You’re a biologist on a mission to keep the rare honeybee Apis Trifecta from going extinct. The last 60 bees of the species are in your terrarium. You’ve already constructed wire frames of the appropriate size and shape. Now you need to turn them into working beehives by filling every hex with wax. Can you help the bees create producing hives?
How many viable hives can you make with 60 honeybees? How many bees might you need for every hive? File under: Chain reactions and proceed as you would for a strategic pencil and paper or board game.
This Honeybee Riddle, presented by Math for Love’s Dan Finkel and directed by Charlotte Arene, is a challenging and fun TED-Ed math and logic video. Pause the video at 1m45s to figure it out before seeing the solution.
Bonus thinking from TED-Ed: “If you were to build a larger or smaller hive, how many bees would it take to transform it?”
We’re fans of Finkel’s two award-winning math games for kids and adults: Tiny Polka Dot and Prime Climb.
We also love bees, math, hexagons, and all kinds of puzzles. Watch these related videos next:
• Why do honeybees love hexagon?
• The Matchstick Triangle Puzzle
• Can you solve the Mondrian squares riddle?
• Can you solve the time travel riddle?
• Fold & Cut Theorem: Cut any shape from only one cut
• Mental Logs number sticks, a math magic trick
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