20, 21, 19]
numbers:  [2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1]
Solution: 
woman 9 matched with man 19: (9 * 2) + 1
woman 24 matched with man 21: 24 - 3
woman 3 matched with man 8: (3 + 1) * 2
woman 5 matched with man 20: 5 * 4

Puzzle 5:

women:  [23, 8, 3, 22]
men:  [4, 6, 16, 20]
numbers:  [6, 1, 3, 7, 7, 6]
Solution: 
woman 23 matched with man 20: 23 - 3
woman 8 matched with man 6: (8 - 7) * 6
woman 3 matched with man 4: 3 + 1
woman 22 matched with man 16: 22 - 6

Puzzle 6:

women:  [23, 20, 1, 7]
men:  [16, 13, 14, 4]
numbers:  [3, 3, 2, 5, 5, 4]
Solution: 
woman 23 matched with man 13: (23 - 5) - 5
woman 20 matched with man 16: 20 - 4
woman 1 matched with man 4: 1 + 3
woman 7 matched with man 14: 7 * 2

Puzzle 7:

women:  [4, 21, 7, 20]
men:  [17, 9, 15, 13]
numbers:  [2, 4, 6, 6, 2, 7]
Solution: 
woman 4 matched with man 15: ((4 * 6) + 6) / 2
woman 21 matched with man 17: 21 - 4
woman 7 matched with man 9: 7 + 2
woman 20 matched with man 13: 20 - 7

Puzzle 8:

women:  [21, 7, 18, 5]
men:  [15, 24, 4, 11]
numbers:  [5, 7, 4, 6, 7, 5]
Solution: 
woman 21 matched with man 4: (21 + 7) / 7
woman 7 matched with man 11: 7 + 4
woman 18 matched with man 24: 18 + 6
woman 5 matched with man 15: (5 + 5) + 5

Puzzle 9:

women:  [21, 23, 1, 6]
men:  [3, 24, 15, 16]
numbers:  [6, 3, 6, 1, 7, 6]
Solution: 
woman 21 matched with man 15: 21 - 6
woman 23 matched with man 16: 23 - 7
woman 1 matched with man 3: 1 * 3
woman 6 matched with man 24: ((6 - 1) * 6) - 6

Puzzle 10:

women:  [9, 24, 19, 5]
men:  [18, 17, 23, 14]
numbers:  [7, 4, 4, 6, 3, 4]
Solution: 
woman 9 matched with man 17: (9 + 4) + 4
woman 24 matched with man 18: 24 - 6
woman 19 matched with man 23: 19 + 4
woman 5 matched with man 14: (5 - 3) * 7