Mathman 6 -
Remember the Veterans
Erin Seider, Melissa Zembrowski, Andy Wiech, Katie Hughes

Students and parents of students should read my introduction to letterboxing before seeking the boxes.

These clues rely on the use of matrices to encode/decode clues.  Go to this page to learn how to do this on a free graphics calculator simulator or to do it by hand.

Please be respectful towards all the graves and the cemetery, and leave everything the way you found it.  If possible, please place a flower in the holder or bring a small flag to place at the grave you are about to find or at any other vet's grave.  Remember the veterans.  Thank you.

Clues:

On 18^th Avenue off of Paradise Drive, you will see Westhill Cemetery.  Take the east entrance or 18th. Turn left on the first path and park.

 1)  Solve the following:

Walk south down the path.  Take the second right and keep right at all times.

2)  Once you have passed ( t ) ____ non-evergreen trees (to your immediate right) on the route from your car, stop and decode this secret message by using .

 A=1, B=2, C=3, ...

Look around and find the gravestone nearby that depicts your solution.  Take a moment to admire the beauty of this unique gravestone.

3)  Now look north and walk towards Jesus.  Enter the public building between the two murals of our Savior and stop when the hall opens up.  Before you can find the gravestone you are looking for, calculate the y-value of the intersection of the following equations.  This will determine the bearing you need to turn and face.

Now multiply your y-value by 10. When facing the opposite opening of the building you entered turn to a bearing of ______ degrees.

4)  Using Pascal's Triangle, find the difference of the 3rd entry of the 13th row and the 11th entry of the 12th row.  Divide your answer by 2 to determine the column (from the left) that the gravestone is located in.  Column number from left = ____

5)  Evaluate the following equation for b to determine the last two digits of the birth year of one of the graves surrounding you.  This year will match the birth year of the veteran whom you are trying to find first.

Year = 19____

Now, using the column number and the year of birth you have just found, and find the gravestone bearing the name of our “beloved” math teacher.  The person that this gravestone belongs to fought in the same war as the veteran who's grave you will find in the end.

(Teacher's note: I'm not old enough to have fought in this war, although they may think so! ; - ) )

6)  Find:  

Your answer will tell you how many degrees to turn to the right.  Walk to the pole you should see.  Take a moment to honor all of the men and women who have fought in wars for our country.  Now sit by the flag, and look around at your surroundings.  You should find the Lord's Prayer engraved on the middle of three stones.  Read the Lord’s Prayer, and count the number of lines in the prayer, not including the title. 

p = ______
 

7) If y varies directly as the number of lines in the Lord's Prayer and indirectly as r, find the constant of variation (k) if y=40 when  r= 2:

Write down your answer for later use.  k = ____

8) When facing the Lord's Prayer, turn around 180 degrees and walk back out the way you came. Then turn left when you get to the first road.  Your k-value is the number of rows of graves on the left you should pass as you walk. At the k^th row stop and solve the following for g. There are two solutions. Let g be the solution that is a whole number.

          g = _______

G is the number of graves in from the road on the left.  You should find yourself at the grave you are looking for. You can read a little about this man at the end of these clues.  The box used to hidden in the flower holder of this grave, but it has now been moved so this box can be done year-round.

BEFORE RETRIEVING THE BOX, BE SURE NO ONE IS AROUND TO SEE YOU TAKE THE BOX OUT!  DO NOT BRING ATTENTION TO YOURSELF OR THE HIDING LOCATION OF THE BOX!

New final clues:
From this grave, walk 82 steps at a bearing of 147 degrees.  Be respectful of the graves you might walk over on the way!  There you will find a tree with a damaged center and two sprawling side branches.  There is also a heart on the ground nearby.  Reach into the damaged center of the tree at about eye level to retrieve the box.  If you are having problems getting the box out, be advised that the "box" is a parmesan cheese container with a half lid that pops up.  You might use that as a handle to pull the box up.  Please be sure to not arouse attention when retrieving and replacing the box.  When you replace the box, do not push it down too far!  Thanks!

Our Remembered Veteran

         This veteran was born in 1914 and died at the age of 84.  He lived in Milwaukee until he moved to West Bend with his wife Corda, after his retirement.  He was drafted into the war you found earlier at age 26 after the "day of infamy".  He fought in Germany, and was captured.  He was a prisoner of war for three years.  After the war was over he was released, and was given the purple heart in recognition of his accomplishments.  He had two children, Ronald and Linda, and four grandchildren.  Upon his death, he had lived 62 years in blissful marriage.  This letterbox was placed by one of his grandchildren. 

Before you set out read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.

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