Can You Cut the Cake Into Eight Pieces?

It’s your lucky day! Just in time for your birthday party, a beautiful circular cake has been delivered to your house. It promises to be just as pleasing to the tastebuds as it is to the eyes. There’s just one little problem. The only available knife is on its last legs. You can use it…

Commonplace Fun Facts

April 12, 2022

1–2 minutes

8 pieces with 3 cuts, cake cut puzzle, cakes, knives

It’s your lucky day! Just in time for your birthday party, a beautiful circular cake has been delivered to your house. It promises to be just as pleasing to the tastebuds as it is to the eyes.

There’s just one little problem. The only available knife is on its last legs. You can use it no more than three times before it becomes completely useless. As you look around at your guests, you can see that everyone wants a piece of cake. You don’t want to miss out, either.

How can you cut your cake into eight pieces with no more than three straight cuts of the knife?

We know two ways this can be done. Can you come up with any other solutions?

Solution 1

With the first two cuts, divide the cake into quarters by cutting vertically.

With the third cut, go horizontal through cake, beginning at the edge.

Solution 2

As in the first solution, make four pieces with your first two cuts.

Stack the four pieces on top of each other. With your final cut, slice downward, cutting them all in half.

Did you come up with any other solutions? Let us know in the comments section or send us an email. By the way, “replace your worn-out knife with one that can handle more than three cuts” doesn’t count.

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