Abstract

In this paper we will be discussing the famous missing square puzzle invented by Paul Curry in 1953. In this problem a triangle is split up into many pieces and seemingly reassembled into another triangle of the same dimensions but missing one square of its area. The purpose of this problem is to teach young math students not to rely on mathematical figures when solving problems, but instead work the problem out. We will show how this puzzle works and delve deeper into the math behind it, including looking into the fact that the Fibonacci numbers appear frequently. We will also show how to make an infinite number of missing square puzzles of different sizes by using the right Fibonacci numbers, and explain why this works. We prove this is true by working through a mathematical proof by induction and relating it back to the missing square puzzle.