Dear Puzzler,
As we all know, pet rocks have unique personalities and features. What is less known, however, is that a pet rock's unique features lend themselves to a singular, perfect name for him or her. Today is your chance to learn this naming secret. We have included images of three perfectly named pet rocks but have left the fourth for you to discover...
You may find this useful as you discover how pet rocks are named:
What's the name of the fourth rock?
In the initial note, it says that a pet rock's unique features lend themselves to a singular, perfect name. Let's try translating each rock's features into the letters of his or her name.
Try finding the letters in each rock's name in the Rock Naming Alphabet; take one rock at a time. Then look at each rock's features. Do you notice any patterns that would help translate rock features into the positions of the letters?
The Rock Naming Alphabet is divided into 4 quadrants (rectangles): top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right. Do you notice any rock features that would help define which quadrant a letter can be found in?
Each tooth on a rock either points up or down, and the small triangles within the colorful shapes either point left or right. You’ll notice that for each rock, the number of teeth and the number of small triangles matches the number of letters in the rock’s name! Coincidence? Definitely not! These features define the quadrant in which each letter in a rock’s name can be found.
For example: Frank’s first (leftmost) tooth points down, and the first (top) triangle points to the left. The first letter in his name (F), can be found in the bottom left quadrant of the alphabet. His second tooth points up and the second triangle points to the right. The second letter in his name (R), can be found in the top right quadrant of the alphabet.
Now that you can find the correct quadrant, can you use the other features and the Naming Index to figure out how each letter is picked within each quadrant?
Let’s look at Frank again. The “F” in Frank is in the “1” position in the Naming Index. Frank has 4 small spots, 5 large spots, two eyelashes, his colorful shape has 4 points (or sides), and one eye. His eye is the only feature that he only has one of!
If you check the other rocks, you’ll notice that Mia has two eyes, and “M” is in position 2. Also, Rose has four eyes, and “R” is in position 4. This is the feature that determines the first letter in the name! Can you figure out which features correspond to which other letters (second, third, fourth, fifth)?
The number of eyes determines the first letter. The number of sides or points on each shape determines the second letter. The number of eyelashes determines the third letter. The number of large spots determines the fourth letter. The number of interior/smaller dots determines the fifth letter. Can you figure out the final rock’s name?
First tooth points up, top triangle points right → top right quadrant in the Rock Naming Alphabet. Four eyes → 4th letter using Naming Index. The first letter in his name is “R”.
Second tooth points down, second triangle points right → bottom right quadrant. The shape is a hexagon, which has 6 points (or sides) → 6th letter. The second letter is “O”.
Third tooth points up, third triangle points left → top left quadrant. One eyelash (per eye) → first letter. The third letter is “C”.
Fourth tooth points down, fourth triangle points left → bottom left quadrant. Four large spots → 4th letter. The fourth letter is “K”.
Fifth tooth points up, fifth triangle points right → top right quadrant. Two small spots → 2nd letter. The final letter is “Y”.
The mystery rock’s name is “ROCKY”!
Hope you had fun!