This year (2011) is a prime number.  How many prime numbers are less than 250?

pdf file to print to mark off composite numbers

Answer:  53 Primes

Consider a cylinder, made of a regular piece of paper. One way tall, another fat. Which has greater volume?

(hint: actually make these shapes with a piece of paper.  As you know V = πr²h, you can see what h is.  What about r?  You don't have it, but you do have C, the circumference of the cylinder bottom, and from this, you can get r).

Answer:  A short fat cylinder has more volume than a tall skinny cylinder.

Mapquest tells us how to get from A to B. How many ways can one get from A to B, passing through C, D, E, and F?

Answer:  24.  Try it with just one point in-between (1 way), 2 points (2 ways), and 3 points (6 ways) to infer the general pattern.

Thought there are 24 routes, you'll see they aren't all the same length.  If you had to choose the shortest route between the points, what is it?  How does Mapquest do it?  Does it test all combinations?

It's cold outside: Freezing is 32°F (or 0°C). The boiling point of water is 212°F (or 100°C).  Are Fahrenheit and Celsius ever equal?

Answer:  -40°

The speed of light is about 186,282 miles per second. How fast is this, in furlongs / fortnight?

Answer:  1.80 ×10¹².  Here's one method of arriving at the answer.  A bit of research reveals 1 furlong = 220 yards, and 1 fortnight = 14 days.  Why these are provide interesting reading!