You have 5 squares joined by their sides in a Z pattern as shown. What is the fewest number of pieces and straight cuts neccesary so the pieces can form a single larger square if you can't use cuts that aren't straight, you can't move the pieces until all cuts have been done, you can't bend, fold or flex the squares, and you can't rotate or flip over the pieces when moving them to form the giant square?

This solution is clearly far from the best solution, but you could do it in five cuts:

1 - slice the bottom two squares off
2 - separate those two squares
3-5 - slice one of the squares into four equal sized strips

place the one whole square with the three intact ones to make a 2x2 square,
place the four strips along the sides of the 2x2 square, making a 2.25 x 2.25 square.

Edited on October 10, 2004, 10:33 am

Posted by Sam on 2004-10-10 10:21:37