The numbers and symbols below are placed onto five vertical strips of paper:

           =   =   8   8   2
           +   -   2   6   1
           =   =   5   2   0
           +   +   9   1   9

Rotate and rearrange the strips so that four valid equations appear across the rows.

For example, if you had the 2×1 strips:

=  =  6  6  8
-  +  1  1  5

You could rearrange them as:

5  +  1  =  6
8  =  9  -  1

Note: Consider the numbers as they appear on a digital watch; 0, 1, 2, 5 and 8 are the same when rotated 180°, while 6 and 9 rotate to each other.

(In reply to full solution by SilverKnight)

After determining the symbol placement as per SK there were not too many combinations left.  I inadvertently threw in my own red herring by incorrectly writing one of the symbols. That made my and would have made the problem more interesting. Maybe with credit to DJ and a link to a "puzzle strips 2" will appear.

Posted by jduval on 2007-09-09 13:52:11