Spiders and a Fly
There are a fly and three spiders on the edges of a cube. If the spiders’ velocities are at least 1/3 of the fly’s velocity, and all insects can travel only along the edges of the cube, show that the spiders can eventually catch the fly.
SOLUTION
Choose two opposite edges of the cube, then let two of the spiders “protect” them from the fly. You can do this by keeping the distance from the two spiders to the edges’ endpoints at most 1/3 of the distance from the fly to these endpoints. The remaining parts of the cube do not contain any loops, so the third spider can easily catch the fly there.
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