Hey, Illinois Residents! Doctor E wants to visit your school! Have your teacher email doctore@math.uni.edu if you would like him to come by in May. Cooler than a field trip and cheaper than a movie!

I found my math contest, it's so far away, it makes my head spin around! Every fortnight, the mysterious Doctor E supplies another puzzle for you to think about, and at the end of the semester, prizes of $60, $40 and $20 go to the top three finishers, with handsome certificates, suitable for framing, going to all sufficiently high-scoring finishers. Our friends at University Book and Supply will also be supplying boffo prizes. Eligible contestants include University of Northern Iowa students, Iowa high school students, and Illinois high school students.

Turning in the correct solution to this week's puzzle by November 15 will earn 2 puzzle points. A correct solution along with Bill's last name (see below) gets 3 puzzle points.

Albert, Bill, Donald, Russell, Harold, Bucky, Rudy, and Mushmouth all agree to get together to play marbles. Wealthy Rudy arrives first, and brings a lot of marbles. Albert arrives, and only brought one marble. Rudy shares his, and they wind up with the same number of marbles. Then Bill arrives with only one marble. Again, they all share, and wind up with exactly the same number of marbles. This pattern is repeated - Donald brings only one, Russell brings only one, etc. Each time a new boy arrives, they all share, and wind up with exactly the same amount.

What is the fewest number of marbles that Rudy could have brought?


The deadline for sending in solutions has expired. But feel free to take some time to work on this one, and click here to see the answer. Alternatively, click here to see the current challenge.

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