40 matchsticks are arranged to form a 4 by 4 grid of 16 smaller squares, 4 matchsticks to a small square.
What is the fewest number of matchsticks that need to be removed so that there are no squares (of any size) remaining?
https://curiosity.com/topics/can-you-solve-the-matches-grid-puzzle-curiosity/
there are a number of solutions. Do it.
To find the fewest number of matchsticks that need to be removed so that there are no squares remaining, we need to count the number of matchsticks involved in forming the squares and subtract it from the total number of matchsticks in the grid.
In a 4 by 4 grid, each small square is formed by 4 matchsticks. So, the total number of matchsticks used to form squares in the grid is 16 (number of small squares) multiplied by 4 (number of matchsticks in each square), which equals 64.
Now, let's calculate the number of matchsticks remaining after removing the squares. Since we started with a total of 40 matchsticks, we subtract the number of matchsticks used to create the squares: 40 (total matchsticks) minus 64 (matchsticks used in squares) equals -24.
However, we cannot have negative matchsticks removed. Thus, the fewest number of matchsticks that need to be removed is determined to be zero. This means that there are no matchsticks that need to be removed to have no squares remaining in the grid.