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Problems from Another Time

Individual problems from throughout mathematics history, as well as articles that include problem sets for students.

Water in a Fish Pond
There is a round fish pond of certain dimensions, and into the pond is dropped a marble column. How high will the water rise?
Maximization
Find the greatest value of y in a given equation.
Grain and Camels
A certain gentleman ordered that 90 measures of grain were to be transported from his house to another, 30 leucas distant.
Isoceles Trapezoid
Given the dimensions of an isosceles trapezoid, find the length of the transversal drawn parallel to the bases that divides the trapezoid into 2 equal areas.
A Snake in the Hole
A powerful, unvanquished, excellent black snake, 32 hastas in length, enters into a hole at the rate of 7 1/2 angulas in 5/14 of a day, and in the course of 1/4 of a day its tail grows 2 3/4 of an angula.
Logarithms: The Early History of a Familiar Function - Joost Bürgi Introduces Logarithms
The authors recount the 'great tale' of Napier's and Burgi's parallel development of logarithms and urge you to use it in class.
Pigs in a Blanket?
Three hundred pigs are to be prepared for a feast.
Age
My age is a number consisting of two digits, 1/7 of this number is a mean proportional between these two digits, and two years hence, my age will be a third proportional to the same two digits, directly as they stand in my present age.
Tree and Vine
A tree is 2 zhang tall and has a circumference of 3 chi. There is a vine that winds seven equally spaced times around the tree and reaches the top. What is the length of the vine?
Peano on Wronskians: A Translation - Acknowledgment and About the Authors
How a translation of Peano's counterexample to the 'theorem' that a zero Wronskian implies linear dependence can help your differential equations students

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