A SAW POINT
‘Here is a large cube,’ said Sue, ‘which I could cut with a saw into 27 identical smaller cubes like that.’ She pointed to the cube on the table. ‘The question is,’ she continued, ‘how many saw cuts would I have to make?’
‘That’s easy,’ replied Martin, glancing at the cube. ‘You make two vertical cuts, and then two more vertical cuts in the other direction, and then two horizontal cuts – that’s six cuts in all.’
‘Oh yes, of course,’ said Sue. ‘I forgot to mention that after you have made a cut, you are allowed to rearrange the pieces any way you like, before you make the next cut. So you might be able to use fewer cuts!’
Can you? What is the smallest number of cuts needed?