Math problem: The shape of things

Anna Charny, the director and co-owner of MetroWest School of Mathematics in Framingham, wants her center’s extracurricular classes to generate interest in math and help children learn how to solve nonstandard problems, especially word and logic questions. (The school is co-owned by the Russian School of Mathematics, an operation with eight area schools.) Above, a sample problem given to second- and third-grade students at MetroWest. The answers appear at the bottom right of this page.