THE DISSECTED CIRCLE.
(
Unicursal and Route Problems)
How many continuous strokes, without lifting your pencil from the paper,
do you require to draw the design shown in our illustration? Directly
you change the direction of your pencil it begins a new stroke. You may
go over the same line more than once if you like. It requires just a
little care, or you may find yourself beaten by one stroke.
Answer:
[Illustration:
/---------------
/
/ /------B
/ / | /^
/ / | | /
/ / | | /
/ / | | / A
/ / | | / |
| / | |/ | |
| | -----+----------+----- | |
| | | /| | / | |
| | | / | | / | |
| | | / | | / | |
| | | / | | / | |
| | |/ | |/ | |
D-+-----------+---------E | |
| /| | /| | |
| / | | / | | |
| / | | / | | |
| / | | / | | |
| / | |/ | | |
| -----+----------+----- | |
| /| | / |
| / | | / /
| / | | / /
| / | | / /
|/ | | / /
| / /
------+------/ /
| /
C-------/
]
It can be done in twelve continuous strokes, thus: Start at A in the
illustration, and eight strokes, forming the star, will bring you back
to A; then one stroke round the circle to B, one stroke to C, one round
the circle to D, and one final stroke to E--twelve in all. Of course, in
practice the second circular stroke will be over the first one; it is
separated in the diagram, and the points of the star not joined to the
circle, to make the solution clear to the eye.
