Ask Marilyn: About the Wedge Puzzle

Mark Bierman of Columbus, Nebraska, writes:

Marilyn: In the column about the wedge removed from a cube, you made an unwarranted assumption. (September 30, 2012) Your solution assumed that the wedge was divided evenly down the middle of the cube. The question specified only "...the center of a cube as shown." The exact point of the wedge was not dimensioned, so your reasoning assumed it was halfway or 1/2. The way I reasoned the problem, you could "slide" the wedge either way to one side and still have the same size wedge. It just wouldn’t be symmetrical.

Marilyn responds:

You're right, of course, and the answer would be the same. But I thought that the specification "...the center of a cube as shown" was enough to define the problem. Plus, I didn't have the space to elaborate. That's always a problem these days.