Zap is back! Thanks, professor!

Zap is back after a week's absence, thanks to Catherine Carroll Kiaie.

Kiaie is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and a math education specialist at Cardinal Stritch College. Some time ago, she sent in a batch of Zap puzzles that ran out a few weeks ago.

A phone call brought 10 more Zappers, and here is the first:

9A 523 176 is divisible by 8. Find A.

Our last question, in the Feb. 2 Jump, had to do with dart- throwing the probability that a dart would hit the shaded area of a target. The answer was to be expressed as a common fraction. The answer was 5/16.

Lisa Rajala of Wauwatosa and Thomas C. Higgins of Milwaukee hit the bull's-eye.

Lisa showed us her steps:

4 inches times 4 inches = 16 inches (outer square).

3 inches times 3 inches = 9 inches (shaded square and inner square).

2 inches times 2 inches = 4 inches (inner square).

9 inches minus 4 inches = 5 inches, which equals the area of the shaded region. The probability is 5/16 that the dart will land in the shaded region.

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