281 Puzzles Collected On 10th October 10

281puzzlescollectedon10thOctober10,2003
BrainTeaserNo:00765
Threemen,includingGianniandthreewoman,includingSachiareinline
attheBrentWood
postoffice.Eachhastwodifferentpiecesofbusinesstoconduct.
1.Thefirstpersonisawoman.
2.Carloswantstosendanovernightpackage.
3.LauisjustaheadofPimentelliwhoisthesamesexasLau.
4.Gianniistwoplacesaheadofthepersonwhowantstobuystamps.
5.KnutsonwhoistheoppositesexthanRendlerisn'tthepersonwho
wantedto
complainaboutamailcarrier.
6.Thesixpeople,notnecessarilyinthesameorderareAnthony,
Donna,theperson
whowantstofilloutachangeofaddressform,theonewhowantstobuy
amoneyorder,the
onewhowantstosendAirmailtoTibetandthesecondpersoninthe
line.
7.Thefourtasksofthelasttwopeopleinline,notnecessarilyinthe
sameorderare
sendingbooksfourthclass,buyingamoneyorder,pickingupapackage
andcomplaining
aboutamailcarrier.
8.Thepersonwhowantstosendbooksfourthclassisjustbehinda
personofthesamesex.
9.Maryisjustbehindapersonwhowantstosendaninsuredpackage.
10.ThepersonwhowantstosendAirmailtoTibetiseithertwoplaces
aheadofortwo
placesbehindtheonewhowantstoaddpostagetohisorhermeter.
11.Anthonyisn'ttwoplacesbehindthewhowantstopickuparegistered
letter.
12.Torisezaistwoplacesaheadofthepersonwhowantstopickupa
package.
13.Knutsonisn'tjustaheadofthepersonwhowantstosendanitem
parcelpost.
Canyoufigureoutwhereeachcustomerisintheline,hisorherfull
name(onesurnameis
Loti)andthetwothingsheorshewantstoaccomplish?Provideyour
answerisPOSITION
FIRSTNAMELASTNAMEBUSINESSformat.
AveryTOUGHpuzzle!!!
POSFIRSTNAMELASTNAMEBUSINESS
1SachiLotiFillOutaChangeofAddressForm
AddPostagetoMeter
2GianniLauPickUpaRegisteredLetter
SendanItemParcelPost
3CarlosPimentelliOvernightPackage
SendAirmailtoTibet
4DonnaTorisezaBuyStamps
SendanInsuredPackage
5MaryKnutsonBuyaMoneyOrder
SendBooksfourthClass
6AnthonyRendlerComplainAboutaMailCarrier
PickUpaPackage
============================
BrainTeaserNo:00250
Thereisa50mlongarmyplatoonmarchingahead.Thelastpersoninthe
platoonwantsto
givealettertothefirstpersonleadingtheplatoon.Sowhilethe
platoonismarchinghe
runsahead,reachesthefirstpersonandhandsoverthelettertohim
andwithoutstopping
herunsandcomesbacktohisoriginalposition.
Inthemeantimethewholeplatoonhasmovedaheadby50m.
Thequestionishowmuchdistancedidthelastpersoncoverinthat
time.Assumingthathe
ranthewholedistancewithuniformspeed.
Submittedby:manojaba
Answer
Thelastpersoncovered120.71meters.
Itisgiventhattheplatoonandthelastpersonmovedwithuniform
speed.Also,theyboth
movedfortheidenticalamountoftime.Hence,theratioofthedistance
theycovered
whilepersonmovingforwardandbackwordareequal.
Let'sassumethatwhenthelastpersonreachedthefirstperson,the
platoonmovedXmeters
forward.
Thus,whilemovingforwardthelastpersonmoved(50+X)meterswhereas
theplatoonmovedX
meters.
Similarly,whilemovingbackthelastpersonmoved[50(50X)]Xmeters
whereastheplatoon
moved(50X)meters.
Now,astheratiosareequal,
(50+X)/X=X/(50X)
(50+X)*(50X)=X*X
Solving,X=35.355meters
Thus,totaldistancecoveredbythelastperson
=(50+X)+X
=2*X+50
=2*(35.355)+50
=120.71meters
Notethatatfirstglance,onemightthinkthatthetotaldistance
coveredbythelast
personis100meters,asheranthetotallenghtoftheplatoon(50
meters)twice.TRUE,
butthat'stherelativedistancecoveredbythelastpersoni.e.
assumingthattheplatoon
isstationary.
====================================
Acontractorhademployed100labourersforaflyoverconstructiontask.
Hedidnotallow
anywomantoworkwithoutherhusband.Also,atleasthalfthemen
workingcamewiththeir
wives.
Hepaidfiverupeesperdaytoeachman,fourruppestoeachwomanand
onerupeetoeach
child.Hegaveout200rupeeseveryevening.
Howmanymen,womenandchildrenwereworkingwiththeconstructor?
Answer
16men,12womenand72childrenwereworkingwiththeconstructor.
Let'sassumethattherewereXmen,YwomenandZchildrenworkingwith
theconstructor.
Hence,
X+Y+Z=100
5X+4Y+Z=200
EliminatingXandYinturnfromtheseequations,weget
X=3Z200
Y=3004Z
Asifwomanworks,herhusbandalsoworksandatleasthalfthemen
workingcamewiththeir
wives;thevalueofYliesbetweenXandX/2.Substitutingthese
limitingvaluesin
equations,weget
ifY=X,
3004Z=3Z200
7Z=500
Z=500/7i.e.71.428
ifY=X/2,
3004Z=(3Z200)/2
6008Z=3Z200
11Z=800
Z=800/11i.e.72.727
ButZmustbeaninteger,henceZ=72.Also,X=16andY=12
Therewere16men,12womenand72childrenworkingwiththe
constructor.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00438
FourfriendsArjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhawerecomparingthenumber
ofsheepthatthey
owned.
ItwasfoundthatGuranhadtenmoresheepthanLakha.
IfArjangaveonethirdtoBhuvan,andBhuvangaveaquarterofwhathe
thenheldtoGuran,
whothenpassedonafifthofhisholdingtoLakha,theywouldallhave
anequalnumberof
sheep.
Howmanysheepdideachofthempossess?Givetheminimalpossible
answer.
Answer
Arjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhahad90,50,55and45sheeprespectively.
AssumethatArjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhahadA,B,GandLsheep
respectively.Asitis
giventhatattheendeachwouldhaveanequalnumberofsheep,
comparingthefinalnumbers
fromtheabovetable.
Arjan'ssheep=Bhuvan'ssheep
2A/3=A/4+3B/4
8A=3A+9B
5A=9B
Arjan'ssheep=Guran'ssheep
2A/3=A/15+B/5+4G/5
2A/3=A/15+A/9+4G/5(asB=5A/9)
30A=3A+5A+36G
22A=36G
11A=18G
Arjan'ssheep=Lakha'ssheep
2A/3=A/60+B/20+G/5+L
2A/3=A/60+A/36+11A/90+L(asB=5A/9andG=11A/18)
2A/3=A/6+L
A/2=L
A=2L
Also,itisgiventhatGuranhadtenmoresheepthanLakha.
G=L+10
11A/18=A/2+10
A/9=10
A=90sheep
Thus,Arjanhad90sheep,Bhuvanhad5A/9i.e.50sheep,Guranhad
11A/18i.e.55sheepand
LakhahadA/2i.e.45sheep.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00590
Youarelockedinsidearoomwith6doorsA,B,C,D,E,F.Outof
which3areEntrances
onlyand3areExitsonly.
OnepersoncameinthroughdoorFandtwominuteslatersecondperson
cameinthroughdoor
A.Hesaid,"Youwillbesetfree,ifyoupassthroughall6doors,each
dooronceonlyand
incorrectorder.Also,doorAmustbefollowedbydoorBorE,doorB
byCorE,doorCby
DorF,doorDbyAorF,doorEbyBorDanddoorFbyCorD."
AftersayingthattheybothleftthroughdoorBandunlockedalldoors.
Inwhichordermust
youpassthroughthedoors?
Answer
ThecorrectorderisCFDABE
ItisgiventhatonepersoncameinthroughdoorFandsecondperson
cameinthroughdoor
A.ItmeansthatdoorAanddoorFareEntrances.Also,theybothleft
throughdoorB.
Hence,doorBisExit.
AsExitandEntranceshouldaltereachotherandweknowtwoEntrances,
let'sassumethat
thethirdEntranceisW.Thus,thereare6possibilitieswith"_"
indicatingExit.
(1)_W_A_F(2)_W_F_A(3)_F_W_A(4)_F_A_W(5)_A_W_F(6)_A_F_W
AsdoorAmustbefollowedbydoorBorEandnoneofthemleadtothe
doorF,(1)and(6)
arenotpossible.
Also,doorDmustbetheExitasonlydoorDleadstothedoorAand
doorAisthe
Entrance.
(2)_W_FDA(3)_F_WDA(4)_FDA_W(5)DA_W_F
OnlydoorDanddoorCleadtothedoorF.ButdoorDisused.Hence,
doorCmustbethe
ExitandprecededoorF.Also,thethirdExitisBandtheWmustbe
doorE.
(2)BECFDA(3)CFBEDA(4)CFDABE(5)DACEBF
ButonlydoorBleadstothedoorCandbothareExits.Hence,(2)and
(5)arenot
possible.Also,doorFdoesnotleadtodoorBdiscard(3).Hence,the
possibleorderis
(4)i.e.CFDABE.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00187
Thereisasafewitha5digitnumberasthekey.The4thdigitis4
greaterthanthe
seconddigit,whilethe3rddigitis3lessthanthe2nddigit.The1st
digitisthricethe
lastdigit.Thereare3pairswhosesumis11.
Findthenumber.
Answer
65292
Aspergivenconditions,therearethreepossiblecombinationsfor2nd,
3rdand4thdigits.
Theyare(3,0,7)or(4,1,8)or(5,2,9)
Itisgiventhatthereare3pairswhosesumis11.Allpossiblepairs
are(2,9),(3,8),
(4,7),(5,6).Nowrequirednumberis5digitnumberanditcontains3
pairsof11.Soit
mustnotbehaving0and1init.Hence,theonlypossiblecombination
for2nd,3rdand4th
digitsis(5,2,9)
Also,1stdigitisthricethelastdigit.Thepossiblecombinationsare
(3,1),(6,2)and
(9,3),outofwhichonly(6,2)with(5,2,9)gives3pairsof11.
Hence,theansweris
65292.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00012
Apersontravelsonacyclefromhometochurchonastraightroadwith
windagainsthim.
Hetook4hourstoreachthere.
Onthewaybacktothehome,hetook3hourstoreachaswindwasinthe
samedirection.
Ifthereisnowind,howmuchtimedoeshetaketotravelfromhometo
church?
Answer
LetdistancebetweenhomeandchurchisD.
Apersontook4hourstoreachchurch.Sospeedwhiletravellingtowards
churchisD/4.
Similarly,hetook3hourstoreachhome.Sospeedwhilecomingbackis
D/3.
Thereisaspeeddifferenceof7*D/12,whichisthewindhelpingperson
in1direction,&
slowinghimintheotherdirection.Averagethe2speeds,&youhavethe
speedthatperson
cantravelinnowind,whichis7*D/24.
Hence,personwilltakeD/(7*D/24)hourstotraveldistanceDwhichis
24/7hours.
Answeris3hours25minutes42seconds
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00306
Ifabeareats65poundsinfisheverydayEXCEPTevery6thdaywhichit
onlyeats45
poundsoffish.
Ifthebearcontinuesthis,howmanypoundsoffishwilliteatin200
days?
Submittedby:David
Answer
Thebearwilleat12,340poundsoffishin200days.
Itisgiventhatonevery6thdaybeareats45poundsoffishi.e.onday
number6,12,18,
24,....192,198thebeareats45poundsoffish.
Totalnumberof6thdays=200/6=33(thebeareats45pounds)
Hence,thenormaldaysare=20033=167(thebeareats65pounds)
Thus,in200days,thebearwilleat
=(167)*(65)+(33)*(45)
=10855+1485
=12,340pounds
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00546
AnkitandTejasdividedabagofApplesbetweenthem.
Tejassaid,"It'snotfair!Youhave3timesasmanyApplesIhave."
Ankitsaid,"OK,I
willgiveyouoneAppleforeachyearofyourage."Tejasreplied,
"Stillnotfair.Now,
youhavetwiceasmanyApplesasIhave.""Dear,that'sfairenoughasI
amtwiceolder
thanyou.",saidAnkit.
AnkitwenttoKitchentodrinkwater.WhileAnkitwasinKitchen,Tejas
tookapplesfrom
Ankit'spileequaltoAnkit'sage.
Whohavemoreapplesnow?
Answer
Attheend,AnkitandTejas,bothhavethesamenumberofapples.
Let'sassumethatinitiallyTejasgotNapplesandhisageisTyears.
Hence,initially
Ankitgot3Napplesandhisageis2Tyears.
OperationAnkit'sApplesTejas'sApples
Initially3NN
AnkitgaveTapplestoTejas
(equalsageofTejas)3NTN+T
Tejastook2TapplesfromAnkit'spile
(equalsageofAnkit)3N3TN+3T
ItisgiventhatafterAnkitgaveTapplestoTejas,Ankithadtwiceas
manyapplesas
Tejashad.
3NT=2*(N+T)
3NT=2N+2T
N=3T
Fromthetable,attheendAnkithave(3N3T)applesandTejashave(N
+3T)apples.
SubstitutingN=3T,weget
Ankit'sapples=3N3T=9T3T=6T
Tejas'sapples=N+3T=3T+3T=6T
Thus,attheendAnkitandTejas,bothhavethesamenumberofapples.
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00326
Thesumoftheir(father,motherandson)agesis70.Thefatheris6
timesasoldasthe
son.
Whenthesumoftheiragesistwice70,thefatherwillbetwiceasold
astheson.
Howoldisthemother?
Submittedby:TimSanders
Answer
Themotheris29yearsand2monthsold.
Let'sassumethatsonisXyearsold.Hence,fatheris6Xyearsoldand
motheris(707X)
yearsold.
Itisgiventhatthesumoftheiragesis70,whichwilltotal140after
70/3years.
After70/3years,sonwillbe(X+70/3)yearsoldandfatherwillbe
(6X+70/3)years
old.Also,itisgiventhatafter70/3years,thefatherwillbetwice
asoldastheson.
Thus,
(6X+070/3)=2*(X+70/3)
6X+70/3=2X+140/3
4X=70/3
X=35/6
Hence,theiragesare
Son=X=35/6=5yearsand10months
Father=6X=6(35/6)=35years
Mother=(707X)=707(35/6)=29yearsand2months
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00040
Assumeforamomentthattheearthisaperfectlyuniformsphereof
radius6400km.Suppose
athreadequaltothelengthofthecircumferenceoftheearthwas
placedalongthe
equator,anddrawntoatightfit.
Nowsupposethatthelengthofthethreadisincreasedby12cm,and
thatitispulledaway
uniformlyinalldirections.
Byhowmanycm.willthethreadbeseparatedfromtheearth'ssurface?
Answer
Thecicumferenceoftheearthis
=2*PI*r
=2*PI*6400km
=2*PI*6400*1000m
=2*PI*6400*1000*100cm
=1280000000*PIcm
wherer=radiusoftheearth,PI=3.141592654
Hence,thelengthofthethreadis=1280000000*PIcm
Nowlengthofthethreadisincreasdby12cm.Sothenewlengthis=
(1280000000*PI)+
12cm
Thisthreadwillmakeoneconcentriccirclewiththeearthwhichis
slightlyawayfromthe
earth.Thecircumfernceofthatcircleisnothingbut(1280000000*PI)
+12cm
AssumethatradiusoftheoutercircleisRcm
Therefore,
2*PI*R=(1280000000*PI)+12cm
Solvingaboveequation,R=640000001.908cm
Radiusoftheearthisr=640000000cm
Hence,thethreadwillbeseparatedfromtheearthby
=Rrcm
=640000001.908640000000
=1.908cm
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00319
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingrelationtrue.
STILL
+WITHIN
LIMITS
Notethattheleftmostlettercan'tbezeroinanyword.Also,there
mustbeaonetoone
mappingbetweendigitsandletters.e.g.ifyousubstitute3forthe
letterS,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherSinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Answer
ThevalueofLmustbeonemorethanWi.e.L=W+1andtheremustbeone
carryfromS+I=I.
Also,thevalueofSmustbe9asS+I=IwithonecarryfromT+T=M,which
meansthatthe
valueofTmustbegreaterthan4.
FromI+H=I,thevalueofHmustbe0asthevalueofSis9.
Now,applyingallthoseconstraintsandusingtrialnerror,wegettwo
possibleanswers.
9716698533
+517013+258056
614179356589
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00271
SubstitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingDivisiontrue
OUT
STEM|DEMISE
|DMOC
TUIS
STEM

ZZZE
ZUMM
IST
mustbeaonetoone
letterM,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherMinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
C=0,U=1,S=2,T=3,O=4,M=5,I=6,Z=7,E=8,D=9
ItisobviousthatU=1(asU*STEM=STEM)andC=0(asIC=I).
S*OisasingledigitandalsoS*Tisasingledigit.Hence,their
values(O,S,T)mustbe
2,3or4(astheycannotbe0or1orgreaterthan4).
Consider,STEM*O=DMOC,whereC=0.ItmeansthatMmustbe5.Now,its
simple.O=4,S=2,
T=3,E=8,Z=7,I=6andD=9.
OUT413
STEM|DEMISE2385|985628
|DMOC|9540
TUIS3162
STEM2385
ZZZE7778
ZUMM7155
IST623
Also,whenarrangedfrom0to9,itspellsCUSTOMIZED.
============================
BrainTeaserNo:00107
Ifyoulookataclockandthetimeis3:15.
Whatistheanglebetweenthehourandtheminutehands?(Theanswerto
thisisnotzero!)
Answer
7.5degrees
At3:15minutehandwillbeperfactlyhorizontalpointingtowards3.
Whereashourhandwill
betowards4.Also,hourhandmusthavecovered1/4ofanglebetween3
and4.
Theanglebetweentwoadjacentdigitsis360/12=30degrees.
Hence1/4ofitis7.5degrees.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00170
Aseriescomprisingofalphabetscontains13letters.Thefirstseven
lettersinthegiven
seriesareA,E,F,H,I,L,M
Canyoufindthenexttwoletters?
Answer
ThenextlettersintheseriesareN,O,R,S,U,X.
ThepatternisletterswhoseEnglishnames(PhoneticPronunciations)
startwithvowels.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00180
Whichnumberintheseriesdoesnotfitinthegivenseries:
143166367649100
Answer
Thisisaserieswithoddpositionscontainingpositionnumberwhereas
evenpositions
containingsquareoftheposition.i.e.evenpositionnumbersare41636
64100andodd
positionnumbersare13579
Hence,6doesnotfitintheseries.Itshouldbe5.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00434
Whatarethenextthreenumbersinthegivenseries?
11212231223233412232334233?
Answer
Thenextthreenumbersintheseriesare4,3,4.
Thepatternisthenumberof1'sinthebinaryexpansionofthe
positiveintegers
startingfrom1.
NumberBinaryEquivalent#of1's
111
2101
3112
41001
51012
61102
71113
810001
910012
1010102
1110113
1211002
1311013
1411103
1511114
16100001
17100012
18100102
19100113
20101002
21101013
22101103
23101114
24110002
25110013
26110103
27110114
28111003
29111014
Theotherwayoflookingatitisbreakuptheseriesintolinesas
follow:
1
12
1223
12232334
1223233423343445
Anewlinecanbecreatedbywritingpreviouslinefollowedbythe
previouslinewith1
addedtoeachnumber.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00552
Acricketteamof11playerslinedupinastraightlinetohavetheir
photograph.The
captainwasaskedtostandinthecenterofthelineup.
1)BharatandBhavinstoodtotherightofthecaptain
2)TwoplayersstoodbetweenBhagatandBhairav
3)SevenplayersstoodbetweenBhadrikandBhanu
4)BhaveshstoodtotherightofBhuvan
5)BholaandBhumitstoodeithersideofBhagat
6)BhavikandBhumitstoodtotheleftofthecaptain
7)SixplayersstoodbetweenBhavinandBhagat
8)TwoplayersstoodbetweenBhagatandBhavik
Whoisthecaptain?Canyoutellthepositionsofallthepalyers?
Answer
Playersfromlefttoright:Bhavik,(Bhadrik/Bhanu),(Bhola/Bhumit),
Bhagat,
(Bhola/Bhumit),BHUVAN,Bhairav,(Bharat/Bhavesh),(Bharat/Bhavesh),
(Bhadrik/Bhanu),
Bhavin
Let'snumberthepositions1to11fromlefttoright.Hence,the
captainisatposition6.
Now,lookingattheclues7,5,2and8together:
Poistion1BhavikorBhairav
Position3BhumitorBhola
Position4Bhagat
Position5BhumitorBhola
Poistion7BhavikorBhairav
Position11Bhavin
Fromclue(3),theonlypossiblepositionsforBhadrikandBhanuare
Position2and
Position10.
Nowthereare3positionsremaining6,8and9andremaining3players
areBhuvan,Bharat
andBhavesh.Butfromclue(1),Bharatstoodtotherightofthecaptain
i.e.Bharatmust
beonposition8or9asposition6isforthecaptain.SoeitherBhuvan
orBhaveshisthe
captain.
From(4),BhaveshstoodtotherightofBhuvan.Hence,Bhuvanisthe
captain.
Playersfromlefttorightare:Bhavik,(Bhadrik/Bhanu),
(Bhola/Bhumit),Bhagat,
(Bhola/Bhumit),BHUVAN,Bhairav,(Bharat/Bhavesh),(Bharat/Bhavesh),
(Bhadrik/Bhanu),
Bhavin.
Thus,
*Bhavik(1),Bhagat(4),Bhuvan(6),Bhairav(7)andBhavin(11)arethe
playerswhose
positionsarefixed.
*BhadrikandBhanuareatposition2or10.
*BholaandBhumitareatposition3or5.
*BharatandBhaveshareatposition8or9.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00854
Inthemiddleoftheconfoundeddesert,thereisthelostcityof"Ash".
Toreachit,I
willhavetotraveloverlandbyfootfromthecoast.Onatreklike
this,eachpersoncan
onlycarryenoughrationsforfivedaysandthefarthestwecantravel
inonedayis30
miles.Also,thecityis120milesfromthestartingpoint.
WhatIamtryingtofigureoutisthefewestnumberofpersons,
includingmyself,thatI
willneedinourGroupsothatIcanreachthecity,stayovernight,and
thenreturntothe
coastwithoutrunningoutofsupplies.
Howmanypersons(includingmyself)willIneedtoaccomplishthis
mission?
Answer
Total4persons(includingyou)required.
Itisgiventhateachpersoncanonlycarryenoughrationsforfive
days.Andthereare4
persons.Hence,totalof20daysrationsisavailable.
1.FirstDay:4daysofrationsareusedup.Onepersongoesbackusing
onedayof
rationsforthereturntrip.Therationsremainingforthefurthertrek
isfor15days.
2.SecondDay:Theremainingthreepeopleuseup3daysofrations.One
persongoes
backusing2daysofrationsforthereturntrip.Therationsremaining
forthefurther
trekisfor10days.
3.ThirdDay:Theremainingtwopeopleuseup2daysofrations.One
persongoesback
using3daysofrationsforthereturntrip.Therationsremainingfor
thefurthertrekis
for5days.
4.FourthDay:Theremainingpersonusesuponedayofrations.He
staysovernight.The
nextdayhereturnstothecoastusing4daysofrations.
Thus,total4persons,includingyouarerequired.
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00348
Thereare10statementswrittenonapieceofpaper:
1.Atleastoneofstatements9and10istrue.
2.Thiseitheristhefirsttrueorthefirstfalsestatement.
3.Therearethreeconsecutivestatements,whicharefalse.
4.Thedifferencebetweenthenumbersofthelasttrueandthefirst
truestatement
dividesthenumber,thatistobefound.
5.Thesumofthenumbersofthetruestatementsisthenumber,thatis
tobefound.
6.Thisisnotthelasttruestatement.
7.Thenumberofeachtruestatementdividesthenumber,thatistobe
found.
8.Thenumberthatistobefoundisthepercentageoftruestatements.
9.Thenumberofdivisorsofthenumber,thatistobefound,(apart
from1anditself)
isgreaterthanthesumofthenumbersofthetruestatements.
10.Therearenothreeconsecutivetruestatements.
Findtheminimalpossiblenumber?
Submittedby:MilindGadagkar
Answer
Thenumebris420.
Ifstatement6isfalse,itcreatesaparadox.Hence,Statement6must
betrue.
ConsiderStatement2:
*Ifitistrue,itmustbethefirsttruestatement.Otherwise,it
createsaparadox.
*Ifitisfalse,itmustbethesecondfalsestatement.Otherwise,it
createsa
paradox.
Inboththecases,Statement1isfalse.
AsStatement1isfalse,Statement9andStatement10botharefalse
i.e.therearethree
consecutivetruestatements.
12345678910
FalseTrueFalseFalse
Let\'sassumethatStatement3isfalsei.e.therearenothree
consecutivefalse
statements.ItmeansthatStatement2andStatement8mustbetrue,else
therewillbe
threeconsecutivefalsestatements.
12345678910
FalseTrueFalseTrueTrueFalseFalse
Also,atleasttwoofStatements4,5and7mustbetrueasthereare
threeconsecutivetrue
statements.
AccordingtoStatement8,thenumberthatistobefoundisthe
percentageoftrue
statements.Hence,numberiseither50or60.NowifStatement7is
true,thenthenumber
ofeachtruestatementdividesthenumber,thatistobefound.But7
and8donotdivide
either50or60.Hence,Statement7isfalsewhichmeansthatStatement
4and5aretrue.
ButStatement5contradictstheStatement8.Hence,ourassumptionthat
Statement3is
falseiswrongandStatement3istruei.e.thereare3consecutive
falsestatementswhich
meansthatStatement8isfalseasthereisnootherpossibilitiesof3
consecutivefalse
statements.
Also,Statement7istrueasStatement6isnotthelasttruestatement.
12345678910
FalseTrueTrueTrueFalseFalseFalse
AccordingtoStatement7,thenumberofeachtruestatementdividesthe
number,thatisto
befound.AndaccordingtoStatement5,thesumofthenumbersofthe
truestatementsis
thenumber,thatistobefound.ForallpossiblecombinationsStatement
5isfalse.
There3consecutivetruestatements.Hence,Statement2andStatement4
aretrue.
12345678910
FalseTrueTrueTrueFalseTrueTrueFalseFalseFalse
Now,theconditionsforthenumbertobefoundare:
1.Thenumebrisdivisibleby5(Statement4)
2.Thenumebrisdivisibleby2,3,4,6,7(Statement7)
3.Thenumberofdivisorsofthenumber,thatistobefound,(apart
from1anditself)
isnotgreaterthanthesumofthenumbersofthetruestatements.
(Statement9)
Theminimumpossiblenumberis420.
Thedivisorsof420,apartfrom1anditselfare2,3,4,5,6,7,10,
12,14,15,20,21,
28,30,35,42,60,70,84,105,140,210.Therearetotalof22
divisors.Also,thesumof
thenumbersofthetruestatementsis22(2+3+4+6+7=22),whichsatisfies
thethird
condition.
=====================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00186
500menarearrangedinanarrayof10rowsand50columnsaccordingto
theirheights.
Tallestamongeachrowofallareaskedtocomeout.Andtheshortest
amongthemisA.
Similarlyafterresumingthemtotheiroriginalpositions,theshortest
amongeachcolumn
areaskedtocomeout.AndthetallestamongthemisB.
NowwhoistallerAorB?
Answer
Nooneistaller,botharesameasAandBarethesameperson.
Asitismentionedthat500menarearrangedinanarrayof10rowsand
50columns
accordingtotheirheights.Let'sassumethatpositionnumbersrepresent
theirheights.
Hence,theshortestamongthe50,100,150,...450,500ispersonwith
height50i.e.A.
Similarlythetallestamong1,2,3,4,5,.....48,48,50isperson
withheight50i.e.B
Now,bothAandBarethepersonwithheight50.Hencebotharesame.
===================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00021
Arichmandied.Inhiswill,hehasdividedhisgoldcoinsamonghis5
sons,5daughters
andamanager.
Accordingtohiswill:Firstgiveonecointomanager.1/5thofthe
remainingtotheelder
son.Nowgiveonecointothemanagerand1/5thoftheremainingto
secondsonandso
on.....Aftergivingcoinsto5thson,dividedtheremainingcoinsamong
fivedaughters
equally.
Allshouldgetfullcoins.Findtheminimumnumberofcoinshehas?
Answer
Wetriedtofindoutsomesimplemathematicalmethodandfinallywe
wrotesmallCprogram
tofindouttheanswer.Theansweris3121coins.
Hereisthebreakup:
Firstson=624coins
Secondson=499coins
Thirdson=399coins
Forthson=319coins
Fifthson=255coins
Daughters=204each
Manager=5coins
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00302
Thereare20peopleinyourapplicantpool,including5pairsof
identicaltwins.
Ifyouhire5peoplerandomly,whatarethechancesyouwillhireat
least1pairof
identicaltwins?(Needlesstosay,thiscouldcausetrouble;))
Submittedby:TimSanders
Answer
Theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleast1pairofidenticaltwins
is25.28%
5peoplefromthe20peoplecanbehiredin20C5=15504ways.
Now,divide20peopleintotwogroupsof10peopleeach:
G1withalltwins
G2withallpeopleotherthantwins
Let'sfindoutallpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepair
ofindentical
twins.
PeoplefromG1PeoplefromG2NoofwaystohireG1withoutasingle
pairofindentical
twinsNoofwaystohireG2Totalways
0510C010C5252
1410C110C42100
2310C2*8/910C34800
3210C3*8/9*6/810C23600
4110C4*8/9*6/8*4/710C1800
5010C5*8/9*6/8*4/7*2/610C032
Total11584
Thus,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepairof
indenticaltwins=
11584ways
So,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins=
1550411584=3920ways
Hence,theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins
=3920/15504
=245/969
=0.2528
=25.28%
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00408
Awomantookacertainnumberofeggstothemarketandsoldsomeof
them.
Thenextday,throughtheindustryofherhens,thenumberleftoverhad
beendoubled,and
shesoldthesamenumberasthepreviousday.
Onthethirddaythenewremainderwastripled,andshesoldthesame
numberasbefore.
Onthefourthdaytheremainderwasquadrupled,andhersalesthesame
asbefore.
Onthefifthdaywhathadbeenleftoverwerequintupled,yetshesold
exactlythesameas
onallthepreviousoccasionsandsodisposedofherentirestock.
Whatisthesmallestnumberofeggsshecouldhavetakentomarketthe
firstday,andhow
manydidsheselldaily?Notethattheanswerisnotzero.
Submittedby:DanAllen
Answer
Shetook103eggstomarketonthefirstdayandsold60eggseveryday.
Let'sassumethatshehadNeggsonthefirstdayandshesoldXeggs
everyday.Putting
downthegiveninformationinthetableasfollow.
DaysEggsatthestartofthedayEggsSoldEggsRemaining
Day1NXNX
Day22N2XX2N3X
Day36N9XX6N10X
Day424N40XX24N41X
Day5120N205XX120N206X
Itisgiventhatshedisposedofherentirestockonthefifthday.But
fromthetable
above,thenumberofeggsremainingare(120N206X).Hence,
120N206X=0
120N=206X
60N=103X
ThesmallestvalueofNandXmustbe103and60respectively.Hence,
shetook103eggsto
marketonthefirstdayandsold60eggseveryday.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00483
Fourcouplesaregoingtothemovie.Eachrowholdseightseats.Betty
andJimdon'twant
tositnexttoAliceandTom.AliceandTomdon'twanttositnextto
GertrudeandBill.On
theotherhand,SallyandBobdon'twanttositnexttoBettyandJim.
Howcanthecouplesarrangethemselvesinarowsothattheyallsit
wheretheywouldlike?
Submittedby:TaraSmith
Answer
Fromthegivendata,itcanbeinferredthat:
(Sally&Bob)NOT(Betty&Jim)NOT(Alice&Tom)NOT(Gertrude&Bill)
(A)NOT(B)meansAandBcannotseatnexttoeachother.
Now,itisobviousthat(Betty&Jim)and(Alice&Tom)willoccupythe
cornerseatsas
bothofthemcanhaveonlyoneneighbour.Therefore,
(Gertrude&Bill)willseatnextto(Betty&Jim)
(Sally&Bob)willseatnextto(Gertrude&Bill)
(Alice&Tom)willseatnextto(Sally&Bob)
Thus,therearetwopossiblearrangementsamirrorimagesofeach
other.
1.(Betty&Jim)(Gertrude&Bill)(Sally&Bob)(Alice&Tom)
2.(Alice&Tom)(Sally&Bob)(Gertrude&Bill)(Betty&Jim)
=========================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00528
NEVER
LEAVE
+ME
ALONE
mustbeaonetoone
letterM,noother
Answer
Atoughone!!!
SinceR+E+E=10+E,itisclearthatR+E=10andneitherRnor
Eisequalto0or
5.Thisistheonlyentrypointto
solveit.Nowusetrialnerrormethod.
NEVER21419
LEAVE31541
+ME+61
ALONE53021
===================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00118
Shahrukhspeakstruthonlyinthemorningandliesintheafternoon,
whereasSalmanspeaks
truthonlyintheafternoonandliesinthemorning.
AsaysthatBisShahrukh.
IsitmorningorafternoonandwhoisAShahrukhorSalman?
Answer
ItisAfternoonandAcanbeSalmanorShahrukh.IfAisSalman,heis
speakingtruth.IfA
isShahrukh,heislying.
Wanttoconfirmit?Considerfollowing4possibleanswersandcheckfor
itstruthness
individually.
1.ItisMorningandAisShahrukh
2.ItisMorningandAisSalman
3.ItisAfternoonandAisShahrukh
4.ItisAfternoonandAisSalman
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00161
Mr.D'souzahasboughtfourcarsMerc,Honda,Ford,Zenaspresents
forhissons'
birthdays,allofwhicharenextweek.Giventhefollowinginformation,
whatwilleachson
get?
AlanwillnotgettheHondaunlessBarrygetstheMercandDenzilgets
theFord.Barrywill
notgettheFordunlessCarlgetstheZenandAlangetstheMerc.Denzil
willnotgetthe
ZenunlessAlangetstheHondaandBarrygetstheMerc.Alanwillnot
gettheMercunless
CarlgetstheZenandDenzilgetstheFord.BarrywillnotgettheMerc
unlessAlangets
theZenandDenzilgetstheFord.AlanwillnotgettheZenunlessBarry
getstheHondaand
CarlgetstheMerc.CarlwillnotgettheZenunlessBarrygetsthe
HondaandAlangetsthe
Ford.AlanwillnotgettheFordunlessBarrygetstheZenandDenzil
getstheHonda.Carl
willnotgettheMercunlessDenzilgetstheHonda.
Answer
Let'sputgiven9informationinatable.ThepersoninBoldFontwill
notgetthe
correspondingcarunlessthepersonsinNormalFontgetthe
correspondingcars.Also,the
personwillItalicswillgettheremainingcar.
MercHondaFordZen
1BarryAlanDenzilCarl
2AlanDenzilBarryCarl
3BarryAlanCarlDenzil
4AlanBarryDenzilCarl
5BarryCarlDenzilAlan
6CarlBarryDenzilAlan
7DenzilBarryAlanCarl
8CarlDenzilAlanBarry
9CarlDenzil??
Now,let'sassumethatAlangetstheMerc.Thenfrom(4),Barrygetsthe
Honda,Denzilgets
theFordandCarlgetstheZen.Butfrom(7),CarlwillnotgettheZen
unlessBarrygets
theHondaandAlangetstheFord.Thus,itcontradictstheoriginal
assumption.Hence,Alan
willnotgettheMerc.
Let'sassumethatAlangetstheHonda.Thenfrom(1),Barrygetsthe
Merc,Denzilgetsthe
FordandCarlgetstheZen.Butfrom(5)orfrom(7),itcontradictsthe
original
assumption.Hence,AlanwillnotgettheHonda.
Let'sassumethatAlangetstheFord.Thenfrom(8),CarlgetstheMerc,
Denzilgetsthe
FordandBarrygetstheZenwhichdoesnotcontradictanyofthe
statement.
Similaly,youcanassumethatAlangetstheZen.(whichiscontradictory
to(9))
Hence,AlangetstheFord,BarrygetstheZen,CarlgetstheMercand
Denzilgetsthe
Honda.
=====================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00110
Inacertaingame,if2wixsomesareworth3changs,and4changsare
worth1plut,then6
plutesareworthhowmanywixsomes?
Answer
Itisgiventhat
2wixsomes=3changs
8wixsomes=12changs(I)
Also,giventhat
4changs=1plut
12changs=3plutes
8wixsomes=3plutesFrom(I)
Therefore,
6plutes=16wixsomes
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00267
Astickoflength1isdividedrandomlyinto3parts.
Whatistheprobabilitythatatrianglecanbemadewiththosethree
parts?
Answer
Theprobability,thatatrianglecanbemadebyrandomlydividinga
stickoflength1into
3parts,is25%
Atrianglecanbemade,ifandonlyif,sumoftwosidesisgreaterthan
thethirdside.
Thus,
X1<X2+X3
X2<X3+X1
X3<X1+X2
Also,itisgiventhatX1+X2+X3=1
Fromaboveequations:X1<1/2,X2<1/2,X3<1/2
Thus,atrianglecanbeformed,ifallthreesidesarelessthan1/2and
sumis1.
Now,let'sfindtheprobabilitythatoneofX1,X2,X3isgreaterthan
orequalto1/2.
Notethattodividestickrandomlyinto3parts,weneedtochoosetwo
numbersPandQ,
botharebetween0&1andP
Now,X1willbegreaterthanorequalto1/2,ifandonlyifboththe
numbers,P&Q,are
greaterthanorequalto1/2.Thus,probabilityofX1beinggreaterthan
orequalto1/2is
=(1/2)*(1/2)=1/4
Similarly,X3willbegreaterthanorequalto1/2,ifandonlyifboth
thenumbers,P&Q,
arelessthanorequalto1/2.Thus,probabilityofX3beinggreater
thanorequalto1/2
is=(1/2)*(1/2)=1/4
Also,probabilityofX2beinggreaterthanorequalto1/2is=(1/2)*
(1/2)=1/4
Theprobabilitythatatrianglecannotbemade
=(1/4)+(1/4)+(1/4)
=(3/4)
Thus,theprobabilitythatatrianglecanbemade
=1(3/4)
=(1/4)
=25%
Thus,theprobabilitythatatrianglecanbemadebyrandomlydividinga
stickoflength1
into3partsis25%
Let'sgeneralisetheproblem.Whatistheprobabilitythatapolygon
with(N+1)sidescan
bemadefrom(N+1)segmentsobtainedbyrandomlydividingastickof
lengthlinto(N+1)
parts?
Theprobabilityis=1(N+1)*(1/2)^N
Theprobabilitytendsto1asNgrows.Thus,itiseasiertomakeaN
sidedpolygonthanit
istomakeatriangle!!!
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00800
Thereare4mathematiciansBrahma,Sachin,PrashantandNakulhaving
lunchinahotel.
Suddenly,Brahmathinksof2integernumbersgreaterthan1andsays,
"Thesumofthe
numbersis..."andhewhispersthesumtoSachin.Thenhesays,"The
productofthenumbers
is..."andhewhisperstheproducttoPrashant.Afterthatfollowing
conversationtakes
place:
Sachin:Prashant,Idon'tthinkthatweknowthenumbers.
Prashant:Aha!,nowIknowthenumbers.
Sachin:Oh,nowIalsoknowthenumbers.
Nakul:Now,Ialsoknowthenumbers.
Whatarethenumbers?Explainyouranswer.
Submittedby:SachinKanekar
Answer
Thenumbersare4and13.
AsSachinisinitiallyconfidentthatthey(i.e.heandPrashant)don't
knowthenumbers,
wecanconcludethat
1)Thesummustnotbeexpressibleassumoftwoprimes,otherwise
Sachincouldnothave
beensureinadvancethatPrashantdidnotknowthenumbers.
2)Theproductcannotbelessthan12,otherwisetherewouldonlybeone
choiceand
Prashantwouldhavefiguredthatoutalso.
Suchpossiblesumare11,17,23,27,29,35,37,41,47,51,53,57,
59,65,67,71,77,
79,83,87,89,93,95,97,101,107,113,117,119,121,123,125,127,
131,135,137,
143,145,147,149,155,157,161,163,167,171,173,177,179,185,
187,189,191,197,
....
Let'sexaminethemonebyone.
Ifthesumoftwonumbersis11,Sachinwillthinkthatthenumbers
wouldbe(2,9),(3,8),
(4,7)or(5,6).
Sachin:"As11isnotexpressibleassumoftwoprimes,Prashantcan't
knowthenumbers."
Here,theproductwouldbe18(2*9),24(3*8),28(4*7)or30(5*6).Inall
thecasesexcept
forproduct30,Prashantwouldknowthenumbers.
ifproductoftwonumbersis18:
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis18,thesumcouldbeeither11(2,9)or
9(3,6).Butifthe
sumwas9,SachinwouldhavededucedthatImightknowthenumbersas
(2,7)isthepossible
primenumberspair.Hence,thenumbersmustbe2and9."(ORin
otherwords,9isnotinthe
PossibleSumList)
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis24,thesumcouldbeeither14(2,12),
11(3,8)or10(4,6).
But14and10arenotinthePossibleSumList.Hence,thenumbersmust
be3and8."
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis28,thesumcouldbeeither16(2,14)or
11(4,7).But16is
notinthePossibleSumList.Hence,thenumbersmustbe4and7."
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis30,thesumcouldbeeither17(2,15),
13(3,10)or11(5,6).
But13isnotinthePossibleSumList.Hence,thenumbersmustbe
either(2,15)or(5,6)."
Here,Prashantwon'tbesureofthenumbers.
Hence,Prashantwillbesureofthenumbersifproductiseither18,24
or28.
Sachin:"SincePrashantknowsthenumbers,theymustbeeither(3,8),
(4,7)or(5,6)."But
hewon'tbesure.Hence,thesumisnot11.
Summerisingdataforsum11:
PossibleSumPRODUCTPossibleSum
2+9182+9=11(possible)
3+6=9
3+8242+12=14
3+8=11(possible)
4+6=10
4+7282+12=14
3+8=11(possible)
4+6=10
5+6302+15=17(possible)
3+10=13
5+6=11(possible)
Followingthesameprocedurefor17:
PossibleSumPRODUCTPossibleSum
2+15302+15=17(possible)
3+10=13
5+6=11(possible)
3+14422+21=23(possible)
3+14=17(possible)
6+7=13
4+13522+26=28
4+13=17(possible)
5+12602+30=32
3+20=23(possible)
4+15=19
5+12=17(possible)
6+10=16
6+11662+33=35(possible)
3+22=25
6+11=17(possible)
7+10702+35=37(possible)
5+14=19
7+10=17(possible)
8+9722+36=38
3+24=27(possible)
4+18=22
6+12=18
8+9=17(possible)
Here,Prashantwillbesureofthenumbersiftheproductis52.
Sachin:"SincePrashantknowsthenumbers,theymustbe(4,13)."
ForallothernumbersinthePossibleSumList,Prashantmightbesure
ofthenumbersbut
Sachinwon't.
Hereisthestepbystepexplaination:
Sachin:"Asthesumis17,twonumberscanbeeither(2,15),(3,14),
(4,13),(5,12),
(6,11),(7,10)or(8,9).Also,asnoneofthemisaprimenumberspair,
Prashantwon'tbe
knowingnumberseither."
Prashant:"SinceSachinissurethatbothofusdon'tknowthenumbers,
thesummustbe
oneofthePossibleSumList.Further,astheproductis52,twonumbers
canbeeither
(2,26)or(4,13).Butiftheywere(2,26),Sachinwouldnothavebeen
sureinadvancethat
Idon'tknowthenumbersas28(2+26)isnotinthePossibleSumList.
Hence,twonumbers
are4and13."
Sachin:"AsPrashantnowknowsboththenumbers,outofallpossible
products30(2,15),
42(3,14),52(4,13),60(5,12),66(6,11),70(7,10),72(8,9)thereisone
productforwhich
listofallpossiblesumcontainsONLYONEsumfromthePossibleSum
List.Andalso,no
suchtwolistsexist.[seetableabovefor17]Hence,twonumbersare4
and13."
Nakulfiguredoutboththenumbersjustaswedidbyobservingthe
conversationbetween
SachinandPrashant.
Itisinterestingtonotethattherearenoothersuchtwonumbers.We
checkedallthe
possiblesumstill500!!!
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00002
AliBabahadfoursons,towhomhebequeathedhis39camels,withthe
provisothatthe
legacybedividedinthefollowingway:
Theoldestsonwastoreceiveonehalftheproperty,thenextaquarter,
thethirdan
eighthandtheyoungestonetenth.Thefourbrotherswereatalossas
howtodividethe
inheritanceamongthemselveswithoutcuttingupacamel,untila
strangerappeareduponthe
scene.
Dismountingfromhiscamel,heaskedifhemighthelp,forheknewjust
whattodo.The
brothersgratefullyacceptedhisoffer.
AddinghisowncameltoAliBaba's39,hedividedthe40asperthe
will.Theoldestson
received20,thenext10,thethird5andtheyoungest4.Onecamel
remained:thiswas
his,whichhemountedandrodeaway.
Scratchingtheirheadsinamazement,theystartedcalculating.The
oldestthought:isnot
20greaterthanthehalfof39?Someonemusthavereceivedlessthanhis
propershare!But
eachbrotherdiscoveredthathehadreceivedmorethanhisdue.Howis
itpossible?
Answer
Theytooktheirpercentagesfrom40andnotfrom39,sotheygotmore
thantheirshare.
Theoldestsongot1/2of40=20whichis0.5more
Thesecondsongot1/4of40=10whichis0.25more
Thethirdsongot1/8of40=5whichis0.125more
Theyoungestsongot1/10of40=4whichis0.1more
Andthestrangergot1/40of40=1whichis0.025more(Asheisnot
supposedtoget
anything)
Allthesefractionsaddto=0.5+0.25+0.125+0.1+0.025=1which
strangertookaway.
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00113
TheBulls,Pacers,LakersandJazzranforacontest.
Anup,Sujit,Johnmadethefollowingstatementsregardingresults.
*AnupsaideitherBullsorJazzwilldefinitelywin
*SujitsaidheisconfidentthatBullswillnotwin
*JohnsaidheisconfidentthatneitherJazznorLakerswillwin
Whentheresultcame,itwasfoundthatonlyoneoftheabovethreehad
madeacorrect
statement.Whohasmadethecorrectstatementandwhohaswonthe
contest?
Answer
SujithhasmadethecorrectstatementandLakershaswonthecontest.
Let'ssolveit.Createthetablewiththestatementsmade.
BullsPacersLakersJazz
AnupYESYES
SujitNO
JohnNONO
Nowlet'sanalysethesituationbyassumingthatAnuphasmadethe
correctstatement.It
meansthateitherBullsorJazzhaswonthecontest.
*Ifbullshaswon,thenJohnisalsocorrect
*IfJazzhaswon,thenSujitisalsocorrect.
IneithercaseAnuphasmadethewrongstatement.
NowassumethatSujithasmadethecorrectstatement.Itmeansthat
eitherorPacersor
LakersorJazzwonthecontest.
*IfPacershaswon,thenJohnisalsocorrect.
*IfJazzhaswon,thenAnupisalsocorrect.
*IfLakershaswon,thenAnupandJohnbotharewrong.
SoistheanswerSujithasmadethecorrectstatementandLakerswon
thecontest.
Similarly,analyseforjohnwhichmeanseitherBullsorPacershaswon
thecontest.
================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00345
123212342123432???
Answer
Thenextthreenumbersare3,4and5.
ThepatternisthenumberoflettersintheRomannumeral
representationofthenumbers
i.e.numberoflettersinI,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX,X,XI,
XII,XIII,XIV,XV,
.....
Hence,thenextnumbersinthegivenseriesare3(XVI),4(XVII),
5(XVIII),3(XIX),2(XX),
3(XXI),4(XXII),5(XXIII),4(XXIV),3(XXV),etc...
================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00383
Considerastatelotterywhereyougettochoose8numbersfrom1to80,
norepetiton
allowed.TheLotteryCommissionchooses11fromthose80numbers,again
norepetition.You
winthelotteryifatleast7ofyournumbersarethereinthe11chosen
bytheLottery
Commission.
Whatistheprobablityofwinningthelottery?
Answer
Theprobabilityofwinningthelotteryistwoinonebillioni.e.only
twopersoncanwin
fromonebillion!!!
Let'sfindoutsamplespacefirst.TheLotteryCommissionchooses11
numbersfromthe80.
Hence,the11numbersfromthe80canbeselectedin80C11wayswhichis
veryveryhighand
isequalto1.04776*1013
Now,youhavetoselect8numbersfrom80whichcanbeselectedin80C8
ways.Butweare
interestedinonlythosenumberswhicharein11numbersselectedbythe
LotteryCommision.
Thereare2cases.
*Youmightselect8numberswhichallaretherein11numberschoosen
bytheLottery
Commission.Sothereare11C8ways.
*Anothercaseisyoumightselect7luckynumbersand1nonlucky
numberfromthe
remaining69numbers.Thereare(11C7)*(69C1)waystodothat.
Sototalluckywaysare
=(11C8)+(11C7)*(69C1)
=(165)+(330)*(69)
=165+22770
=22935
Hence,theprobabilityofthewinninglotteryis
=(Totalluckyways)/(TotalSamplespace)
=(22935)/(1.04776*1013)
=2.1889*109
i.e.2inabillion.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00518
Write1111......(243times)i.e.a243digitnumberwithall1s.
Provethatitisdivisibleby243.
Submittedby:SimatGoyal
Answer
Proveitusingthemathematicalinduction.
Firsthereareacoupleofthingstonote:
[1]Anumberwhosedigitsadduptoamultipleofthreeisdivisableby
3.
e.g.369:3+6+9=18:1+8=9whichisamultipleof3hence369is
divisableby3.
[2]Wheneveranumber(X)ismultipliedwithanothernumber(Y)thenthe
product(X*Y)will
haveallthefactorsofXaswellasallthefactorsofYinitssetof
factors.
e.g.ifXhasfactorsof(1,P,Q,X)andYhasfactorsof(1,Q,R,Y)then
X*Yhasfactorsof
(1,P,Q,Q,R,X,Y).
Let
N=anyseriesofdigits(e.g.N=369)
D=thenumberofdigitsinN(e.g.ifN=369thenD=3)
P=isanumberconstructedinthefollowingway:a1,followedby(D
1)0s,followedby
another1,followedby(D1)0s,followedbyanother1.(e.g.ifN=369
thenD=3andPwould
be1001001)NotethatPwillalwaysbedivisibleby3.
Also,ifwemultiplyNwithPweareessentiallyrepeatingNfor(D1)
times.
e.g.ifN=369thenD=3,P=1001001andN*P=369369369
Let'sstartwithN=111.ItisclearthatNisdivisibleby3.(From[1])
Also,D=3andP=1001001
N*P=111111111(9times)
Theresultingnumber111111111mustbedivisibleby9asNandPboth
aredivisibleby3.
Now,let'sstartwithN=111111111.ItisclearthatNisdivisibleby9.
Also,D=9andP=1000000001000000001
N*P=111111111...(27times)
Theresultingnumber1111111...(27times)mustbedivisibleby27asN
isdivisibleby9
andPisdivisibleby3.
RepeatthesameprocedureforN=1111111...(27times)Theresulting
number1111111...(81
times)mustbedivisibleby81asNisdivisibleby27andPis
divisibleby3.
Similarly,forN=1111111...(81times)Theresultingnumber1111111...
(243times)mustbe
divisibleby243asNisdivisibleby81andPisdivisibleby3.
Thus,1111111...(243times)isdivisibleby243.
ThankstoRyanHutchersonforsolution!!!
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00533
Whatarethenexttwonumbersintheseries?
29,11,13,17,25,32,37,?,?
Answer
Thenexttwonumbersare47and58.
Thepatternis:Sumofthedigitsinallpreviousnumbersinthe
squence.
FirstNumber=29
SecondNumber=2+9=11
ThirdNumber=(11)+1+1=13
ForthNumber=(13)+1+3=17
FifthNumber=(17)+1+7=25
SixthNumber=(25)+2+5=32
SeventhNumber=(32)+3+2=37
EightNumber=(37)+3+7=47
NinthNumber=(47)+4+7=58
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00571
SEND
+MORE
MONEY
mustbeaonetoone
letterS,noother
Submittedby:OmeshGarg
Answer
ItisobviousthatM=1.
IfS=9andifthereisacarry,themaximumvalueofOwillbe1.But
M=1.Hence,Ohasto
be0.
Also,Shastobe9asthereisnootherwayofgettingtotal10for
S+M.
Now,Nis(E+1)i.e.theremustbeacarryfrom(N+R).ItmeansthatR
mustbe9whichis
alreadyassignedtoS.Hence,Rhastobe8andacarryfrom(D+E)will
makeR'svalue9.
Now,usingtrialnerror:
9567O=0,M=1,Y=2,E=5,
+1085N=6,D=7,R=8,S=9
10652
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00026
Findthelastdigitofsummationoftheseries:
199+299+399+499++9899+9999
Answer
Thelastdigitoftheseriesis0.
Wegroupthesumasfollow:
(199+1199+...+9199)+(299+2299+...9299)+......+(999+
1999+...+9999)+
(1099+2099+3099+...9099)
Allthetermsinasinglegrouphavethesamelastdigit(i.e.last
digitsof199+1199+
...+9199aresame,is1,&similarlyfortheothergroups).
Also,thereare10termsineachgroupexceptforthelastone.
Thereforethelastdigitof
thesumoftermsinfirst9groupsis0.(aswhateverbethelastdigit,
wehaveto
multiplyitby10)Andthelastdigitofthesumofthetermsinthe
group10isobviously
0.
Hence,thelastdigitoftheseriesis0.
==================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00030
Acertainstreethas1000buildings.Asignmakeriscontractedto
numberthehousesfrom1
to1000.Howmanyzeroeswillheneed?
Answer
Thesignmakerwillneed192zeroes.
Divide1000buildingnumbersintogroupsof100eachasfollow:
(1..100),(101..200),(201..300),.......(901..1000)
Forthefirstgroup,signmakerwillneed11zeroes.
Forgroupnumbers2to9,hewillrequire20zeroeseach.
Andforgroupnumber10,hewillrequire21zeroes.
Thetotalnumbersofzeroesrequiredare
=11+8*20+21
=11+160+21
=192
============================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00123
Asoldierlooseshiswayinathickjungle.Atrandomhewalksfromhis
campbut
mathematicallyinaninterestingfashion.
FirsthewalksonemileEastthenhalfmiletoNorth.Then1/4mileto
West,then1/8mile
toSouthandsoonmakingaloop.
Finallyhowfarheisfromhiscampandinwhichdirection?
Answer
Thesoldieris0.8944milesawayfromhiscamptowardsEastNorth.
ItisobviousthatheisinEastNorthdirection.
DistancetravelledinNorthandSouthdirections
=1/21/8+1/321/128+1/5121/2048+andsoon...(ageometric
serieswithr=(
1/4))
(1/2)*(1(1/4)n)
=
(1(1/4))
=1/(2*(1(1/4)))
=2/5
SimilarlyinEastandWestdirections
=11/4+1/161/64+1/256andsoon...(ageometricserieswith
r=(1/4))
(1)*(1(1/4)n)
=
(1(1/4))
=1/((1(1/4))
=4/5
Sothesoldieris4/5milesawaytowardsEastand2/5milesawaytowards
North.Sousing
rightangledtriangle,soldieris0.8944milesawayfromhiscamp.
========================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00174
Arrangefiveplanetssuchthat4ofthemaddupto5thplanet
numerically.Eachofthe
lettersoftheplanetshouldrepresentauniquenumberfromtherange0
9.Youhaveto
usealltendigits.
Thereisanamazingmathematicalrelationshipexistsamongthenamesof
theplanet.
Answer
Thetoughtprocessisinitiallytofindplanetssuchthatthetotal
numberofalphabetsin
themis10.
TheonlypossiblecombinationofplanetsisSaturn,Uranus,Venus,Mars
andNeptunebecause
forothercombinationstherewillbemorethan10alphabets.Amongthese
five,Neptuneis
thelenghtiest,soitmustbethesumoftheotherfour.
SATURN
URANUS
VENUS
+MARS
NEPTUNE
NowtheonlypossiblevalueforNis1.ByfindingthevalueforS,we
canreachthe
result:
358691
695163
20163
+4593
1078610
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00218
EktagotchocolatestogiveherfriendsonherBirthday.Ifshegives3
chocolatestoeach
friend,onefriendwillgetonly2chocolates.Also,ifshegives2
chocolatestoeach
friends,shewillleftwith15chocolates.
HowmanychocolatesEktagotonherBirthday?andhowmanyfriendsare
there?
Answer
47Chocolatesand16Friends
Let'sassumethattherearetotalCchocolatesandFfriends.
Accordingtofirstcase,ifshegives3chocolatestoeachfriend,one
friendwillgetonly
2chocolates.
3*(F1)+2=C
Similarly,ifshegives2chocolatestoeachfriends,shewillleftwith
15chocolates.
2*F+15=C
Solvingabove2equations,F=16andC=47.Hence,Ektagot47
chocolatesand16friends.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00285
FiveexecutivesofaCulturalCommitteeholdaconferenceinMumbai.
Mr.AconversesinEnglishandMarathi.
Mr.BconversesinHindiandEnglish.
Mr.CconversesinMarathiandHindi.
Mr.DconversesinHindiandGujarati.
Mr.E,anativeMarathi,canalsoconverseinGujarati.
Ifasixthexecutiveisbroughtin,tobeunderstoodbythemaximum
numberoftheoriginal
five,heshouldbefluentinwhich2languages?
Answer
ThesixthpersonshouldbefluentinHindi&Marathi.
Findouthowmanyexecutivescanunderstandeachofthelanguage.
ThreeexecutivesspeakHindiMr.B,Mr.CandMr.D.Theothertwo
executivesMr.Aand
Mr.E,speakMarathi.Thus,thesixthexecutiveshouldbefluentin
HindiandMarathiso
thatoriginalfiveexecutivescanconversewithhim.
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00209
IftodayisWednesday,whatisonedaybeforetheday,aftertheday,
threedaysafterthe
daybeforeyesterday?
Submittedby:JenniferRenick
Answer
Thursday
Startbackwards.
TodayisWednesday.
ThedaybeforeyesterdayisMonday.
ThreedaysafterMondayisThursday.
ThedayafterThursdayisFriday
ThedaybeforeFridayisThursday.
Also,notethatthefirsttwoconditionscanceleachotheroutasone
daybeforetheday,
onedayafterthedayisthesameday.Hence,itcanbereducedto
"threedaysafterthe
daybeforeyesterday".
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00240
Bencannevertellalie,Georgecannevertellthetruth.
Oneofthemsaid,"TheotheronesaidhewasGeorge".
Whosaidthat?
Submittedby:ZacharyMOrrison
Answer
ThespeakerisGeorge.
SinceBencann'tlie,hecann'tsaythatheisGeorge.Similarly,since
Georgecann'ttell
thetruth,hetoocann'tsaythatheisGeorge.Thus,noneofthemcan
saythatheis
George.Itmeansthatthespeakerislying.Hence,thespeakermustbe
George.
===================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00237
Agirlhasacertainnumberofpets.Allbuttwoaredogs,allbuttwo
arecatsandallbut
twoaregoats.
Howmanypetsdoesthisgirlhave?
Submittedby:Kimi
Answer
Theansweris3i.e.1dog,1catand1goat
Itsays"allbuttwoaredogs",whichmeansthat2arenotdog.
Similarly,2arenotcat
and2arenotgoat.Thussolutionisthereare3petsoutofwhichone
isdog,oneiscat
andoneisgoat.
Also,thereisonemoreaspecttoit.Thegirlmighthaveonly2pets
andnoneofthemis
dogorcatorgoat.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00004
Thereisafamilypartyconsistingoftwofathers,twomothers,two
sons,onefatherinlaw,
onemotherinlaw,onedaughterinlaw,onegrandfather,onegrandmother
andone
grandson.
Whatistheminimumnumberofpersonsrequiredsothatthisispossible?
Answer
Therearetotal2couplesandason.GrandfatherandGrandmother,their
sonandhiswife
andagaintheirson.Sototal5people.
Grandfather,Grandmother
|
|
Son,wife
|
|
Son
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00683
Ifarookandabishopofastandardchesssetarerandomlyplacedona
chessboard,whatis
theprobabilitythatoneisattackingtheother?
Notethatbotharedifferentcoloredpieces.
Submittedby:Eamon
Answer
TheprobabilityofeithertheRookortheBishopattackingtheotheris
0.3611
ARookandaBishoponastandardchessboardcanbearrangedin64P2=
64*63=4032ways
Now,thereare2casesRookattackingBishopandBishopattacking
Rook.Notethatthe
RookandtheBishopneverattackeachothersimultaneously.Let's
considerboththecases
onebyone.
CaseIRookattackingBishop
TheRookcanbeplacedinanyofthegiven64positionsanditalways
attacks14positions.
Hence,totalpossiblewaysoftheRookattackingtheBishop=64*14=
896ways
CaseIIBishopattackingRook
Viewthechessboardasa4cocentrichollowsquareswiththeoutermost
squarewithside8
unitsandtheinnermostsquarewithside2units.
Ifthebishopisinoneoftheouter28squares,thenitcanattack7
positions.Ifthe
bishopisinoneofthe20squaresatnextinnerlevel,thenitcan
attack9positions.
Similarlyifthebishopisinoneofthe12squaresatnextinnerlevel,
thenitcanattack
11positions.Andifthebishopisinoneofthe4squaresatnext
innerlevel(the
innermostlevel),thenitcanattack13positions.
Hence,totalpossiblewaysoftheBishopattackingtheRook
=28*7+20*9+12*11+4*13
=560ways
Thus,therequiredprobabilityis
=(896+560)/4032
=13/36
=0.3611
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00234
SubstitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingDivisiontrue.
ALE
CAR|EARLY
|CAR
RFFL
ILYI
YYIY
YYAU
T
mustbeaonetoone
letterY,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherYinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
Asimpleone!!!
*A=1,asA*CAR=CAR
*F=0,asAA=FandRR=F
*I=2,asYYIYYYAU=T,henceImustbeA+1
*R=3,asRFFLILYI=YYI,henceRmustbeI+1
*L=4,asRFFLILYI=YYIandI=2
*Y=5,asC13*4=24Y2
*C=6,asC13*4=2452
*E=9,asEC=R
*U=7andT=8
149
613|91345
|613
3004
2452
5525
5517
8
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00257
IfA+B=C,DC=AandEB=C,thenwhatdoesD+Fstandsfor?Provideyour
answerinletter
termsaswellasinnumberterms.
Submittedby:David
Answer
Jor10
Asimpleone.
Assumethateachcharacterrepresentsthenumberequivalenttothe
positioninthealphabet
i.e.A=1,B=2,C=3,D=4andsoon.Nowlet'scheckour
assumption.
A+B=Ci.e.1+2=3
DC=Ai.e.43=1
EB=Ci.e.52=3
Thus,ourassumptionwasCorrect.Hence,D+F=Ji.e.4+6=10
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00256
Findthenexttwonumbersinthegivenseries.
023455766711713988178199101323??
Answer
Thepatternissumoffactorsinprimefactorizationofpositive
integersstartingwith
1.Notethat1isnotaPrimenumber.
IntegerPrimeFactorizationSum
10
222
333
42*24
555
62*35
777
82*2*26
93*36
102*57
111111
122*2*37
131313
142*79
153*58
162*2*2*28
171717
182*3*38
191919
202*2*59
213*710
222*1113
232323
242*2*2*39
255*510
Hence,thenextnumbersintheseriesare91015911291031101419
121037211611
41124315112547111412.....
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00349
Inordertoconducttheworkatstoreitisnecessarytohaveaminimum
ofthreeworkers
eachday.Thestaffconsistsoffivepersonswhoworkonparttime
basis.Alicecanworkon
Mondays,WednesdaysandFridays.Bettycannotreportforworkon
Wednesdays.Carolcan
reportforworkonTuesdaysandWednesdaysonly.Dorothycannotworkon
Fridays.Emmyis
availableanytimeexceptonthefirstMondayandThursdayofthemonth.
Duringwhichdayoftheweek,mightitbeimpossibletoconductthework
atstore?Note
thatthestoreremainscloseonSundays.
Answer
Itwillbeimpossibletoconducttheworkonfirstthursday.
Summarizingtheavailabilityofstaffdaywise.
MondayAlice,Betty,Dorothy,Emmy(exceptfirstMonday)
TuesdayBetty,Carol,Dorothy,Emmy
WednesdayAlice,Carol,Dorothy,Emmy
ThursdayBetty,Dorothy,Emmy(exceptfirstThursday)
FridayAlice,Betty,Emmy
SaturdayBetty,Dorothy,Emmy
BettyandDorothyareavailableonallThursday.Emmyisalsoavailable
onThursdays,
exceptfirstThursday.Hence,onfirstThursdayitwillbeimpossibleto
conductthework.
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00849
IntheGeneralmeetingof"FriendsClub",Sameersaid,"Therepairsto
theClubwillcome
toatotalofRs3120andIproposethatthisamountshouldbemetby
themembers,each
payinganequalamount."
Theproposalwasimmediatelyagreed.However,fourmembersoftheClub
chosetoresign,
leavingtheremainingmemberstopayanextraRs26each.
HowmanymembersdidtheCluboriginallyhave?
Answer
TheCluboriginallyhad24members.
AssumethattherewereinitiallyNmembers.
As4membersresignedandremainingmemberspaidRs26each,itmeans
thattotalamountof
4membersisequaltoRs26eachfromremaining(N4)members.Thus,
4*(3120/N)=26*(N4)
12480=26N2104N
26N2104N12480=0
SolvingthequadraticequationwegetN=24.
Hence,theCluboriginallyhad24members.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00027
Findthesmallestnumbersuchthatifitsrightmostdigitisplacedat
itsleftend,the
newnumbersoformedisprecisely50%largerthantheoriginalnumber.
Answer
Theansweris285714.
Ifitsrightmostdigitisplacedatitsleftend,thennewnumberis
428571whichis50%
largerthantheoriginalnumber285714.
Thesimplestwayistowriteasmallprogram.Andtheotherwayistrial
anderror!!!
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00028
Thereare10boxescontaining10ballseach.9boxescontain10ballsof
10kgeachandone
boxcontains10ballsof9kgeach.Toolisavailableforproper
weighing.Howcanyoufind
outtheboxcontaining9kgballs?
Youareallowedtoweighonlyonce.Youcanremoveballsfromtheboxes.
Allballsareof
samesizeandcolor.
Answer
1.Marktheboxeswithnumbers1,2,3,4,...upto10
2.Take1ballfrombox1,take2ballsfrombox2,take3ballsfrom
box3,take4
ballsfrombox4andsoon
3.Putallofthemonthescaleatonceandtakethemeasurement.
4.Now,subtractthemeasurementfrom550(1*10+2*10+3*10+4*10+
5*10+6*10+
7*10+8*10+9*10+10*10)
5.Theresultwillgiveyoutheboxnumberwhichhasaballof9Kg
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00074
AtUniversityofProbability,thereare375freshmen,293sophomores,
187juniors,&126
seniors.Onestudentwillrandomlybechosentoreceiveanaward.
Whatpercentchanceistherethatitwillbeajunior?Roundtothe
nearestwholepercent.
Answer
19%
Thispuzzleiseasy.Dividethenumberofjuniors(187)bythetotal
numberofstudents
(981),&thenmultiplythenumberby100toconverttoapercentage.
Hencetheansweris(187/981)*100=19%
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00279
TomoveaSafe,twocylindricalsteelbars7inchesindiameterareused
asrollers.
Howfarwillthesafehavemovedforwardwhentherollershavemadeone
revolution?
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
Thesafemusthavemoved22inchesforward.
Iftherollersmakeonerevolution,thesafewillmovethedistance
equaltothe
circumferenceoftheroller.Hence,thedistancecoveredbythesafeis
=PI*Diameter(or2*PI*Radius)
=PI*7
=3.14159265*7
=21.99115
=22inchesapprox.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00299
YFY
AY|NELLY
|NLY
PPL
PNH
NLY
NLY
000
mustbeaonetoone
letterN,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherNinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
SeethepatternoftheY.AY*Y=NLYi.e.YismultipliedbyYandthe
lastdigitofthe
answerisalsoY.Thus,thevalueofYwouldbe5or6.
Also,
H=0asLH=L
P=2NasPN=N
LY=P=2N
EL=p
Let'sfindouttheminimumpossiblevalues.IfN=1,thenP=2,Y=5,L=7
andE=9.Notethat
thevalueofYcannotbe6asitmakesL=8andE=10whichisnot
possible.Hence,Y=5,
N=1,P=2,L=7,E=9,H=0
Now,usingtrialnerrororrathersolvingF*AY=PNH,wegetF=6andA=3.
565YFY
35|19775AY|NELLY
|175|NLY
227PPL
210PNH
175NLY
175NLY
000000
===================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00332
Whatarethenexttwonumbersinthefollowingseries:
1,1,2,6,24,20,20,40,20,80,?,?
Submittedby:Kevin
Answer
Thenexttwonumbersintheseriesare00and00.
Thepatterenislast2digitsi.e.theunitsandtensdigitsofthe
factorialofthe
integers,startingfrom0.
Firstnumber=0!=1
Secondnumber=1!=1
Thirdnumber=2!=2
Fourthnumber=3!=6
Fifthnumber=4!=24
Sixthnumber=5!=120=20
Seventhnumber=6!=720=20
Eighthnumber=7!=5040=40
Ninethnumber=8!=40320=20
Tenthnumber=9!=362880=80
Eleventhnumber=10!=3628800=00
Twelvethnumber=11!=39916800=00
Hence,thenexttwonumbersintheseriesare00and00.
Also,notethatallnextnumbersinthegivenseriesare00.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00420
Examinethefollowingsequenceofnumbers.
1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
1113213211
31131211131221
Whatarethenexttwonumbersinthegivenseries?
Answer
Thenexttwonumbersare13211311123113112211and
11131221133112132113212221.
Eachnumberisadetaileddescriptionofthepreviousnumber.
Secondnumberdescribesfirstnumberasoneonei.e.11
Thirdnumberdescribessecondnumberastwoonesi.e.21
Fourthnumberdescribesthirdnumberasonetwo,oneonei.e.1211
Fifthnumberdescribesfourthnumberasoneone,onetwo,twoonesi.e.
111221
Sixthnumberdescribesfifthnumberasthreeones,twotwos,oneone
i.e.312211
Followingthesame,thenexttownumbersare13211311123113112211and
11131221133112132113212221
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00016
Atwhattimeafter4.00p.m.istheminuteshandofaclockexactly
alignedwiththehour
hand?
Answer
4:21:49.5
AssumethatXminutesafter4.00PMminutehandexactlyalignswithand
hourhand.
Foreveryminute,minutehandtravels6degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravel6*Xdegrees.
Foreveryminute,hourhandtravels1/2degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravelX/2degrees.
At4.00PM,theanglebetweenminutehandandhourhandis120degrees.
Also,afterX
minutes,minutehandandhourhandareexactlyaligned.Sotheangle
withrespectto12
i.e.VerticalPlanewillbesame.Therefore,
6*X=120+X/2
12*X=240+X
11*X=240
X=21.8182
X=21minutes49.5seconds
Hence,at4:21:49.5minutehandisexactlyalignedwiththehourhand.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00045
Aclassof100students.24ofthemaregirlsand32arenot.Whichbase
amIusing?
Answer
LetthebasebeX.
Therefore
(X*X+X*0+0)=(2*X+4)+(3*X+2)
X*X=5*X+6
X*X5*X6=0
(X6)(X+1)=0
Thereforebaseis6
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00067
Twoplanestakeoffatthesameexactmoment.Theyareflyingacrossthe
Atlantic.One
leavesNewYorkandisflyingtoParisat500milesperhour.Theother
leavesParisandis
flyingtoNewYorkatonly450milesperhour(becauseofastronghead
wind).
WhichonewillbeclosertoPariswhentheymeet?
Answer
TheywillbothbethesamedistancefromPariswhentheymeet!!!
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00119
Nextnumberintheseriesis1,2,4,13,31,112,?
Answer
224
Atoughone.Butanalysetheseriescarefully.Nonumberhasdigitsmore
than4.Sotryto
convertthemtodecimalnumbersfrombase5numbers.(justtrythat)So
itturnsouttobe:
1,2,4,8,16,32,?
Gotit!!!Nextnumbershouldbe64.Butallnumbersinactualseries
arebase5numbersSo
convert64tobase5andthatis224.
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00374
A,B,CandDarerelatedtoeachother.
*Oneofthefouristheoppositesexfromeachoftheotherthree.
*DisA'sbrotheroronlydaughter.
*AorBisC'sonlyson.
*BorCisD'ssister.
Howaretheyrelatedtoeachother?
Answer
A,B&Daremales;Cisfemale.BisC'sonlyson.A&DareC's
brothers.
A(male)C(female)D(male)
|
|
B(male)
Workoutwhichrelationcanholdanddiscardthecontradictoryoptions.
From(2)and(4),Dcannotbeaonlydaughterandhaveasister(Bor
C).Hence,DisA's
brotheri.e.DisaMale.
From(4),let'ssaythatBisD'ssisteri.e.BisFemale.
From(3),AisC'sonlysoni.e.AisMale.
ButDisA'sbrotherwhichmeansthatAisnotC'sonlyson.Hence,our
assumptionwas
wrong.
Thus,CisD'ssisteri.e.CisFemale.AndBmustbeC'sonlyson.
NowitisclearthatD&BareMalesandCisFemale.AmustbeaMale
asonlyoneofthem
isofoppositesexfromeachoftheotherthree.AndheisC&D's
brother.
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00404
Atthepartytherewere19females,12males,14adultsand17children.
ThenIarrivedand
thenumberofdifferentmanwomancouplespossiblebecameequaltothe
numberofboygirl
couplespossible.
WhoamIaman,awoman,aboyoragirl?
Notethatiftherewere9boysand8girlsattheparty,thenthere
wouldhavebeen72
(9x8)boygirlcouplespossible.
Answer
IamaGirlandtherewere9men,5women,3boysand14girlsbeforeI
arrivedatthe
party.
BeforeIarrived,letMbethenumberofmaleadults(men)attheparty.
Then,thenumberoffemaleadults(women)=14M
Thenumberofboys=12M
Thenumberofgirls=5+M
Now,IarrivedatthepartyandIameitheramanorawomanoraboyor
agirl.Let's
considereachcaseonebyone.
CaseI:Let'sassumethatIamaMan.ItisgiventhatafterIarrived,
thenumberof
differentmanwomancouplespossiblebecameequaltothenumberofboy
girlcouples
possible.Hence,
(M+1)*(14M)=(12M)*(5+M)
14MM2+14M=60+12M5MM2
13M+14=60+7M
6M=46
ThisisimpossibleasthevalueofMmustbeinteger.
CaseII:Let'sassumethatIamawoman,thentheequationis
(M)*(15M)=(12M)*(5+M)
15MM2=60+12M5MM2
15M=60+7M
8M=60
ThisisalsoimpossibleasthevalueofMmustbeinteger.
CaseIII:Let'sassumethatIamaboy,thentheequationis
(M)*(14M)=(13M)*(5+M)
14MM2=65+13M5MM2
14M=65+6M
8M=65
ThisisalsoimpossibleasthevalueofMmustbeinteger.
CaseIV:Let'sassumethatIamagirl,thentheequationis
(M)*(14M)=(12M)*(6+M)
14MM2=72+12M6MM2
14M=72+6M
8M=72
M=9
Thus,IamaGirlandtherewere9men,5women,3boysand14girls
beforeIarrivedat
theparty.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00038
Thepopulationofanislandconsistsoftwoandonlytwotypesofpeople
:theknights,who
invariablytellthetruthandtheknaveswhoalwayslie.
*threeoftheinhabitantscalledX,YandZwerestandingtogether.A
newcomertothe
islandasked,"Areyouaknightoraknave?"Xmumbledhisanswerrather
indistinctly,so
thestrangercouldnotquitemakeoutwhathehadsaid.Thestranger
thanaskedY,"What
didXsay?"Yreplied,"Xsaidthathewasaknave."WhereuponZsaid,
"Don'tbelieveY,
he'slying."WhatareYandZ?
*SupposethatthestrangeraskedX,instead,"Howmanyknightsamong
you?"AgainX
repliesindistinctly.SothestrangerasksY,"WhatdidXsay?"Y
replies,"Xsaidthat
thereisoneknightamongus."ThenZsays,"Don'tbelieveY,heis
lying!"NowwhatareY
andZ?
*Thereareonlytwoinhabitants,XandY.Xsays,"Atleastoneofus
isaknave."
WhatareXandY?
*SupposeXsays,"EitherIamaknave,orYisaknight?"WhatareX
andY?
*ConsideroncemoreX,YandZeachofwhoiseitheraknightora
knave.Xsays,"All
ofusareknaves."Ysays,"Exactlyoneofusisaknight."WhatareX,
YandZ?
Answer
Teaser1:ASimpleone.ThestatementmadebyYisfalse"Xsaidthat
hewasaknave".
Case1Case2Case3Case4
XKnightKnightKnaveKnave
YKnightKnaveKnightKnave
Analysetheabove4cases.InallthecasesstatementmadebyYis
contradicoryand
thereforefalse.Hence,YisKnaveandZisKnight.
Teaser2:AgainthestatementmadebyYisfalse"Xsaidthatthere
isoneknightamong
us".Analysethesestatementwith4possiblecasesasabove.Inallthe
casesstatement
madebyYisfalse.Hence,YisKnaveandZisKnight.
Teaser3:XisKnightandYisKnave.
Teaser4:BothareKnight.
Teaser5:XandZareKnaves,YisKnight.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00109
Thereweretwomenstandingonastreet.Theonesaystotheother,"I
have3daughters,
theproductoftheiragesis36.WhatistheageoftheOLDEST
daughter?"
Thesecondguysays,"Ineedmoreinformation."So,thefirstguysays,
"Thesumoftheir
agesisequaltotheaddressofthehouseacrossthestreet."
Thesecondguylooksattheaddressandsays,"Istillneedmore
information."So,the
firstguysays,"Myoldestdaughterwearsareddress."
Answer
Theansweris9years.
Firstyouneedtofindallthepossiblesetsofthreenumbersthatwhen
multipliedequals
36:
1136
1218
1312
149
166
229
236
334
Thenyouaddthenumberstogethertofindthesum
1136=38
1218=21
1312=16
149=14
166=13
229=13
236=11
334=10
Eventhoughwedon'tknowtheaddresstheguyknowsit.Forhimtoneed
moreinformation
thatmeansthatatleasttwoofthesetsofnumbershasthesamesum.
Twoofthemdo,166
and229.
WhenthefirstguysaidthathisOLDESTdaugherwearsareddressthat
meantthattherehad
tobetheoldest.So166can'tpossiblybetheanswer.Sothepossible
possiblityis22
9andtheOLDESTdaughteris9yearsold.
Therefore,theansweris9.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00281
OnSunday,December22,fourshipsW,X,Y,Zstartedtheirseries
ofwintercruisesto
variousports.
*ShipWleftat4:00PMonSunday,December22,foraseriesof8days
cruisesto
Mandva.
*ShipXleftat4:30PMonSunday,December22,foraseriesof
alternating11days
and13dayscruisestoAlibaug.
*ShipYleftat5:00PMonSunday,December22,foraseriesof5days
cruisesto
Khihim.
*ShipZleftonMondayforaseriesof7dayscruises.
Eachshipisscheduledtoreturnbackearlyinthemorningafterthe
lastdayofthecruise
andleaveagainlateintheafternoonofthesameday.
OnhowmanydaysoccasionsbetweenDecember22andFebruary28will
threeshipsbemoored
attheport?
Answer
Onnooccasions(otherthanstartdateDecember22)betweenDecember22
andFebruary28,
threeshipswillbemooredattheport.
Findoutthedaysonwheneachshipwillbeinport:
*ShipWwillbeinportondays1,9,17,25,33,41,49,57and65.
*ShipXwillbeinportondays1,12,25,36,49,60and73.
*ShipYwillbeinportondays1,6,11,16,21,26,31,36,41,46,
51,56,61and
66.
*ShipZwillbeinportondays1,2,9,16,23,30,37,44,51,58and
65.
Fromabovedata,itisclearthatonnooccasion(otherthanDecember
22)willthree
shipsbemooredattheport.
Also,on8occasions,therewillbe2shipsmooredattheport.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00286
Thereare4armymen.Theyhavebeencapturedbyarebelgroupandhave
beenheldat
ransom.Anarmyintelligentofficerordersthemtobeburrieddeepin
dirtuptotheir
necks.Theformatoftheirburrialareasshowninthefigure.
Conditions
*Theyeachhavehatsontheirheads.eitherblack(b)orwhite(w)look
atdiagram
above.Therearetotal2whitehatsand2blackhats.
*Theyonlylookinfrontofthemnotbehind.Theyarenotallowedto
communicateby
talking.
*Betweenarmyman1and2,thereisawall.
*Captiveman4canseethecolourofhatson2and3
*3canonlysee2'shat
*2canonlyseeawalland1canseeawalltoo,butisontheother
side
Theofficerspeaksup,"Ifoneofyoucancorrectlytellmethecolour
ofyourhat,you
willallgoscottfreebacktoyourcontries.Ifyouarewrong,youwill
allbekilled.
Howcanoneofthembecertainaboutthehattheyarewearingandnot
riskthelivesof
theirfellowsouldiersbytakinga50/50guess!
Submittedby:KWEKU
Answer
Eithersoldier3orsoldier4cansavethelifeassoldier1andsoldier
2cannotsee
colourofanyhat,evennottheirown..Inourcasesoldier3willtell
thecolourofhis
hat.
Soldier4canseethehatonsoldier2andsoldier3.Ifbotharewhite,
thenhecanbe
sureaboutcolourofhishatwhichwillbeblackandviceversa.Butif
oneofthemis
whiteandoneisblack,thensoldier4cannotsayanythingashecan
haveeitherofthem.
Sohewillkeepmum.
Ifsoldier4won'tsayanyhingforawhile,thensoldier3willknow
thatsoldier4isnot
inpositiontotellthecolourofhatonhishat.Itmeansthatcolour
ofsoldier3'shat
isoppositeofcolourofsoldier2'shat.Sosoldier3cantell
correctlythecolourofhat
onhisheadwhichisBlack.
Here,weareassumingthatallthesoldiersareintelligentenough.
Also,thissolution
willworkforanycombinationof2Blackhatsand2Whitehats.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00384
IwassittingaroundwithmyfriendDave,MartyandJamesrecently.I
happenedtohavetwo
ticketstoanewmovieinmypocketthatIhadjustpurchased.
Imentionedthatthereweretwofourdigitnumbersontheticketsand
thatthesumofall8
digitswas25.
Daveaskedifanydigitappearedmoreoutofthe8,whichIanswered.
Then,Martyaskedifthesumofthedigitsofeitherticketwasequalto
13,whichI
answeredtoo.
MuchtomysurpriseJamesimmediatelytoldmewhatthetwonumberswere!
Whatwerethey?
Answer
Ticketnumberswere1299and1300.
ThefirstthingJamesrealizedwasthattheticketswereconsecutively
numbered.
Thereare4possiblecases:
1.ABCDandABC(D+1)
2.ABC9andAB(C+1)0
3.AB99andA(B+1)00
4.A999and(A+1)000
IftheticketswerenumberedABCDandABC(D+1)andmyanswertoMarty's
questionhadbeen
"YES",theonlyconclusionJamescouldhavereachedwouldhavebeenthat
A+B+C+D=12,and
regardlessofmyanswertoDave'squestiontherewouldnothavebeena
uniquesolution.So
myanswertoMarty'squestionmusthavebeen"NO".Itfollowsthatthe
ticketscouldnot
havebeennumberedinthismanner.
IfthenumberswereABC9andAB(C+1)0,wewouldhave2A+2B+2C+10=25,and
so2(A+B+C)=15,
whichisimpossible.
IfthenumberswereAB99andA(B+1)00,wewouldhave2A+2B+19=25or
A+B=3,leadingtothe
fourpossibilities(0399and0400),(1299and1300),(2199and2200),
(3099and3100).Of
these,threeofthemwouldhavehadmeanswer"YES"toDave'squestion
(ifanydigit
appearedmore?),andonlythepair(1299and1300)wouldhavehadme
answer"NO".It
followsthattheseweremyticketnumbersi.e.(1299and1300)
Similarly,ifthenumberswereA999and(A+1)000,wewouldhave2A+28
=25,whichis
againimpossible.
Thus,myticketnumberswere1299and1300.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00215
SamandMalahaveaconversation.
*SamsaysIamcertainlynotover40
*MalasaysIam38andyouareatleast5yearsolderthanme
*NowSamsaysyouareatleast39
Allthestatementsbythetwoarefalse.Howoldaretheyreally?
Answer
Samis41andMalais37.
Let'sinverttheteaserandreaditlikethis:
*SamsaysIamcertainlyover40
*MalasaysIamnot38andyouareatmost4yearsolderthanme
*NowSamsaysyouareatmost38
FromfirststatementitisclearthatSamisover40.Also,fromnext2
statementsitis
clearthatMalaislessthen38.Hencethepossibilitiesare:
Sam=41,42,43,44,45,......
Mala=37,36,35,34,33,......
Italsosaysthatthedifferencebetweentheirageismaximum4years.
Hence,thereisonly
onepossiblepairi.e.41and37,allothercombinationhavedifferences
morethen4.
HencetheanswerSamis41andMalais37.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00292
Mr.Black,Mr.WhiteandMr.GreywerechattingintheYahooconference.
Theywerewearing
ablacksuit,awhitesuitandagreysuit,notnecessarilyinthesame
order.
Mr.Greysentmessage,"Weallarewearingsuitthatareofthesame
colorasournamesbut
noneofusiswearingasuitthatisthesamecolorashisname."
Onthatapersonwearingthewhitesuitreplied,"Whatdifferencedoes
thatmake?"
Canyoutellwhatcolorsuiteachofthethreepersonshadon?
Answer
Mr.GreyiswearingBlacksuit.
Mr.WhiteiswearingGreysuit.
Mr.BlackiswearingWhitesuit.
Mr.Greymustnotbewearinggreysuitasthatisthesamecolourashis
name.Also,hewas
notwearingwhitesuitasthepersonwearingwhitesuitrespondedtohis
comment.SoMr
Greymustbewearingablacksuit.
Similarly,Mr.Whitemustbewearingeitherblacksuitorgreysuit.But
Mr.Greyis
wearingablacksuit.Hence,Mr.Whitemustbewearingagreysuit.
And,Mr.Blackmustbewearingwhitesuit.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00071
Intrainingforacompetition,youfindthatswimmingdownstream(with
thecurrent)ina
river,youcanswim2milesin40minutes,&upstream(againstthe
current),youcanswim2
milesin60minutes.
Howlongwouldittakeyoutoswimamileinstillwater?
Answer
Youareabletoswimdownstreamat3milesanhour,&upstreamat2
milesanhour.Thereis
adifferenceof1mileanhour,whichistheriverhelpingyouin1
direction,&slowing
youintheotherdirection.
Averagethe2rates,&youhavetheratethatyoucanswiminstill
water,whichis2.5
milesanhour.
Youcanthusswimamileinstillwaterin24minutes.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00258
Threeconvictsarebroughtintothewarden'soffice.Hesayshecan
paroleoneofthemand
todecidewhichonehewillparolehetakesout5hats(3redand2
white).Hestands
behindthemandplacesahatoneachoneoftheirheadsandputsthe
othertworemaining
hatsinadrawer.
Hetellstheprisionerstheycanlookattheothershatsandiftheycan
tellwhichhat
theyhaveontheywillbetheonewhoisparoled.
Thefirstmanlooksattheothertwoandsays,"Idon'tknow."
Thesecondmanlooksattheothershatsandsays,"Idon'tknow."
Thethirdmanwhoisblindsays,"EventhoughIhavenotthegiftof
sightIcantellby
whattheothershavesaidthatthecolorofmyhatis..."
Whatcoloristheblindmanshatandhowdoesheknow?
Submittedby:AnneHanna
Answer
Thecolorofblindman'shatisRed.
ItissurethatthefirstmansaweitherbothRedhatsoroneWhitehat
andoneRedhat.
Thereare6suchpossibilities:
1)RRR
2)RRW
3)RWR
4)WRR
5)WRW
6)WWR
Inallabovepossibilities,thefirstmanwon'tbesureofthecolorof
hishat.
Now,thesecondmanknowsthatthefirstmansaweitherbothRedhatsor
oneWhitehatand
oneRedhat.And,healsoknowsthatitsoneoftheabove6
possibilities.(likeweknow
;))Buthesays,"Idon'tknow".Thatmeansthat(2)and(5)arenotthe
possibilitiesas
ineithercasehewouldbesureofthecolorofhishat(Red)byjust
lookingatthethird
man'scolorofhat(White).
Now,theblindmanknowsthattherearejust4possibilities(1),(3),
(4),(6)andin
all,thecolorofhishatisRed.
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00433
Annie,Bunnie,CandyandDinavisitedEdyon14thFebruary.
1.Thetimeofeachvisitwasasfollows:
Annieat8:00
Bunnieat9:00
Candyat10:00
Dinaat11:00
EachtimementionedabovemaybeeitherAMorPM.
2.CandydidnotvisitEdybetweenBunnieandDina.
3.AtleastonefemalevisitedEdybetweenAnnieandBunnie.
4.AnniedidnotvisitEdybeforebothCandyandDina.
CanyoutellatwhattimedidtheyindividuallyvisitEdy?
Answer
Bunnie(9:00AM)Dina(11:00AM)Annie(8:00PM)Candy(10:00PM)
Fromthegivendata,itisclearthatatleastonefemalevisitedEdyin
themorningandat
leastonefemalevisitedEdyintheevening.Also,from(4),Anniedid
notvisitEdyfirst.
ItmeansthatAnnievisitedEdyat8:00PM
From(3),BunniemusthavevisitedEdyat9:00AM.Also,eitherCandyor
Dinaorboth
visitedEdyinthemorning.
Butfrom(2),onlyDinamusthavevisitedEdyinthemorningat11:00AM
andhence,Candy
visitedEdyat10:00PM.
Theorderofvisitsmustbe:
Bunnie(9:00AM)Dina(11:00AM)Annie(8:00PM)Candy(10:00PM)
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00179
IbetyouRs.100thatifyougivemeRs.200,IwillgiveyouRs.300
inreturn.
Wouldyoubetwithme?Why?
Answer
No,youshouldnotbet.
Let'ssayyoubetandyougaveRs.200tome.Nowthereare2
possibilities.
CASEIIwillgiveyouRs.300
IfIgiveyouRs.300,thenIwillwinRs.100bet.Thus,youhaveto
givemeRs.100.This
isNOWINNOLOSEcase.
CASEIIIwon'tgiveyouRs.300
IfIwon'tgiveyouRs.300,thenIwillloseRs.100bet.Thus,Ihave
togiveyouRs.100
whichIwillgiveyouwithsmile:)(ofcourse,fromRs.200yougave
meinitially)Here,
IwillmakeRs.100andyouwillloseRs.100
Sothemoralyoushouldnotbet!!!
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00230
Asheetofpaperhasstatementsnumberedfrom1to100.StatementNsays
"ExactlyNofthe
statementsonthissheetarefalse."
Howmanystatementsaretrue?
Answer
OnlyOnestatementistrueStatement99
Iftheyareallfalse,statement100wouldbetruei.e."Exactly100of
thestatementson
thissheetarefalse",whichiscontradictory.
Iftotalof99statementsarefalse,statement99wouldbetruei.e.
"Exactly99ofthe
statementsonthissheetarefalse".That'stheanswertotal99
statementsarefalse,and
statement99istrue.
Tryoutforallremainingstatements,theyallwillcontradictitself.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00329
ThreeGold(G)coins,threeSilver(S)coinsandthreeCopper(C)coins
arearrangedina
singlerowasfollow:
GSCGSCGSC
*Only2adjacentunlikecoinscanbemovedatanyonetime.
*Themovedcoinsmustbeincontactwithatleastoneothercoinin
line.i.e.nopair
ofcoinsistobemovedandplacedawayfromtheremainingones.
*Nocoinpairscanbereversedi.e.aSCcombinationmustremainin
thatorderinits
newpositionwhenitismoved.
Whatistheminimumnumberofmovesrequiredtogetallthecoinsin
followingorder?
CCCSSSGGG
Showallmoves.
Answer
Minimumnumberofmovesare8.
MoveOrderofCoins
0GSCGSCGSC
1GSGSCGSCC
2GSCGSCCSG
3GSCGSCCSG
4GSCCSGSCG
5GSCCSCSGG
6GSCCCSSGG
7CCCSSGGSG
8CCCSSSGGG
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00341
Whatisthenextnumberinthegivenseries?
10^3,10^9,10^27,10^2,0,4,8,3,?
Notethat10^3means10raisedtothepowerof3i.e.1000.
Answer
Atoughtone!!!
Thenextnumberintheseriesis5.
Thepatternistheseriesofnumberscontainingfirstletterofthe
Englishalphabet
startingfrom"A".
10^3=onethousAnd
10^9=oneBillion
10^27=oneoCtillion
10^2=onehunDreD
0=zEro
4=Four
8=eiGht
3=tHree
5=fIve
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00001
AtwhattimeimmediatelypriortoSixO'clockthehandsoftheclockare
exactlyopposite
toeachother.Givetheexacttimeinhours,minutesandseconds.
Answer
Itisobviousthatbetween5O'clockand6O'clockthehandswillnotbe
exactlyopposite
toeachother.Itisalsoobviousthatthehandswillbeoppositeto
eachotherjustbefore
5O'clock.Nowtofindexacttime:
Thehourhandmoves1degreeforevery12degreesthattheminutehand
moves.Letthehour
handbeXdegreeawayfrom5O'clock.Thereforetheminutehandis12X
degreeawayfrom12
O'clock.
ThereforesolvingforX
Anglebetweenminutehandand12O'clock+Anglebetween12O'clockand
4O'clock+Angle
between4O'clockandhourhand=180
12X+120+(30X)=180
11X=30
HenceX=30/11degrees
(hourhandisXdegreeawayfrom5O'clock)
Noweachdegreethehourhandmovesis2minutes.
Thereforeminutesare
=2*30/11
=60/11
=5.45(means5minutes27.16seconds)
Thereforetheexacttimeatwhichthehandsareoppositetoeachother
is
=4hrs.54min.32.74seconds
=====================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00445
Dr.DoLittlealwaysgoeswalkingtotheclinicandtakesthesametime
whilegoingand
whilecomingback.Onedayhenoticedsomething.
Whenheleftthehome,thehourhandandtheminutehandwereexactly
oppositetoeach
otherandwhenhereachedtheclinic,theyweretogether.
Similarly,whenhelefttheclinic,thehourhandandtheminutehand
weretogetherand
whenhereachedthehome,theywereexactlyoppositetoeachother.
HowmuchtimedoesDr.DoLittletaketoreachhomefromtheclinic?Give
theminimal
possibleanswer.
Answer
32minutes43.6seconds
Intwelvehours,theminutehandandthehourhandaretogetherfor11
times.Itmeansthat
afterevery12/11hours,boththehandsaretogether.
Similarlyintwelvehours,theminutehandandthehourhandareexactly
oppositetoeach
otherfor11times.Itmeansthatafterevery12/11hours,boththe
handsareopposite.
Now,let'stakeanexample.Weknowthatat12boththehandsare
togetherandat6both
thehandsareexactlyoppositetoeachother.
After6,boththehandsareinoppositionat[6+(12/11)]hours,
[6+2*(12/11)]hours,
[6+3*(12/11)]hoursandsoon.Thesixthsuchtimeis[6+6*(12/11)]
hourswhichisthe
firsttimeafter12.Thusafter12,boththehandsareoppositetoeach
otherat12:32:43.6
Hence,Dr.DoLittletakes32minutesand43.6secondstoreachhomefrom
theclinic.
===============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00178
Vipulwasstudyingforhisexaminationsandthelightswentoff.Itwas
around1:00AM.He
lightedtwouniformcandlesofequallengthbutonethickerthanthe
other.Thethick
candleissupposedtolastsixhoursandthethinonetwohoursless.
Whenhefinallywent
tosleep,thethickcandlewastwiceaslongasthethinone.
ForhowlongdidVipulstudyincandlelight?
Answer
Vipulstudiedfor3hoursincandlelight.
AssumethattheinitiallenghtofboththecandlewasLandVipul
studiedforXhours.
InXhours,totalthickcandleburnt=XL/6
InXhours,totalthincandleburnt=XL/4
AfterXhours,totalthickcandleremaining=LXL/6
AfterXhours,totalthincandleremaining=LXL/4
Also,itisgiventhatthethickcandlewastwiceaslongasthethin
onewhenhefinally
wenttosleep.
(LXL/6)=2(LXL/4)
(6X)/6=(4X)/2
(6X)=3*(4X)
6X=123X
2X=6
X=3
Hence,Vipulstudiedfor3hoursi.e.180minutesincandlelight.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00198
Onceaweekawagondriverleaveshishutanddriveshiswagontothe
riverdocktopickup
suppliesforhistown.At4:05PM,onefifthofthewaytothedock,he
passestheTemple.
At4:15PM,onethirdoftheway,hepassesthePreetamDaDhabaa.
Atwhattimedoeshereachedthedock?
Answer
5:05PM
At4:05PM,thewagondriverpassesthetemple,onefifthofthewayto
thedock.Also,at
4:15PM,hepassesthePreetamDaDhabaa,onethirdoftheway.Thus,he
travels2/15(1/3
1/5)ofthedistancein10minutes.
At4:15PM,hehasalreadytravelled1/3ofthedistance.Thus2/3of
thewayisremaining,
whichcanbetravelledin
=((2/3)*10)/(2/15)
=50minutes
At4:15,hewasatPreetamDaDhabaa.andremainingwaywilltake50more
minutes.Hence,
thedriverwillreachat5:05PMtothedock.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00365
IfthedaybeforetwodaysafterthedaybeforetomorrowisMonday,what
istoday?
Submittedby:RyanEllis
Answer
TodayisSunday.
"thedaybeforetomorrow"istoday.Hence,thequestioncanbere
writtenas"Iftheday
beforetwodaysaftertodayisMonday,whatistoday?"
Also,"thedaybeforetwodaysaftertoday"istomorrow.Thus,the
questionis"Iftomorrow
isMonday,whatistoday?"
Thus,todayisSunday.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00253
SkyFicityisservedby6subwaylinesA,E,I,O,UandZ.
*Whenitsnows,morningserviceonlineEisdelayed.
*Whenitrainsorsnows,serviceonthelinesA,UandZisdelayed
bothmorningand
afternoon.
*Whenthetemperaturedropsbelow20C,afternoonserviceiscancelled
oneitherline
AorlineO,butnotboth.
*Whenthetemperaturerisesabove40C,afternoonserviceiscancelled
oneitherline
IorlineZ,butnotboth.
*WhenserviceonlineAisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineIis
alsodelayed.
*WhenserviceonlineZisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineEis
alsodelayed.
OnFebruary10,itsnowsalldaywiththetemperatureat18C.Onhow
manylinesservice
willbedelayedorcancelled,includingbothmorningandafternoon?
Answer
Theservicewillbedelayedorcancelledon5linesA,E,I,UandZ
exceptlineO.
Gothrougheachstatementandcrossthesubwaylinewithdelayedor
cancelledservice.
Itisgiventhatitsnowsalldaywiththetemperatureat18C.
From(1),lineEisdelayed.
From(2),lineA,UandZaredelayed.
From(3),eitherlineAorlineOiscancelled.
From(5),lineIisdelayedbecauseoflineAdelay.
From(6),lineEisdelayedbecauseoflineZdelay.
AsserviceonlineAisdelayed,serviceonlineOcannotbe.Hence,
servicewillbe
delayedorcancelledon5linesA,E,I,UandZexceptlineO.
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00400
Mr.andMrs.Birla&Mr.andMrs.TatacompetedinaChesstournament.
Ofthethreegames
played:
1.Inonlythefirstgamewerethetwoplayersmarriedtoeachother,
2.Themenwontwogamesandthewomenwononegame.
3.TheBirlaswonmoregamesthantheTatas.
4.Anyonewholostagamedidnotplayasubsequentgame.
Whodidnotloseagame?
Answer
Mrs.Tatadidnotloseagame.
Listoutallthepossibilitiesandremovethepossibilitieswhich
contradictthegiven
conditions.
Thereareonly3possibilities:
1.Mr.Birlawononegame,Mrs.BirlawononegameandMr.Tatawonone
game.
2.Mr.BirlaonetwogamesandMrs.Birlawononegame.
3.Mr.BirlawontwogamesandMrs.Tatawononegame.
If(I)iscorrect,thenMr.TatabeatsMrs.Tatainthefirstgame.Then
Mr.Tatawould
havelosttoeitherMr.BirlaorMrs.Birlainthesecondgame.AndMr.
andMrs.Birla
wouldhaveplayedthethirdgamewhichcontradictsthestatement(1).So
(I)isnot
correct.
Similarly,(II)isnotcorrect.
(III)iscorrect.Mr.andMrs.BirlaplayedthefirstgameandMr.Birla
wonthegame.Mr.
BirlawonthesecondgameagainstMr.Tataandlostthethirdgame
againstMrs.Tata.
Thus,onlyMrs.Tatadidnotloseagame.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00440
EightplayersparticipatedintherecentBOOMChessTournament.
Eachplayerplayedalloftheothersexactlyonce.Thewinnerofagame
received1point
andaloser0;drawsareallowed,givingeachplayer1/2point.
Now,itturnedoutthateveryonereceivedadifferentnumberofpoints.
Furthermore,Sujay,
whocameinsecond,earnedasmanypointsasthefourbottomfinishers
puttogether.
WhatwastheresultofthegamebetweenParag,whocameinthird,and
Manav,whocamein
fifth?
Answer
ParagbeatManav.
LetX(i)bethescoreofthepersonwhofinishedinithplace.
ItisclearthatX(2)cannotbe7.IfX(2)=6.5,thenthiswouldimply
thatX(1)=7.But
thenfirstpersonwouldhavebeateneveryone.Hence,X(2)cannotbe6.5.
ThenX(2)=6.
Sinceitisgiventhatsecondpersonearnedasmanypointsasthefour
bottomfinishersput
together,X(5)+X(6)+X(7)+X(8)=X(2)=6
Nowplayers5,6,7and8playedexactly6gamesamongthemselves.It
meansthatneither
player5,6,7or8couldhavebeatenortiedanyofplayers1,2,3or
4.Otherwise,this
sumwouldbegreaterthan6.
Thus,itisobviousthatParagbeatManav.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00505
Pappu,Nandu,MamuandChhotiparticipatedinaPOOLcompitition.
FACTS
1.Therearetotalof15balls.
2.Foreachballpotted,theplayerwillreceiveonepoint.
3.Theyallwillplayeachotheronce.
4.Agamewillendwhenalltheballsarepotted.
5.Thewinnerwillbetheplayerwhoscoredthemostpoints.
OUTCOMES
1.Chhotifinishedwith18points.
2.Pappufinishedwithoddnumberofpoints.
3.MamubeatChhotiby5pointsinthematchbetweenthem.
4.TherewasonepointdifferenceinmatchbetweenNanduandPappu.
5.PappuscoredtwiceasmanypointsasMamuintheirgame.
6.ChhotiscoredonepointlessagainstPapputhanhedidagainstMamu.
7.Mamuscored7pointsagainstNandu.
Whowonthecompetition?Howmanypointsdideachplayerscore?
Answer
Let'sputallthegiveninformationinatabularformat.
PlayersPNPMPCNMNCMCTotal
Pappu7or81011Oddpoints
Nandu8or78
Mamu5710
Chhoti4518
*AsPappufinishedwithoddnumberofpoints,hemusthavescored8
pointsinthe
matchagainstNandu.
*AsChhotifinishedwith18points,hemusthavescored9pointsinthe
matchagainst
Nandu.
PlayersPNPMPCNMNCMCTotal
Pappu8101129
Nandu78621
Mamu571022
Chhoti49518
Hence,thewinnerisPappuwith29points.
=================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00752
TicTacToeisbeingplayed.One'X'hasbeenplacedinoneofthe
corners.No'O'hasbeen
placedyet.
Wheredoestheplayerthatisplaying'O'hastoputhisfirst'O'so
that'X'doesn'twin?
Assumethatbothplayersareveryintelligent.Explainyouranswer.
Submittedby:Uyaghj
Answer
"O"shouldbeplacedinthecenter.
Let'snumberthepositionsas:
1|2|3
4|5|6
7|8|9
Itisgiventhat"X"isplacedinoneofthecornerposition.Let's
assumethatitsat
position1.
Now,let'stakeeachpositiononebyone.
*If"O"isplacedinposition2,"X"canalwayswinbychoosing
position4,5or7.
position4,7or9.
position2,3or5.
position3,5or7.
position2,3or9.
position3,5or7.
position3,or7.
If"O"isplacedinposition5i.e.centerposition,"X"can'twin
unless"O"does
somethingfoolish;))
Hence,"O"shouldbeplacedinthecenter.
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00073
12memberswerepresentataboardmeeting.Eachmembershookhandswith
alloftheother
membersbefore&afterthemeeting.
Howmanyhandshakeswerethere?
Answer
132
Thinkofitthisway:thefirstpersonshakeshandswith11people,the
secondpersonalso
shakeshandswith11people,butyouonlycount10,becausethehand
shakewiththefirst
personwasalreadycounted.Thenadd9forthethirdperson,8forthe
fourth,&soon.
66handshakestookplacebefore&66afterthemeeting,foratotalof
132.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00079
IfyoustartedabusinessinwhichyouearnedRs.1onthefirstday,
Rs.3onthesecond
day,Rs.5onthethirdday,Rs.7onthefourthday,&soon.
Howmuchwouldyouhaveearnedwiththisbusinessafter50years
(assumingthereare
exactly365daysineveryyear)?
Answer
Rs.333,062,500
Tobeginwith,youwanttoknowthetotalnumberofdays:365x50=
18250.
Byexperimentation,thefollowingformulacanbediscovered,&usedto
determinetheamount
earnedforanyparticularday:1+2(x1),withxbeingthenumberof
theday.Takehalfof
the18250days,&pairthemupwiththeotherhalfinthefollowingway:
day1withday
18250,day2withday18249,&soon,&youwillseethatifyouadd
thesepairstogether,
theyalwaysequalRs.36500.
Multiplythisnumberbythetotalnumberofpairs(9125),&youhavethe
amountyouwould
haveearnedin50years.
Mathgurusmayuseseriesformulatosolveit.(series:
1,3,5,7,9,11.....upto18250terms)
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00128
Thereisaperfectsphereofdiameter40cms.restingupagainsta
perfectlystraightwall
andaperfectlystraightfloori.e.thewallandthefloormakea
perfectrightangle.
Canaperfectsphereofdiameter7cms.passthroughthespacebetween
thebigsphere,the
wallandthefloor?Supportyouranswerwithvalidarguments.Don't
submitjust"Yes"or
"No".
Answer
Forthesakeofsimplicity,considertwodimensioni.eviewsphereasa
twodimensional
circlewithdiameter40cms.
FromFigureI,(40cmsdiametersphere)
OC2=OD2+CD2
OC2=202+202
OC=28.28427cms
Also,XistheclosestpointtooriginOonthesphere.
CX=20cms(radius)
OX=OCCX
OX=28.2842720
OX=8.28427cms
FromFigureII,(7cmsdiametersphere)
OP2=OQ2+PQ2
OP2=(3.5)2+(3.5)2
OP=4.94974cms
Also,YisthefarthestpointtooriginOonthesphere.
PY=3.5cms(radius)
OY=OP+PY
OY=4.94974+3.5
OY=8.44974cms
Now,asOY>OXi.e.smallersphererequiresmorespacethanthespace
available.Hence,
smallersphereof7cmsdiametercannotpassthroughthespacebetween
thebigsphere,the
wallandthefloor.
Thepuzzlecanbesolvedbyanothermethod.
DrawalinetangenttothebigsphereatthepointXsuchthatXisthe
closestpointto
theoriginOonsphere.ThetangetwillcutXandYaxesatAandB
respectivelysuchthat
OA=OB.[SeeFigIII]Fromabove,OX=8.28427cms.
FromtherightangletriangleOAB,wecandeductthat
OA=OB=11.71572cms
AB=16.56854cms
Now,thediameteroftheinscribedcircleofrightangletriangleis
givenbyd=a+bc
wherea<=b<c
Themaximumpossiblediameterofthecirclewhichcanpassthroughthe
spacebetweenthe
bigsphere,thewallandtheflooris
=OA+OBAB
=11.71572+11.7157216.56854
=6.86291cms
Hence,thespherewith7cmsdiametercannotpassthroughthespace
betweenthebig
sphere,thewallandthefloor.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00208
5,6,5,6,5,5,7,6,?,?
Answer
Thenexttwonumbersare5,5.
Thepatternisthenumberoflettersintheordinalnumbers.
First=5letters
Second=6letters
Third=5letters
Fourth=6letters
Fifth=5letters
Sixth=5letters
Seventh=7letters
Eighth=6letters
Ninth=5letters
Tenth=5letters
Hence,thenexttwonumbersinthegivenseriesare5and5.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00217
Jimliesalot.Hetellsthetruthononlyonedayinaweek.
Onedayhesaid:"IlieonMondaysandTuesdays."
Thenextdayhesaid:"TodayiseitherSunday,SaturdayorThursday."
Thenextdayhesaid:"IlieonFridaysandWednesdays."
OnwhichdayoftheweekdoesJimtellthetruth?
Answer
JimtellsthetruthonTuesday.
AsJimtellstruthonlyononedayinaweek,hisstatementonday1and
day3bothcannot
befalse.Otherwisehetellstruthonmorethanonedaysinaweek.
Also,allthree
statementsaremadonthreeconsecutivedays,statementmadeonday1
andday3bothcan
notbetrue.Thus,eitherthestatementmadeonday1orday3istrue
andotherisfalse.
Also,thestatementmadeonday2mustbefalsei.e.day1isnot
Saturday,Fridayor
Wednesday.
Let'sassumethatthestatement1istrue.Thenfromthestatement3,
day1mustbeeither
FridayorWednesday.Butitisalreadydeducedthatday1isnot
Saturday,Fridayor
Wednesday.
Hence,thestatementmadeonday1isfalseandthelaststatementis
true.thenfromthe
statement1,day3mustbeeitherMondayorTuesday.Butitisalready
deducedthatday1
cannotbeSaturdayi.e.day3can'tbeMonday.Hence,Jimtellsthe
truthonTuesday.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00231
Whattwonumberscomesnextinthisseries?:
1,2,3,6,7,14,15,30,31,??
Submittedby:HannahBrooks
Answer
Nexttwonumbersare62and63.
Thepatternisdoublethenumber,addone,doublethenumber,addone...
Startingwith1,fornextnumberdoublethenumber=2
Fornextnumberaddone=3
Again,doublethenumber=6
Nextaddone=7andsoon...
Nowat31,fornextnumberdoublethenumber=62
Addonefornextnumber=63
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00261
ThelettersP,Q,R,S,T,UandV,notnecessarilyinthatorder
representsseven
consecutiveintegersfrom22to33.
*UisasmuchlessthanQasRisgreaterthanS.
*VisgreaterthanU.
*Qisthemiddleterm.
*Pis3greaterthanS.
Canyoufindthesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothe
highestvalue?
Answer
Thesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothehighestvalueis
TUSQRPV.
From(3),Qisthemiddleterm.
__________Q__________
From(4),theremustbeexactly2numbersbetweenPandSwhichgives
twopossible
positions.
[1]____S_____Q__P_______
[2]_______S__Q_____P____
From(1),thenumberoflettersbetweenUandQmustbesameasthe
numberofletters
betweenSandR.Also,thenumberoflettersbetweenthemcanbe1,2or
3.
Usingtrialanderror,itcanbefoundthattheremustbe2letters
betweenthem.Also,it
ispossibleonlyinoption[2]above.
[2]____U__S__Q__R__P____
From(2)VmustbethehighestandtheremainingTmustbethelowest
number.
_T__U__S__Q__R__P__V_
Thus,thesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothehighestvalue
isTUSQRPV.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00357
ThreemenSam,CamandLauriearemarriedtoCarrie,BillyandTina,
butnot
necessarilyinthesameorder.
Sam'swifeandBilly'sHusbandplayCarrieandTina'shusbandatbridge.
Nowifepartners
herhusbandandCamdoesnotplaybridge.
WhoismarriedtoCam?
Answer
CarrieismarriedtoCam.
"Sam'swifeandBilly'sHusbandplayCarrieandTina'shusbandat
bridge."
ItmeansthatSamisnotmarriedtoeitherBillyorCarrie.Thus,Samis
marriedtoTina.
AsCamdoesnotplaybridge,Billy'shusbandmustbeLaurie.
Hence,CarrieismarriedtoCam.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00050
TwoidenticalpackofcardsAandBareshuffledthroughly.Onecardis
pickedfromAand
shuffledwithB.ThetopcardfrompackAisturnedup.Ifthisisthe
QueenofHearts,
whatarethechancesthatthetopcardinBwillbetheKingofHearts?
Answer
52/2703
Therearetwocasestobeconsidered.
CASE1:KingofHeartsisdrawnfromPackAandshuffledwithPackB
ProbabilityofdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=1/51(asQueenof
Heartsisnottobe
drawn)
ProbabilityofhavingKingofHeartsonthetopofthePackB=2/53
Sototalprobabilityofcase1=(1/51)*(2/53)=2/(51*53)
CASE2:KingofHeartsisnotdrawnfromPackA
ProbabilityofnotdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=50/51(asQueen
ofHeartsisnotto
bedrawn)
ProbabilityofhavingKingofHeartsonthetopofthePackB=1/53
Sototalprobabilityofcase2=(50/51)*(1/53)=50/(51*53)
Nowaddingboththeprobability,therequiredprobabilityis
=2/(51*53)+50/(51*53)
=52/(51*53)
=52/2703
=0.0192378
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00268
Howmanywaysarethereofarrangingthesixteenblackorwhitepieces
ofastandard
internationalchesssetonthefirsttworowsoftheboard?
Giventhateachpawnisidenticalandeachrook,knightandbishopis
identicaltoits
pair.
Submittedby:AlexCrosse
Answer
6,48,64,800ways
Therearetotal16pieceswhichcanbearrangedon16placesin16P16=
16!ways.
(16!=16*15*14*13*12*.....*3*2*1)
But,therearesomeduplicatecombinationsbecauseofidenticalpieces.
*Thereare8identicalpawn,whichcanbearrangedin8P8=8!ways.
*Similarlythereare2identicalrooks,2identicalknightsand2
identicalbishops.
Eachcanbearrangedin2P2=2!ways.
Hence,therequireansweris
=(16!)/(8!*2!*2!*2!)
=6,48,64,800
============================
BrainTeaserNo:00287
InthevillagecalledTALAJA,onlythreeTVchannelsareavailable
MoonPlus,Monyand
MeeTV.
Outof4000TVviewersinthevillage,1500watchMoonTV,2000watch
Monyand2500watch
MeeTV.
Amongstthese,500viewerswatchMoonPlusandMony,800watchMoonPlus
andMeeTV,and
1000watchMonyandMeeTV.
Howmanyviewerswatchallthreechannels?
Answer
300viewerswatchallthreechannels.
Let'sassumethattotalXviewerswatchallthreechannels.
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMoonPlusandMony=500X
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMoonPlusandMeeTV=800X
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMonyandMeeTV=1000X
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMoonPlus
=1500(500X)(800X)X
=200+X
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMony
=2000(500X)(1000X)X
=500+X
totalviewerswhowatchonlyMeeTV
=2500(1000X)(800X)X
=700+X
Weknowthattotalviewersare4000.Summingupall7values,
X+(500X)+(800X)+(1000X)+(200+X)+(500+X)+(700+
X)=4000
X+3700=4000
X=300
Hence,total300viewerswatchallthreechannels.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00360
Mrs.FhasinvitedseveralwivesofdelegatestotheUnitedNationsfor
aninformal
luncheon.Sheplanstoseather9guestsinarowsuchthateachlady
willbeableto
conversewiththepersondirectlytoherleftandright.Shehas
preparedthefollowing
list.
Mrs.FspeaksEnglishonly.
Mrs.GspeaksEnglishandFrench.
Mrs.HspeaksEnglishandRussian.
Mrs.JspeaksRussianonly.
Mrs.KspeaksEnglishonly.
Mrs.LspeaksFrenchonly.
Mrs.MspeaksFrenchandGerman.
Mrs.NspeaksEnglishandGerman.
Mrs.OspeaksEnglishonly.
Howmanydistinctseatingarrangementsarepossible?Giveallpossible
seating
arrangements.
NotethatABCDandDCBAarethesame.
Answer
126distinctseatingarrangementsarepossible.
Mrs.JandMrs.HmustbetogetherandMrs.JmustbeattheendasMrs.
Jspeaksonly
RussianandMrs.HistheonlyotherRussianspeaker.
Mrs.LspeaksonlyFrenchandtherearetwoothersMrs.GandMrs.M
whospeakFrench.
Herethereare2cases.
*CASEA:Mrs.Lisattheotherend
IfMrs.Lisattheotherend,eitherMrs.GorMrs.Mmustseatnextto
her.
oCASEAA:Mrs.GseatsnexttoMrs.L
Then,Mrs.MmustseatnexttoMrs.GandMrs.NmustseatnexttoMrs.
M.This
isbecauseMrs.MspeaksFrenchandGerman,andMrs.Nistheonlyother
Germanspeaker.
Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementisJHxxxNMGL,wherexisthe
Englishspeakers.Mrs.
F,Mrs.KandMrs.Ocanbearrangedinremaining3positionsin3!
differentwaysi.e.6
ways.
oCASEAB:Mrs.MseatsnexttoMrs.L
Ifso,theneitherMrs.NorMrs.GmustseatnexttoMrs.M
+CASEABA:Mrs.NseatsnexttoMrs.M
Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementisJHxxxxNML,wherexisthe
Englishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.G,Mrs.KandMrs.Ocanbearrangedin
remaining4
positionsin4!differentwaysi.e.24ways.
+CASEABB:Mrs.GseatsnexttoMrs.M
Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementisJHxxxxGML,wherexisthe
Englishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.K,Mrs.NandMrs.Ocanbearrangedin
remaining4
*CASEB:Mrs.Ldoesnotseatattheend
ItmeansthatMrs.G,Mrs.LandMrs.Mmustseattogether.Also,Mrs.L
mustseat
betweenMrs.GandMrs.M.
oCASEBA:Mrs.GseatsleftandMrs.MseatsrighttoMrs.Li.e.GLM
+CASEBAA:GLMisattheotherend
Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementisJHxxxxGLM,wherexisthe
Englishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.K,Mrs.NandMrs.Ocanbearrangedin
remaining4
+CASEBAB:GLMisnotattheotherend
ThenMrs.NmustseatnexttoMrs.M.Now,wehaveagroupoffourGLMN
whereMrs.GandMrs.NspeakEnglish.Thus,thepossibleseating
arrangementisJHxxxX,
wherexistheindividualEnglishspeakersandXisthegroupoffour
femaleswithEnglish
speakersatthebothends.Thus,thereare4!differentwaysi.e.24
ways.
oCASEBB:Mrs.MseatsleftandMrs.GseatsrighttoMrs.Li.e.MLG
Then,Mrs.NmustseatnexttoMrs.M.Now,wehaveagroupoffourNMLG
where
Mrs.GandMrs.NspeakEnglish.Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangement
isJHxxxX,wherex
istheindividualEnglishspeakersandXisthegroupoffourfemales
withEnglishspeakers
atthebothends.Thus,thereare4!differentwaysi.e.24ways.
Thus,totaldifferentpossibleseatingarrangementsare:
=6(caseAA)+24(caseABA)+24(caseABB)+24(caseBAA)+24(case
BAB)+24(case
BB)
=126seatingarrangements
Thus,126distinctseatingarrangementsarepoosible.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00322
SLIDE
DEAN
3651
Eachofsevendigitsfrom09arerepresentedbyadifferentletter
abovesuchthatthe
subtractionistrue.
Whatwordrepresents3651?
Answer
3651representsLENS.
Let'sassignpossiblevaluestoeachletterandthenusetrialnerror.
Smustbe1.
ThenD(underL)mustbegreaterthan5.IfDis6,thenLis0.But
thenAmustbe0or1
whichisimpossible.Hence,thepossiblevaluesofDare7,8or9.
NmustbeE+1.Also,DmustbeA+5asthepossiblevaluesofDare
7,8or9,Dcannot
be(10+A)+5.
Nowusingtrialnerror,wegetS=1,I=2,L=3,A=4,N=5,E=6andD=9
SLIDE13296
DEAN9645
3651LENS
Hence,3651representsLENS.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00361
FourmenAbraham,Bobby,ClintonandDenialarestandingina
straightline.
1.Onemanisfair,handsomeandunscarred.
2.Twomenwhoarenotfair,areeachstandingnexttoAbraham.
3.Bobbyistheonlymanstandingnexttoexactlyonehandsomeman.
4.Clintonistheonlymannotstandingnexttoexactlyonescarredman.
Whoisfair,handsomeandunscarred?
Answer
Clintonisfair,handsomeandunscarred.
From(2),boththemenstandingnexttoAbrahamarenotfair.Also,
exactlyonemanis
fair,handsomandunscarred.Hence,therearetwocases:
Case1::?(N,?,?):Abraham(Y,Y,N):?(N,?,?):?(?,?,?)
Case2::?(N,?,?):Abraham(?,?,?):?(N,?,?):?(Y,Y,N)
NotetherepresentationName(Fair,Handsome,Scarred)."Y"standsfor
Yesand"N"stabds
forNo.Abraham(Y,Y,N)meansAbrahamisFair,HandsomeandUnscarred.
ItisclearthateitherAbrahamorthemanattheextremerightisfair,
handsomeand
unscarred.
From(4),itisdeducedthatClintonisstandingnexttounscarredman
andeachofthe
othermenstandingnexttoexactlyonescarredman.
Case1::Clinton(N,?,N):Abraham(Y,Y,N):?(N,?,Y):?(?,?,
Y)
Case2::?(N,?,Y):Abraham(?,?,Y):?(N,?,N):Clinton(Y,Y,
N)
From(3),Bobbyistheonlymanstandingnexttoexactlyonehandsome
man.ButinCase1,
Clintonisstandingnexttoexactlyonehandsomeman.Hence,Case1is
notpossibleand
Case2isthecorrectone.
Case2::?(N,?,Y):Abraham(?,?,Y):?(N,?,N):Clinton(Y,Y,
N)
Againfrom(3)and(4),thereare2possibilitiesasshownbelow.
Case2a::Denial(N,N,Y):Abraham(?,N,Y):Bobby(N,N,N):
Clinton(Y,Y,N)
Case2b::Bobby(N,N,Y):Abraham(?,Y,Y):Denial(N,N,N):
Clinton(Y,Y,N)
Thus,Clintonisfair,handsomeandunscarred.Also,Abrahammaybe
eitherfairornot
fair.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00442
Adam,Burzin,ClarkandEdmundeachliveinanapartment.Their
apartmentsarearrangedin
arownumbered1to4fromlefttoright.Also,oneofthemisthe
landlord.
1.IfClark'sapartmentisnotnexttoBurzin'sapartment,thenthe
landlordisAdamand
livesinapartment1.
2.IfAdam'sapartmentisrightofClark'sapartment,thenthelandlord
isEdmundand
livesinapartment4.
3.IfBurzin'sapartmentisnotnexttoEdmund'sapartment,thenthe
landlordisClark
andlivesinapartment3.
4.IfEdmund'sapartmentisrightofAdam'sapartment,thenthelandlord
isBurzinand
livesinapartment2.
Whoisthelandlord?
Answer
Clarkisthelandlord.
Assumeeachstatementtrue,oneatatimeandseethatnoother
statementiscontradicted.
Let'sassumethatStatement(1)istrue.Then,Adamisthelandlordand
livesinapartment
1.Also,otherthree'sapartmentswillbeontherightofhisapartment
whichcontradicts
Statement(4)i.e.IfEdmund'sapartmentisrightofAdam'sapartment,
thenthelandlordis
Burzin.Thus,Adamisnotthelandlord.
Let'sassumethatStatement(2)istrue.Then,Edmundisthelandlord
andlivesin
apartment4.Also,otherthree'sapartmentswillbeontheleftofhis
apartmentwhich
againcontradictsStatement(4)i.e.IfEdmund'sapartmentisrightof
Adam'sapartment,
thenthelandlordisBurzin.Thus,Edmundisnotthelandlordeither.
Let'sassumethatStatement(3)istrue.Then,Clarkisthelandlordand
livesinapartment
3.Itsatisfiesallthestatementsfor
(1)Adam(2)Edmund(3)Clark(4)Burzin
Hence,Clarkisthelandlord.
Similarly,youcanassumeStatement(4)trueandfindoutthatitalso
contradicts.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00607
2,11,75,700,8476,?,?
Answer
Thenexttwonumbersintheseriesare126125and2223277.
Thepatternis
2=2^1
11=2^1+3^2
75=2^1+3^2+4^3
700=2^1+3^2+4^3+5^4
8476=2^1+3^2+4^3+5^4+6^5
126125=2^1+3^2+4^3+5^4+6^5+7^6
2223277=2^1+3^2+4^3+5^4+6^5+7^6+8^7
45269998=2^1+3^2+4^3+5^4+6^5+7^6+8^7+9^8
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00046
WhatistheareaofthetriangleABCwithA(e,p)B(2e,3p)andC(3e,5p)?
wherep=PI(3.141592654)
Answer
AtrickyONE.
Given3pointsarecolinear.Hence,itisastraightline.
Henceareaoftriangleis0.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00090
Theminuteandthehourhandofawatchmeetevery65minutes.
Howmuchdoesthewatchloseorgaintimeandbyhowmuch?
Answer
Theminuteandthehourhandmeet11timesin12hoursinnormalwatch
i.e.theymeetafter
every
=(12*60)/11minutes
=65.45minutes
=65minutes27.16seconds
Butinourcasetheymeetafterevery65minutesmeansthewatchis
gaining27.16seconds.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00070
Allofthestudentsatacollegearemajoringinpsychology,business,
orboth.73%ofthe
studentsarepsychologymajors,&62%arebusinessmajors.
Ifthereare200students,howmanyofthemaremajoringinboth
psychology&business?
Answer
70studentsaremajoringinboth,psychology&business
If73%ofthestudentsarepsychologymajors,weknowthat27%arenot
psychologymajors.
Bythesamereasoning,38%arenotbusinessmajors,because62%ofthe
studentsdomajorin
business.So:27+38=65
65%ofthestudentsarenotmajoringinbothpsychology&business,so
35%aredouble
majors,atotalof70students.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00136
Whatarethenexttwonumbersintheseries?
34,58,56,60,42,52,65,?,?
Answer
Thepatternis:thetotalsofthelettersinthewordsONE,TWO,THREE,
FOUR,FIVE,SIX,
SEVEN,EIGHTandNINEwhenA=1,B=2,C=3,D=4andsoon.
Firstnumber=15(O)+14(N)+5(E)=34
SecondNumber=20(T)+23(W)+15(O)=58
ThirdNumber=20(T)+8(H)+18(R)+5(E)+5(E)=56
FourthNumber=6(F)+15(O)+21(U)+18(R)=60
FifthNumber=6(F)+9(I)+22(V)+5(E)=42
SixthNumber=19(S)+9(I)+24(X)=52
SeventhNumber=19(S)+5(E)+22(V)+5(E)+14(N)=65
EightNumber=5(E)+9(I)+7(G)+8(H)+20(T)=49
NinthNumber=14(N)+9(I)+14(N)+5(E)=42
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00660
Gomzihas3timepiecesinhishouseawallclock,analarmclockanda
wristwatch.The
wristwatchisalwaysaccurate,whereasthewallclockgains2minutes
everydayandthe
alarmclockloses2minuteseveryday.
Atexactlymidnightlastnight,allthreewatcheswereshowingthesame
time.
Iftodayis25July2003,thenonwhichdateallthreeclockswillshow
thesametime
again?
Answer
Allthreeclockswillshowthesametimeagainonmidnightbetween19
July2004and20July
2004.
Aclockfinishesonroundin12*60i.e.720minutes.
Ifaclockgains2minuteseveryday,thenitwouldbe720minutesahead
after360days.
Thus,after360days,itwillshowthesametimeagain.
Similary,ifaclockloses2minuteseveryday,thenitwouldbe720
minutesbehindafter
360days.Thus,after360days,itwillshowthesametimeagain.
Thus,after360daysallthreeclockswillshowthesametimeagaini.e.
midnightbetween
19July2004and20July2004.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00106
Ashipwentonavoyage.Afterithadtravelled180milesaplane
statrtedwith10times
thespeedoftheship.Findthedistancewhentheymeetfromstarting
point.
Answer
200miles
Giventhatspeedoftheplaneis10timesthespeedoftheship.Soit
isobviousthatthe
distancecoveredbyplanewillbe10timesthedistancecoveredbythe
shipforthegiven
time.
i.e.Distancecoveredbyplane=10*(Distancecoveredbyshipafter
planestarted)
Nowfromthegivendata,
Distancecoveredbyplane=180+Distancecoveredbyshipafterplane
started
10*(Distancecoveredbyshipafterplanestarted)=180+Distance
coveredbyshipafter
planestarted
9*(Distancecoveredbyshipafterplanestarted)=180
Distancecoveredbyshipafterplanestarted=20miles
Totaldistancecoveredbyshipfromstartingpoint
=180+20
=200miles
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00265
Thereare4blockseachwith6sides.Eachsidehasaletterfromthe
alphabet.Noletters
areeverrepeated.Byarrangingtheblocksindifferentwaystheyspell
allthewords
listedbelow:
BODY,MAZE,CURT,MOVE,DRAW,NOTE,FEAR,PICK,HUNT,QUIT,JOKE,SNOB,
KNEW,TYPE,LIFE
Canyoufigueouthowthelettersarearrangedonthe4blocks?
Submittedby:DianaKim
Answer
(C,D,E,H,Q,S),(A,B,K,L,T,V),(F,O,P,U,W,Z),(I,J,M,N,
R,Y)
Outofthe26lettersinthealphabet,GandXarenotused.
Thereare7wordswithletter'E'MAZE,MOVE,NOTE,FEAR,JOKE,KNEW,
TYPE,LIFE.It
meansthatnoneofthelettersinthese7wordscanbeonthesameblock
astheletter'E'.
Hence,theother5lettersmustbefromB,C,D,H,Q,S,U.
AsBODYisoneofthepossibleword,BandDcannotbeonthesame
block.Similary,Cand
UalsocannotbeonthesameblockasCURTisoneofthepossibleword.
Hence,E,H,Q,S
areonthesameblock.
Also,SandBcannotbeonthesameblock(SNOB).QandUcannotbeon
thesameblock
(QUIT).Hence,firstBlockcontainsC,D,E,H,Q,S
Now,writedown4rowseachwithAtoZ,exceptGandX.Takeeachword
onebyone,remove
notpossiblelettersandcirclethepossibleletters.
Thelettersonfourblocksare:
Block1:C,D,E,H,Q,S
Block2:A,B,K,L,T,V
Block3:F,O,P,U,W,Z
Block4:I,J,M,N,R,Y
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00293
Apositiveintegerthat,whenaddedto1000givesasumwhichisgreater
thanwhen
multipliedby1000.
Findthepositiveinteger.
Answer
Thepositiveintegeris1.
Sumof1and1000=1+1000=1001
Multiplicationof1and1000=1*1000=1000
Thus,sumof1and1000isgreaterthanthemultiplicationof1and
1000.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00339
WhatnumbersdoXandYrepresentinthefollowingseries:
2,6,12,20,30,42,X,Y
Answer
X=56andY=72
Thepatternisthemultiplicationoftwoconsecutivenumbersstating
with1.
Firstnumber=1*2=2
Secondnumber=2*3=6
Thirdnumber=3*4=12
Forthnumber=4*5=20
Fifthnumber=5*6=30
Sixthnumber=6*7=42
Seventhnumber=7*8=56
Eighthnumber=8*9=72
Alternatively,thepattencanbedefinedasaddingaconstantafter
incrementingitby2to
thepreviousnumber.
Firstnumber=2
Secondnumber=2+4=6
Thirdnumber=6+6=12
Forthnumber=12+8=20
Fifthnumber=20+10=30
Sixthnumber=30+12=42
Seventhnumber=42+14=56
Eighthnumber=56+16=72
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00511
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingadditionproblem
true.
ONE
NINE
TWENTY
+FIFTY
EIGHTY
mustbeaonetoone
letterY,noother
Answer
G=0,H=1,Y=2,T=3,E=4,I=5,W=6,F=7,N=8,O=9
ItisobviousthatE=T+1
Also,2E+2Y=Yi.e.2E+Ymustbeeither10or20andYmustbean
evennumber.Thus,
possiblevaluesof(E,Y)pairare(4,2)(9,2)(3,4)(8,4)(2,6)
(7,6)(1,8)(6,8)
Now,takingeachpairindividually,onlyonepairmakestheaddition
true.
ONE984
NINE8584
TWENTY364832
+FIFTY+75732
EIGHTY450132
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00008
3blocksarechosenrandomlyonachessboard.Whatistheprobability
thattheyareinthe
samediagonal?
Answer
Therearetotalof64blocksonachessboard.So3blockscanbechosen
outof64in64C3
ways.
Sothesamplespaceis=41664
Thereare2diagonalonchessboardeachonehaving8blocks.Consider
oneofthem.
3blocksoutof8blocksindiagonalcanbechosenin8C3ways.
Butthereare2suchdiagonals,hencefavourables=2*8C3=2*56=
112
Therequireprobabilityis
=112/41664
=1/372
=0.002688
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00022
TherewereNstationsonarailroad.AfteraddingXstations46
additionalticketshaveto
beprinted.
FindNandX.
Answer
LetbeforeaddingXstations,totalnumberoftickets
t=N(N1)
AfteraddingXstationstotalnumberofticketsare
t+46=(N+X)(N+X1)
Subtracting1stfrom2nd
46=(N+X)(N+X1)N(N1)
46=N2+NXN+NX+X2XN2+N
46=2NX+X2X
46=(2N1)X+X2
X2+(2N1)X46=0
Nowthereareonlytwopossiblefactorsof46.Theyare(46,1)and
(23,2)
CaseI:(46,1)
2N1=45
2N=46
N=23
AndX=1
CaseII:(23,2)
2N1=21
2N=22
N=11
AndX=2
Hence,thereare2possibleanswers.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00092
BelowisaQuizwrittenbyEinsteininthelstcentury.
Hesaid98%ofthepeopleintheworldcannotsolvethequiz.Areyou
amongtheother2%?
FACTS
1.Thereare5housesin5differentcolors.
2.Ineachhouselivesapersonwithadifferentnationality.
3.These5ownersdrinkacertainbeverage,smokeacertainbrandof
cigarandkeepa
certainpet.
4.Noownershavethesamepet,smokethesamebrandofcigarordrink
thesamedrink.
HINTS
1.TheBritlivesinaredhouse.
2.TheSwedekeepsdogsaspets.
3.TheDanedrinkstea.
4.Thegreenhouseisontheimmediateleftofthewhitehouse.
5.Thegreenhouseownerdrinkscoffee.
6.ThepersonwhosmokesPallMallrearsbirds.
7.TheowneroftheyellowhousesmokesDunhill.
8.Themanlivinginthehouserightinthecenterdrinksmilk.
9.TheNorwegianlivesinthefirsthouse.
10.Themanwhosmokesblendlivesnexttotheonewhokeepscats.
11.ThemanwhokeepshorseslivesnexttothemanwhosmokesDunhill.
12.TheownerwhosmokesBlueMasterdrinksbeer.
13.TheGermansmokesPrince.
14.TheNorwegianlivesnexttotheBlueHouse.
15.Themanwhosmokesblendhasaneighborwhodrinkswater.
THEQUESTIONIS....WHOKEEPSFISH?
Thereisnotricktothisitneedsdeductivereasoninganddefinitely
apenandpaper.
Answer
NationalityBeverageCigarPetHouseColor
NorwegianWaterDunhillCatYellow
DaneTeaBlendHorsesBlue
BritMilkPallMallBirdRed
GermanCoffeePrinceFishGreen
SwedeBeerBlueMasterDogWhite
ThereforetheansweristheGerman.
IwonderifUcouldworkitoutbyrealizingthatEinstienwasagerman
andkeptfishbut
thatwouldprobablybecheating:)
Thereisonemorepossibleanswer,ifweremove"immediate"fromthe
Hint4i.e.readitas
"Thegreenhouseisontheleftofthewhitehouse,notnecessarilyon
theimmediateleft"
NationalityBeverageCigarPetHouseColor
NorwegianCoffeeBlendFishGreen
GermanWaterPrinceCatsBlue
SwedeMilkDunhillDogsYellow
BritBeerBlueMasterHorsesRed
DaneTeaPallMallBirdsWhite
Thus,eitherGermanorNorwegiankeepstheFish,ifthegreenhouseis
notnecessarilyon
theimmediateleftofthewhitehouse.
ThankstoKatieCroweandfriendsforthesecondanswer!!!
=============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00203
Doyouknowthemissingnumberinthegivenseries?
10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,20,22,24,___,100,121,10000
Answer
Themissingnumberis31.
ThepatternisSixteeninthebasenforn=16,15,...,2.
16inthebase16=10
16inthebase15=11
16inthebase14=12
16inthebase13=13
16inthebase12=14
16inthebase11=15
16inthebase10=16
16inthebase9=17
16inthebase8=20
16inthebase7=22
16inthebase6=24
16inthebase5=31
16inthebase4=100
16inthebase3=121
16inthebase2=10000
Thus,thecompleteseriesis10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,20,22,
24,31,100,121,
10000
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00014
Fivehorsesranintherace.
*Therewerenoties.
*Sikandardidnotcomefirst.
*Starwasneitherfirstnorlast.
*MughalGlorycameinoneplaceafterSikandar.
*Zozowasnotsecond.
*RangilawastwoplacebelowZozo.
Inwhatorderdidthehorsesfinish?
Answer
It'ssimple.
Let'sfindthepossibleplaceshorsescanfinish.Possibilitiesare:
Sikandar2,3,4(not5thasMughalGlorycameoneplaceafterhim)
Star2,3,4
MughalGlory3,4,5
Zozo1,3(not4th&5thasRangilaistwoplaceafterhim)
Rangila3,5
Sotheresultis:
1Zozo
2Star
3Rangila
4Sikandar
5MughalGlory
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00169
Pintosays,"ThehorseisnotBlack."
Sandysays,"ThehorseiseitherBrownorGrey."
Andysays,"ThehorseisBrown."
Atleastoneistellingtruthandatleastoneislying.
Canyoutellthecolorofthehorse?
Answer
ThecolorofthehorsecanbeanycolorotherthanBlackandBrown.
IfthecolorofthehorseisBlackallarelying.
IfthecolorofthehorseisBrownallaretellingtruth.
Thus,thehorseisneitherBlacknorBrown.
IfthecolorofthehorseisGreyPintoandSandyaretellingtruth
whereasAndyis
lying.
IfthecolorofthehorseisotherthanBlack,BrownandGreyPintois
tellingtruth
whereasSandyandAndyarelying.
Youmusthavenoticedthatforthegivenconditions,Pintoisalways
tellingtruthwhereas
Andyisalwayslying.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00195
Acampfirewasattendedby49friends.Aftershakinghands,eachof
themsatontheround
tableandclinkedtheirmugwiththefriendstohisimmediateleftand
immediateright.
Howmanytimesdidthemugsclink?
Answer
49times
Let'sassumethateveryoneclinkedtheirmugwithfriendtohisleft
only.Itmeansthat
therearetotal49clinks.Nowtherightclinkofeachpersonisleft
clinkoftheperson
onrightwhichisalreadyhappened.Hence,thereareonly49clinks.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00372
InthefirstOnedayInternationalCricketmatchbetweenIndiaand
EnglandatLords,the
bowlinghonoursintheIndianteamwassharedbyKapilDev,Madanlaland
Binni.
1.EitherKapiltookhalfthewicketsoroneoftheplayerswasrunout.
2.EitherKapiltook5wicketsandBinnitook3orMadanlaltookone
morethanBinni.
3.ThesumofKapil'svictimsandtwiceofMadanlal'svictimsisone
morethanthree
timesBinni'svictims.
Canyoutellthenumberofwicketseachofthemtook?
Answer
Statement(3)canberepresentedasK+2M=3B+1
where,
KwicketstakenbyKapilDev
MwicketstakenbyMadanlal
BwicketstakenbyBinni
Let'sconsiderstatement(2).IfKapiltook5wicketsandBinnitook3
wickets,thenfrom
equationabove,Madanlalshouldhavetakentwoandahalfwicketswhich
isimpossible.
Hence,MadanlaltookonemorethanBinnii.e.M=B+1
SubstituteM=B+1infirstequation,
K+2M=3B+1
K+2(B+1)=3B+1
K+2B+2=3B+1
K=B1
Nowconsiderstatement(1).IfKapiltookhalfthewicketsi.e.5
wickets,Binnishould
havetaken6wicketsandMadanlalshouldhavetaken7wickets.Butthis
isimpossibleas
therearejust10wickets.Hence,oneplayerwasrunoutandtotal
wicketstakenbythem
mustbe9.
K+M+B=9
(B1)+(B+1)+B=9
B=3wickets.
Hence,wicketstakenbyKapil,MadanlalandBinniare2,4and3
respectively.
Thereare2morepossibleanswersastotalnumberofwicketsfallenis
notspecified.In
theaboveanswer,weassumedmaximumwicketsi.e.10.
*10wickets:Kapil=2,Madanlal=4,Binni=3,Runout=1
==================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00428
Mr.XwantstosendDiamondNecklacetohisfianceeYwholivesinsome
othercountry.Mr.
XputstheDiamondNecklaceinsideaboxtoparcel.Notethat:
1.Theparcelmustbelocked.
2.Theboxismadeupofsuchamaterialthatnobodycanbreakit.
3.Theboxhasahandlelargeenoughtoputalockonit.
4.Mr.Xcannotsendakeywiththeparcel.
5.Combinationlocksandtelephonesarenotavailable.
HowwillMr.XsendDiamondNecklacetohisfianceeY?
Answer
Mr.XandhisfianceeYwillfollowthefollowingsteps.
1.Mr.XwillputDiamondNecklaceinsideaboxandwilllockit.
2.HewillsendtheparceltohisfianceeY,withoutthekey.
3.YwillputherlockonitandwillsendboxbacktoMr.X.
4.Mr.XwillremovehislockandwillsendtheboxbacktoY.
5.YwillremoveherlockandwillreceivetheNecklace.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00475
Myhousehasanumber.
1.Ifmyhousenumberisamultipleof3,thenitisanumberfrom50
through59.
2.Ifmyhousenumberisnotamultipleof4,thenitisanumberfrom
60through69.
3.Ifmyhousenumberisnotamultipleof6,thenitisanumberfrom
70through79.
Whatismyhousenumber?
Answer
Thehousenumberis76.
From(1)and(3),thehousenumbermustbefrom50to59or70to79.
Takeanynumber.It
willbeeithermultipleof3ornot.Also,anumbermultipleof6is
alwaysamultipleof
3.Hence,thehousenumbercanbe51,54,57,70,71,73,74,76,77or
79.
From(2),ifthehousenumberisnotamultipleof4,thenitisa
numberfrom60through
69.Thereisnotasinglenumberbetween60and69inshortlisted
numbersabove.Hence,
thehousenumbermustbeamultipleof4i.e.76
Hence,thehousenumberis76.
=============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00839
ThesecretagentXemailedsomecodetohisheadoffice.Theyare
"RADAR,LEVEL,ROTOR,
REDIVIDER,MOTOR".Butfourofthesefivewordshavesomethingincommon
andoneisfake.
Canyoutellwhichoneisfake?Ignorethefactthatfourofthecode
wordsareofthesame
length.
Answer
ThefakecodewordisMOTOR.
AllthecodewordsexceptMOTORarePalindromes.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00111
Inacertainyear,thenumberofgirlswhograduatedfromCityHigh
Schoolwastwicethe
numberofboys.If3/4ofthegirlsand5/6oftheboyswenttocollege
immediatelyafter
graduation,whatfractionofthegraduatesthatyearwenttocollege
immediatelyafter
graduation?
Answer
AssumethatnumberofboysgraduatedfromCityHighSchool=B
Therefore,numberofgirlsgraduatedfromCityHighSchool=2*B
Itisgiventhat3/4ofthegirlsand5/6oftheboyswenttocollege
immediatelyafter
graduation.
Hence,totalstudentswenttocollege
=(3/4)(2*B)+(5/6)(B)
=B*(3/2+5/6)
=(7/3)B
Fractionofthegraduatesthatyearwenttocollegeimmediatelyafter
graduation
=[(7/3)B]/[3*B]
=7/9
Therefore,theansweris7/9
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00143
Substitutenumbersfortheletterssothatthefollowingmathematical
expressionsare
correct.
ABCDEFGHI
=IE=IE=IE
369
Notethatthesamenumbermustbeusedforthesameletterwheneverit
appears.
Answer
A=2,B=1,C=9,D=4,E=3,F=8,G=6,H=5,I=7
Let'sstartwithGHI=9*IE.NotethatIappearsonboththeside.
Also,after
multiplyingIEby9theanswershouldhaveIattheunit'splace.The
possiblevaluesofIE
are19,28,37,46,55,64,73,82and91;outofwhichonly64,73and
82satisfiesthe
condition.(asallalphabetshouldrepresentdifferentdigits)
Now,considerDEF=6*IE.Outofthreeshortlistedvalues,only73
satisfiesthe
equation.Also,ABC=3*IEissatisfiedby73.
Hence,A=2,B=1,C=9,D=4,E=3,F=8,G=6,H=5,I=7
219438657
=73=73=73
369
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00351
If6x4=12
8x6=32
11x8=66
then10x10=??
Submittedby:NickChimenti
Answer
80
Thepatternismultiplythefirstnumberbysecondafterreducingsecond
numberby2.One
canviewisasfollow:
6x(42)=12
8x(62)=32
11x(82)=66
10x(102)=80
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00446
Whatarethenext2numbersinthepattern?
2,7,1,10,4,13,_,_
Submittedby:RobVanDam
Answer
Thenexttwonumberare7and16
Thepatternis:Togetoddpositionnumber,subtract3fromthe
previousoddposition
number.Similarly,togetevenpositionnumber,add3totheprevious
evenpositionnumber.
Theoddpositionnumbersare:2,1,4
Thenextoddpositionnumbersare:7,10,13andsoon.
Theevenpositionnumbersare:7,10,13
Thenextevenpositionnumbersare:16,19,22andsoon.
Hencetheseriesis2,7,1,10,4,13,7,16,10,19....
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00821
PoojaandEshameteachotherafterlongtime.Inthecourseoftheir
conversation,Pooja
askedEshaherage.Eshareplied,"Ifyoureversemyage,youwillget
myhusbund'sage.He
isofcourseolderthanme.Also,thedifferencebetweenourageis
1/11thofthesumof
ourage."
CanyouhelpoutPoojainfindingEsha'sage?
Answer
Esha'sageis45years.
AssumethatEsha'sageis10X+Yyears.Hence,herhunsbandsageis(10Y
+X)years.
Itisgiventhatdifferencebetweentheirageis1/11thofthesumof
theirage.Hence,
[(10Y+X)(10X+Y)]=(1/11)[(10Y+X)+(10X+Y)]
(9Y9X)=(1/11)(11X+11Y)
9Y9X=X+Y
8Y=10X
4Y=5X
Hence,thepossiblevaluesareX=4,Y=5andEsha'sageis45years.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00857
Ananthropologistdiscoversanisolatedtribewhosewrittenalphabet
containsonlysix
letters(callthelettersA,B,C,D,EandF).Thetribehasataboo
againstusingthe
samelettertwiceinthesameword.It'sneverdone.
Ifeachdifferentsequenceoflettersconstituesadifferentwordinthe
language,whatis
themaximumnumberofsixletterwordsthatthelanguagecanemploy?
Submittedby:Shelley
Answer
Thelanguagecanemploymaximumof720sixletterwords.
Itisasimplepermutationproblemofarranging6letterstoget
differentsixletter
words.Anditcanbedoneinin6!waysi.e.720ways.
Inotherwords,thefirstlettercanbeanyofthegiven6letters(A
throughF).Then,
whateverthefirstletteris,thesecondletterwillalwaysbefromthe
remaining5letters
(assamelettercannotbeusedtwice),andthethirdletteralwaysbe
fromtheremaining4
letters,andsoon.Thus,thedifferentpossiblesixletterwordsare
6*5*4*3*2*1=720
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00048
1/3rdofthecontentsofacontainerevaporatedonthe1stday.3/4th
oftheremaining
contentsofthecontainerevaporatedonthesecondday.
Whatpartofthecontentsofthecontainerisleftattheendofthe
secondday?
Answer
AssumethatcontentsofthecontainerisX
Onthefirstday1/3rdisevaporated.
(11/3)ofXisremainingi.e.(2/3)X
OntheSecondday3/4thisevaporated.Hence,
(13/4)of(2/3)Xisremaining
i.e.(1/4)(2/3)X=(1/6)X
Hence1/6thofthecontentsofthecontainerisremaining
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00184
Ofthe120peopleintheroom,3/5arewomen.If2/3ofthepeopleare
married,whatisthe
maximumnumberofwomenintheroomwhocouldbeunmarried?
Answer
Maximum40womenareunmarried.
Intheroom,thereare(3/5)*120=72Womenandhence,48Men.
Also,marriedpeopleare(2/3)*120=80whichmeansthat40peopleare
unmarried.
Evenassumingallofthemenaremarried,thisstillleaves8048=32
otherswhoare
married,andthoseotherarewomen.Soatleast32womenmustbemarried,
whichmeansthat
maximumpossiblenumberofwomenwhoareunmariedis7232=40
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00006
Youareworkinginastorethatstocksbangles.Threeboxesofbangles
havebeen
incorrectlylabeled.ThelabelssayRedBangles,GreenBanglesandRed&
GreenBangles.
Howcanyourelabeltheboxescorrectly,bytakingonlyonebanglefrom
onebox?
Answer
Keepinmindthatboxesareincorrectlylabeled.
Takeoutonebanglefromtheboxlabeled"Red&GreenBangles".There
are2possibilities:
IfthatbangleisRed,itmeansthatboxcontainsRedBangles.Thebox
labeledas"Green
Bangles"containsRed&GreenBangles.Andboxlabeled"RedBangles"
containsGreen
bangles.
REDGREENBOXRedBangles
REDBOXGreenBangles
GREENBOXRed&GreenBangles
IfthatbangleisGreen,itmeansthatboxcontainsGreen
Bangles.Theboxlabeledas"GreenBangles"containsRed
Bangles.Andboxlabeled"RedBangles"containsRed&
GreenBangles.
REDGREENBOXGreenBangles
REDBOXRed&GreenBangles
GREENBOXRedBangles
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00121
JackandJillareplayingcardsforastakeof$1agame.Attheendof
theevening,Jack
haswon3gamesandJillhaswon$3.Howmanygamesdidtheyplay?
Submittedby:NathalieDrouin
Answer
Theyplayedtotalof9games.Jackwon3gamesandJillwon6games.
IfJackhaswonthreegamesandJillhaswon$3,shelostadollarfor
eachloss,therefore
shehaswon6andlost3tomake$3andhewontheother3thatshe
lost!
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00820
Amit,Bhavin,HimanshuandRakesharesittingaroundatable.
*TheElectonicsEngineerissittingtotheleftoftheMechanical
Engineer.
*AmitissittingoppositetoComputerEngineer.
*HimanshulikestoplayComputerGames.
*BhavinissittingtotherightoftheChemicalEngineer.
Canyoufigureouteveryone'sprofession?
Answer
AmitistheMechanicalEngineer.BhavinistheComputerEngineer.
HimanshuandRakeshare
eitherChemicalEngineerorElecronicsEngineer.
AmitandBhavinaresittingoppositetoeachother.WhereasChemical
Engineerand
ElecronicsEngineeraresittingoppositetoeachother.
WecannotfindoutwhoisChemicalEngineerandElecronicsEngineeras
dataprovidedisnot
sufficient.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00358
Whatarenexttwonumbersinthegivenseries?
2,12,360,75600,?,?
Answer
Thepatternisasfollow:
2=2^1
12=2^2*3^1
360=2^3*3^2*5^1
75600=2^4*3^3*5^2*7^1
174636000=2^5*3^4*5^3*7^2*11^1
5244319080000=2^6*3^5*5^4*7^3*11^2*13^1
Atoughone!!!
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00457
Aseriescomprisingofnumberscontainsonlytendigits.Thefirsteight
digitsinthe
givenseriesare6,2,5,5,4,5,6,3
Canyoufindouttheremainingtwodigits?
Answer
Theremainingtwodigitsare7and6.
Thepatternisthenumberofsegmentsonastandardcalculator/LCD
displayittakesto
representthedigitsstartingwith0.
________
|||_|_||_||_|_||_||_|
|_|||__||_||_|||_|_|
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00500
Whatisthenextnumberinthegivenseries?
0,01,01011,0101101011011,?
Answer
0101101011011010110101101101011011
Thepatterniseachnumberisformedfromthepreviousnumberby
substituting'01'for
'0'and'011'for'1'simultaneouslyateachoccurance.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00515
Johnlivesin"FriendsSociety"whereallthehousesareinarowand
arenumbered
sequentiallystartingfrom1.Hishousenumberis109.
Jessylivesinthesamesociety.Allthehousenumbersontheleftside
ofJessy'shouse
addupexactlythesameasallthehousenumbersontherightsideof
herhouse.
WhatisthenumberofJessy'shouse?Findtheminimalpossibleanswer.
Answer
Thereare288housesandJessy'shousenumberis204.
Let'sassumethatinthe"FriendsSociety"therearetotalNhouses
numberedfrom1toN
andJessy'shousenumberisX.
NowitisgiventhatallthehousenumbersontheleftsideofJessy's
houseaddupexactly
thesameasallthehousenumbersontherightsideofherhouse.Hence,
1+2+3+.....+(X1)=(X+1)+(X+2)+(X+3)+.....+N
BoththesidesoftheaboveequationsareinA.P.Hence,usingA.P.
summationformaula,
[(X1)/2][2*(1)+(X11)]=[(NX)/2][2*(X+1)+(NX1)]
[X1][(2)+(X2)]=[NX][(2X+2)+(NX1)]
(X1)(X)=(NX)(N+X+1)
X2X=N2+NX+NNXX2X
X2=N2+NX2
2X2=N2+N
X2=(N2+N)/2
X2=N(N+1)/2
Now,usingTrialandErrormethodtofindvaluesofNandXsuchthat
aboveequationis
satisfied,weget
1.N=8,X=6
2.N=49,X=35
3.N=288,X=204
4.N=1681,X=1189
5.N=9800,X=6930
ButwerequireminimalpossibleansweranditisgiventhatJohn'shouse
numberis109.It
meansthatthereareatleast109houses.Hence,firsttwoarenot
possible.Andtheanswer
is:thereare288housesandJessy'shousenumberis204.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00005
AmanwentintoafastfoodrestaurantandateamealcostingRs.105,
givingthe
accountantaRs.500note.Hekeptthechange,camebackafewminutes
laterandhadsome
foodpackedforhisgirlfriend.HegavetheaccountantaRs.100note
andreceivedRs.20
inchange.LaterthebanktoldtheaccountantthatboththeRs.500and
theRs.100notes
werecounterfeit.
Howmuchmoneydidtherestaurantlose?Ignoretheprofitofthefood
restaurant.
Answer
HelostRs.600
FirsttimerestauranthasgivenfoodworthRs.105andRs.395change.
Similarlysecond
time,foodworthRs.80andRs.20change.Here,wearenotconsidering
foodrestaurant
profits.
================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00043
ProfessorsAhmadandJoshiareextremelystrangepersons.
Prof.AhmadliesonMondays,TuesdaysandWednesdays,buttellstrueon
otherdaysofthe
week.
Prof.JoshiliesonThursdays,FridaysandSaturdays,buttellstrueon
otherdaysofthe
week.
*Theymadethefollowingstatements:
Prof.Ahmad:"Yesterdaywasoneofmylyingdays."
Prof.Joshi:"Yesterdaywasoneofmylyingdaystoo."
Whatdayoftheweekwasit?
*BothProfessorslookedveryalikeandonedaytheysaidtoavisitor
totheir
department:
FirstProf:"I'mAhmed."
SecondProf:"I'mJoshi."
Whowaswho?Whatdayoftheweekwasit?
*Onanotheroccasion,bothProfessorsmadethefollowingstatements:
FirstProf:1."IlieonSaturdays."
2."IlieonSundays."
SecondProf.:"Iwilllietomorrow."
Whatdayoftheweekwasit?
Answer
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Prof.AhmadLiesLiesLiestellstruthtellstruthtellstruthtells
truth
Prof.JoshitellstruthtellstruthtellstruthLiesLiesLiestells
truth
Teaser1:
AssumethatProf.Ahmadistellingtruth=>todayisThursday
AssumethatProf.Ahmadislying=>todayisMonday
Similarly,AssumeProf.Joshiistellingtruth=>todayisSunday
AssumethatProf.Joshiislying=>todayisThrusday.
Hence,todayisThrusday,Prof.AhmadistellingtruthandProf.Joshi
islying.
Teaser2:
AssumethatFirstProf.istellingtruth=>Thursday,Friday,Saturday
orSunday
AssumethatFirstProf.islying=>Thursday,FridayorSaturday
Similarly,AssumeSecondProf.istellingtruth=>Monday,Tuesday,
WednesdayorSunday
AssumethatSecondProf.islying=>Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday
TheonlypossibilityisSundayandbotharetellingtruth.
Teaser3:
Asimpleone.FirstProf.says"IlieonSunday"whichisfalseas
boththeProf.tell
truthonsunday.ItmeansthefirststatementmadebytheFirstProf.is
alsofalse.It
meanstheFirstProf.tellstruthonSaturday.HenceFirstProf.is
Prof.Ahmadandheis
lying.ItmeansthattodayiseitherMonday,TuesdayorWednesday.
ItisclearthatSecondProf.isProf.Joshi.
Assumethatheistellingtruth=>todayisWednesday
Assumethatheislying=>todayisSaturday.
Hence,todayisWednesday!!!
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00088
Findthevaluesofeachofthealphabets.
NOON
SOON
+MOON
JUNE
Answer
Usingtrialanderror.Thereare2solutionstoitandmaybemore.
2442
1442
+5442
9326
4114
5114
+0114
9342
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00252
Amanreceivedacheque.Therupeeshasbeentransposedforpaiseand
viceversa.After
spending5rupees42paise,hediscoveredthathenowhadexactlysix
timesthevalueof
thecorrectchequeamount.
Whatamountshouldhehavereceived?
Answer
Hereceived6rupeesand44paise.
Let'sassumethathereceivedachequeofXrupeesandYpaisei.e.
(100X+Y)
Theamountreceivedbyhim=100Y+X
Afterspending5rupees42paise,theremainingamountis(100Y+X
542)whichis6times
theoriginalamount.Thus,
(100Y+X542)=6*(100X+Y)
100Y+X542=600X+6Y
94Y=599X+542
Usingtrialnerror,wegetX=6andY=44
Hence,heshouldhavereceived6rupeesand44paise.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00024
ApersonwantedtowithdrawXrupeesandYpaisefromthebank.But
cashiermadeamistake
andgavehimYrupeesandXpaise.Neitherthepersonnorthecashier
noticedthat.
Afterspending20paise,thepersoncountsthemoney.Andtohis
surprise,hehasdouble
theamounthewantedtowithdraw.
FindXandY.(1Rupee=100Paise)
Answer
Asgiven,thepersonwantedtowithdraw100X+Ypaise.
Buthegot100Y+Xpaise.
Afterspending20paise,hehasdoubletheamounthewantedtowithdraw.
Hence,the
equationis
2*(100X+Y)=100Y+X20
200X+2Y=100Y+X20
199X98Y=20
98Y199X=20
Now,wegotoneequation;butthereare2variables.Wehavetoapply
littlebitoflogic
overhere.WeknowthatifweinterchangeX&Y,amountgetsdouble.So
Yshouldbetwice
ofXoronemorethantwiceofXi.e.Y=2XorY=2X+1
CaseI:Y=2X
Solvingtwoequationssimultaneously
98Y199X=20
Y2X=0
WegetX=20/3&Y=40/2
CaseII:Y=2X+1
Solvingtwoequationssimultaneously
98Y199X=20
Y2X=1
WegetX=26&Y=53
Now,itsobviousthathewantedtowithdrawRs.26.53
======================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00158
Considerthesum:ABC+DEF+GHI=JJJ
Ifdifferentlettersrepresentdifferentdigits,andthereareno
leadingzeros,whatdoes
Jrepresent?
Answer
ThevalueofJmustbe9.
Sincetherearenoleadingzeros,Jmustbe7,8,or9.(JJJ=ABC+DEF
+GHI=14?+25?
+36?=7??)
Now,theremainderleftafterdividinganynumberby9isthesameas
theremainderleft
afterdividingthesumofthedigitsofthatnumberby9.Also,note
that0+1+...+9
hasaremainderof0afterdividingby9andJJJhasaremainderof0,
3,or6.
Thenumber9istheonlynumberfrom7,8and9thatleavesaremainder
of0,3,or6if
youremoveitfromthesum0+1+...+9.Hence,itfollowsthatJ
mustbe9.
===================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00323
Findnexttwonumbersintheseries:
100,365,24,60,?,?
Answer
ThepatternisbreakingdownthetimefromCenturytomiliseconds.
Thereare100yearsinacentury.
Thereare365daysinayear.
Thereare24hoursinaday.
Thereare60minutesinanhour.
Thereare60secondsinaminute.
Thereare1000milisecondsinasecond.
Hence,thesequenceis:100,365,24,60,60,1000
======================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00031
FindsumofdigitsofD.
Let
A=19991999
B=sumofdigitsofA
C=sumofdigitsofB
D=sumofdigitsofC
(HINT:A=B=C=D(mod9))
Answer
ThesumofthedigitsodDis1.
LetE=sumofdigitsofD.
ItfollowsfromthehintthatA=E(mod9)
Consider,
A=19991999
<20002000
=22000*10002000
=1024200*106000
<10800*106000
=106800
i.e.A<106800
i.e.B<6800*9=61200
i.e.C<5*9=45
i.e.D<2*9=18
i.e.E<=9
i.e.Eisasingledigitnumber.
Also,
1999=1(mod9)
so19991999=1(mod9)
ThereforeweconcludethatE=1.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00406
Whatisthefourdigitnumberinwhichthefirstdigitis1/3ofthe
second,thethirdis
thesumofthefirstandsecond,andthelastisthreetimesthesecond?
Submittedby:DanAllen
Answer
The4digitnumberis1349.
Itisgiventhatthefirstdigitis1/3ofthesecond.Thereare3such
possibilities.
1.1and3
2.2and6
3.3and9
Now,thethirddigitisthesumofthefirstandseconddigits.
1.1+3=4
2.2+6=8
3.3+9=12
Itisclearthatoption3isnotpossible.Soweareleftwithonlytwo
options.Also,the
lastdigitisthreetimesthesecond,whichrulesoutthesecondoption.
Hence,theanswer
is1349.
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00455
Findtheremainderof(2^n)/n
Submittedby:RupaReddy
Answer
Thereisnoregularpatternassuch,theremainderjustdependsonthe
valueofn.
*Ifnisthepowerof2(i.e1,2,4,8,...),theramainderis0.
*Ifnistheprimenumberandnotthepowerof2(i.e.3,5,7,11,13,
...),the
ramainderis2.
Forremainingcaseslike,evennumbersotherthanthepowerof2andodd
numbersotherthan
theprimenumbers,thereisnoregularpattern.Ifyougetsuchpattern,
doletallknow
!!!
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00049
Theaveragescoresoftheclassforexamareasfollow:
Averagescoreoftheboys=90
Averagescoreofthegirls=81
Averagescoreoftheclass=84
FindwhetherClasscontainsmoreBoysorGirls?
Answer
AssumethatthereareBboysandGgirlsintheClass.
Hencefromthegivendata:
90*B+81*G=84*(B+G)
90B+81G=84B+84G
6B=3G
2B=G
HencenumberofGirlsintheClassaretwicethenumberofBoys.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00078
PRIMALSERIES
Decidewhatthenext5figuresinthisseriesshouldbe:
0110101000101000101000
Answer
10000
Thetitleholdsahint,althoughthisisstillatoughpuzzle.The
seriesbeginswiththe
number1,&continuesthrough22,givinga1foreachprimenumber,&a
0foreachnumber
thatisnotprime.
Ofthelast5numbers(2327),only23isprime.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00605
"WeAmar,AkbarandAnthonyeachhavesomechildren.
1.Amarhasatleastonegirlandtwiceasmanyboysasgirls.
2.Akbarhasatleastonegirlandthreetimesasmanyboysasgirls.
3.Anthonyhasatleastonegirlandthreemoreboysthangirls.
4.WhenItellyouthenumberofchildrenwehavealtogetheranumber
lessthan25
youwillknowhowmanychildrenIhave,butnothowmanychildreneach
ofothershas."
Whoisthespeakerandhowmanychildrenhehave?
Answer
Amaristhespeakerandhehave6children.
Findoutpossiblenumberofchildreneachcanhaveandthenusetrialn
error.
From(1),Amarhasatleast3childrenandanynumberfrom
3,6,9,12,15,18,.....
From(2),Akbarhasatleast4childrenandanynumberfrom
4,8,12,16,20,24,.....
From(3),Anthonyhasatleast5childrenandanynumberfrom
5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,.....
From(4),totalnumberofchildrenareatmost24.Also,iftotalnumber
ofchildrenis
odd,Amarmusthaveanevennumberofchildrenandiftotalnumberof
childreniseven,
Amarmusthaveanoddnumberofchildren.
Usingsometrialnerror:
*Thetotalnumberofchildrencannotbe13asnothreenumbersone
fromeach
sequencecanaddupto13.
*Thetotalnumberofchildrencannotbe12,14,15,16or17asthere
isjustaone
waytogetthatsumbyaddinguponenumberfromeachsequence.Hence,
wewillknowhow
manychildrentheyindividuallyhave.Thus,contradictsthestatement
(4).
*Thetotalnumberofchildrencannotbe18,20,21,22,23or24as
thereare
multiplewaystogetthatsum.Hence,wewon'tknowhowmanychildren,
atleastoneofthem
have.Againcontradictingthestatement(4).
Thus,thetotalnumberofchildrenmustbe19andtherearetwopossible
cases:
1>Amar6,Akbar4,Anthony9
2>Amar6,Akbar8,Anthony5
Inboththecases,weknowthatAmarhave6childrenandhenceAmaris
thespeaker.
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00089
Thereare20poleswithaconstantdistancebetweeneachpole.Acar
takes24secondto
reachthe12thpole.
Howmuchwillittaketoreachthelastpole.
Answer
Thecarwilltake41.45secondstoreachthelastpole.
LetthedistancebetweentwopolesisX.
Thecartakes24secondstoreachthe12thpole.Itmeansittravels
distanceof11Xin24
seconds.
Toreachthe20thpolecarhastotravel19X.Sotimetakentoreach
thereis
=(19X*24)/11X
=(19*24)/11
=41.45seconds
============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00032
FindthesmallestnumberNwhichhasthefollowingproperties:
1.itsdecimalrepresentationhas6asthelastdigit.
2.Ifthelastdigit6iserasedandplacedinfrontoftheremaining
digits,the
resultingnumberisfourtimesasgreatastheoriginalnumberN.
Answer
Thesmallestsuchnumberis153846.
AssumethatthenumberNis
N=BnBn1Bn2...B3B26
asitsgiventhat6isthelastdigit.
Nowaftererasing6andputtingitinfrontoftheremainingdigits,we
get
Nnew=6BnBn1Bn2...B3B2
AlsogiventhatNnewis4timestheN.Alsonotethatthelastdigit
Nnewissecondlast
digitofNandsoon.Therequiredresultis
BnBn1Bn2...B3B26
X4
6BnBn1Bn2...B3B2
SostartmultiplyingandputnthdigitofNnewto(n+1)thdigitofN
andyouwillget
resultas
153846
X4
615384
Hence,thenumberis153846
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00167
Whatarethechancesthatatleasttwooutofagroupoffiftypeople
sharethesame
birthday?
Submittedby:Erin
Answer
Theprobabilityofatleasttwooutofagroupof50peoplesharethe
samebirthdayis97%
Probabilityofatleasttwosharethesamebirthday=1probabilityof
all50have
differentbirthdays
Probabilityofall50havedifferentbirthday
=365/365*364/365*363/365*...*317/365*316/365
=(365*364*363*362*...*317*316)/36550
=0.0296264
Probabilityofatleasttwosharethesamebirthday
=10.0296264
=0.9703735
=97%approx.
Thus,theprobabilityofatleasttwooutofagroupof50peopleshare
thesamebirthdayis
97%
Thisexplainswhyinaschool/collegewithclassroomsof50students,
thereareatleast
twostudentswithabirthdayonthesamedayoftheyear.Also,ifthere
are23peoplein
theroom,thenthereare50%chancesthatatleasttwoofthemhavea
birthdayonthesame
dayoftheyear!!!
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00168
ChintuputsomeBlackmarblesandsomeWhitemarblesintoajar.Hethen
askedhisbrother
Pintutotakeoutamarble.PintudrewoutaBlackmarble.Chintuasked
Pintutodrawout
anothermarble,andagainhedrewoutaBlackmarble.
PintuthoughttheremustbemoreBlackmarblesthanWhitemarblesinthe
jarandasked
Chintu,"IwonderwhatistheprobabilityofmedrawingaBlackmarble
onathirdtry?"
Chintureplied,"Exactly9/10ofwhatitwasofdrawingaBlackmarble
onyourfirstdraw."
CanyouhelpPintutodeterminehowmanymarblesofeachcolourhadbeen
inthejarinthe
beginning?Givetheminimalpossibleanswer.Also,Pintuknewthatthere
wereatleast
sevenmarblesinthejarinthebeginning.
Answer
Therewere8Blackmarblesand4Whitemarblesinthejar.
Let'sassumethatinitiallytherearetotalNmarbles.Also,BandWare
thenumberof
BlackandWhitemarblesrespectively.Thus,N=B+W
TheprobabilityofdrawingaBlackmarbleonthefirstdraw=B/(B+W)
Similarly,afterdrawing2Blackmarbles,theprobabilityofdrawinga
Blackmarbleonthe
thirddraw=(B2)/(B+W2)
ChintusaidthattheprobabilityofdrawingaBlackmarbleonthirddraw
(afterdrawing
Blackmarblesonfirsttwodraws)isexactly9/10ofwhatitwasof
drawingaBlackmarble
onfirstdraw.
(B2)/(B+W2)=(9/10)*B/(B+W)
10*(B+W)*(B2)=9*B*(B+W2)
10B220B+10BW20W=9B2+9BW18B
B22B+BW20W=0
WeknowthatN=B+W,hencesubstituteW=NB
B22B+B(NB)20(NB)=0
B22B+BNB220N+20B=0
18B+BN20N=0
B(18+N)=20N
B=20N/(18+N)
Now,weknowthatthevalueofNisatleast7.Hence,usingtrialn
errorontheequation,
theminimalvalueofNmustbe12sothatB=8andW=4.
Hence,initiallytherewere8Blackmarblesand4Whitemarblesinthe
jar.
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00669
Anna,herbrotherAndre,herdaughterAmi,andherson,Adamare
tennisplayers.Asa
gameofdoubles
1.Anna'sbrotherisdirectlyacrossthenetfromAmi.
2.Adamisdiagonallyacrossthenetfromtheworstplayer'ssibling.
3.Thebestplayerandtheworstplayerareonthesamesideofthe
net.
Whoisthebestplayer?
Answer
ThebestplayerisAndre.
Findoutallpossiblearrangementsuchthatnoconditionis
contradicted.
From(1),therearetwopossiblearrangements.Discardingtwo
arrangementswhichare
identicaltofollowingtwo.
AndreAnnaAndreAdam
AND
AmiAdamAmiAnna
(I)(II)
From(2),AnnaistheworstplayerinCaseIandAdamistheworst
playerinCaseII.
From(3),Andreisthebestplayerinboththecases.
Hence,thebestplayerisAndre.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00675
Elizabethisengaged.
*HerfianciseitherArthur,Barry,ColinorDerek.
*EachofthefourmenandElizabetheitheralwaystellsthetruthor
alwayslies.
*Arthursays:"Exactlyoneofusfourmenalwaystellsthetruth."
*Barrysays:"Exactlyoneofusfourmenalwaystellsthelies."
*Colinsays:"ArthurorBarryisElizabeth'sfianc."
*Elizabethsays:"MyfiancandIeitherbothalwaystelltruthor
bothalwayslie."
WhoisElizabeth'sfianc?
Answer
BarryisElizabeth'sfianc.
AnalysethestatementsmadebyColinandElizabethfirst.
From(6),ifElizabethalwaystellsthetruth,thenherfiancalways
tellsthetruthand
ifElizabethalwayslies,thenherfiancalwaystellsthetruth.
Hence,Elizabeth's
fiancalwaystellsthetruth.
Let'sassumethatstatementmadebyColin(5)isfalse.ThenColinlied
andDerekisthe
truthtellingfianc.ButthenstatementmadebyArthurcannotbetrue
(iftrue,then
thereare2truthtellerswhichcontradictsitself).Anditcannotbe
falseeither(if
false,thenthereareatleast2truthtellers,whichmakesBarry's
statementfalseand
hencethereisjustaonetruthtelleri.e.Derek,again
contradiction!!!).Hencestatement
madebyArthurcontradictsitself.SothestatementmadebyColinis
truei.e.Arthuror
BarryisElizabeth'sfianc.
AsstatementmadebyColinistrue,thestatementmadebyArthuris
false.Thenbecause
Elizabeth'sfiancalwaystellsthetruth,BarryisElizabeth's
fianc.Thenthe
statementmadebyBarryistrueandthusDerekalwaystellsthetruth.
Thus,BarryisElizabeth'sfianc.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00680
Agroupoffewerthan10girlsfoundanumberofgoldcoinswhichthey
wereabletodivide
equallyamongthem.
Afterthisdivisionhadbeendone,Lalitaoneofthegirls,suggested
thatitwouldbe
moreequitabletodividethegoldcoinsbyfamiliesratherthanby
individuals.Amongthe
them,thereweretwogroupswithtwosisters,ofcourseLalitawasnot
ineithergroup.The
restofthegirlswereunrelatedtoeachother.Aredivisionby
familieswouldhavemeant
thatthegoldcoinsperfamilywere5morethanthegoldcoinspergirl.
Thegirlsarguedamongthemselvesoverthiswayofdividingthegold
coins.Beforeafinal
decisionismade,Ashoneofthegirls,decidedthatshedidnotwant
anygoldcoins.Her
sharewasequallydivided(withoutbreaking/cuttinganygoldcoin)among
theothergirls.
Finally,Lalitadecidedtowithdrawhersuggestionofdividingthegold
coinsbyfamilies.
Howmanygirlswerethereandhowmanygoldcoinsdideachgirlendup
with?
Answer
Thereweretotal6girls.Eachendupwith12goldcoins.
Thenumberofgoldcoinsisevenlydivisiblebythenumberofgirlsas
wellasthenumber
offamilies.
Let'sassumethatNisthenumberofgoldcoinseachgirlreceived
initiallyandGisthe
totalnumberofgirls.
Then,totalnumberofgoldcoins=NG
Ifthegoldcoinshadbeendividedbyfamiliesratherthanby
individuals,thenumberof
recipientswouldbe(G2)andeachsharewouldbe(N+5).
Again,totalnumberofgoldcoins=(N+5)(G2)
But,thetotalnumberofthegoldcoinsisthesame.
NG=(N+5)(G2)
NG=NG2N+5G10
2N=5G10
N=(5/2)G5
Now,NandGarethepositiveintegersandalsototalnumberofgold
coinsmustbe
divisiblebyG,(G1)and(G2).ThisisbecauseinitiallytherewereG
girls;thensince
itwasdividedfamilywise,thetotalnumberofunits,thecoinswereto
bedividedwould
be(G2)(astwogroupshadtwosisters,sotwogirlsgotcombinedas
onegroup,oneper
group);andafterAshbackedout,therewere(G1)girls.
NowtryingdifferentEVENvaluesforG,startingwith2;therewere
total6girlsand60
goldcoins.Thegoldcoinsaredividedamong5girlsandhenceeachgirl
endsupwith12
goldcoins.
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00150
Whatarethenexttwolettersinthissequence?
A,B,H,F,M,C,I,G,T,D,O,?,?
Answer
ThenextlettersinthesequenceareJ,U,E,Xetc.
Aisthefirstletterofthealphabetwithsymmetryaboutthevertical
axis.Bisthefirst
letterofthealphabetwithsymmetryaboutthehorizontalaxis.Histhe
firstletterof
thealphabetwithsymmetryaboutboth,theverticalaxisandthe
horizontalaxis.Fisthe
firstletterofthealphabetwithnosymmetry.
Thesequencethenrepeatswiththesecondletterofthealphabetwith
symmetryaboutthe
verticalaxis,thehorizontalaxis,boththeaxesandnoaxesi.e.M,C,
IandG
ThethirdlettersofthealphabetareT,D,OandJ.
ThefourthlettersofthealphabetareU,E,XandL.
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00160
Afamilyphotocontained:
onegrandfather,onegrandmother;
twofathers,twomothers;
sixchildren,fourgrandchildren;
twobrothers,twosisters;
threesons,threedaughters;
onefatherinlaw,onemotherinlaw,onedaughterinlaw,onesonin
law
30peopleyoumaythink,butno,whatistheleastnumberofpeople
here?
Answer
Therearetotal8people.
Fourchildren2boysand2girls,theirmotherandfather,andoneset
ofgrandparents
EITHERmother'smotherandfather'sfatherORmother'sfatherand
father'smother.
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00263
Thereare4novelsThriller,Mystery,RomanceandScienceFiction
writenbyAmbrose,
Richards,HooperandWalsh,andpublishedbyAlpha,Beta,Gammaand
Thetanotin
necessarilyinthesameorder.
*ThebookbyAmbroseispublishedbyTheta.
*TheThrillerispublishedbyAlpha.
*TheScienceFictionnovelisbyHooperandisnotpublishedbyGamma.
*TheRomancenovelisbyWalsh.
WhoaretheAuthorandthePublisherofeachnovels?
Answer
(ThrillerRichardsAlpha),(MysteryAmbroseTheta),(RomanceWalsh
Gamma),(Science
FictionHooperBeta)
From(1),(2)and(3)theScienceFictionnovelisbyHooperand
publishedbyBeta.
From(4)theRomancenovelisbyWalshandpublishedbyGamma.
NowitisobviousthattheMysteryispublishedbyThetaandwrittenby
Ambrose.Andthe
ThrillerispublishedbyAlphaandwrittenbyRichards.
NovelTypeAuthorPublisher
ThrillerRichardsAlpha
MysteryAmbroseTheta
RomanceWalshGamma
ScienceFictionHooperBeta
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00103
Threefriendsdividedsomebulletsequally.Afterallofthemshot4
bulletsthetotal
numberofbulletsremainingisequaltothebulletseachhadafter
division.Findthe
originalnumberdivided.
Answer
18
Assumethatinitialtherewere3*Xbullets.
SotheygotXbulletseachafterdivision.
Allofthemshot4bullets.Sonowtheyhave(X4)bulletseach.
Butitisgiventhat,aftertheyshot4bulletseach,totalnumberof
bulletsremainingis
equaltothebulletseachhadafterdivisioni.e.X
Therefore,theequationis
3*(X4)=X
3*X12=X
2*X=12
X=6
Thereforethetotalbulletsbeforedivisionis=3*X=18
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00278
Whatarethenexttwointheseries?
st,nd,rd,th,th,...,...
Submittedby:ChristopherColon
Answer
Theansweristhandth
Thepatternisthesuffixofeachnumberwhencountedi.e.1st,2nd,
3rd,4th,5th,6th,
7thandsoon
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00288
FivefriendswithsurnameBatliwala,Pocketwala,Talawala,Chunawalaand
Natakwalahave
theirfirstnameandmiddlenameasfollow.
1.FourofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofParesh.
2.ThreeofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofKamlesh.
3.TwoofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofNaresh.
4.OneofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofElesh.
5.PocketwalaandTalawala,eitherbotharenamedKamleshorneitheris
namedKamlesh.
6.EitherBatliwalaandPocketwalabotharenamedNareshorTalawalaand
Chunawalaboth
arenamedNaresh.
7.ChunawalaandNatakwalaarenotbothnamedParesh.
WhoisnamedElesh?
Answer
PocketwalaisnamedElesh.
From(1)and(7),itisclearthatBatliwala,PocketwalaandTalawala
arenamedParesh.
From(6)and(5),ifPocketwalaorTalawalabotharenamedKamlesh,then
eitherofthem
willhavethreenamesi.e.Paresh,KamleshandNaresh.Hence,Pocketwala
andTalawalaboth
arenotnamedKamlesh.ItmeansthatBatliwala,ChunawalaandNatakwala
arenamedKamlesh.
NowitisclearthatTalawalaandChunawalaarenamedNaresh.Also,
Pocketwalaisnamed
Elesh.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00414
Sarikamultiplied414bycertainnumberandobtained69958asthe
answer.Butshefound
thatthereissomeerrorintheanswerboththe9sintheanswerare
wrongandallthe
otherdigitsarecorrect.
Canyoufindthecorrectanswer?
Answer
Thecorrectansweris60858.
Ifyoudivide69958by414,youwillget168.98.Hence,assumesome
threedigitnumberand
multiplyitby414anduse6**58astheanswer.
Assumethreedigitnumbersuchthat
***
414
***
***0
***00
6**58
Itisobviousthatthelastdigitoftheassumednumbermustbe7.
**7
414
**8
**70
**800
6**58
Now,thesecondlastdigitoftheassumednumbermustbe4or9.Also,
thefirstdigitof
theassumednumbermustbe1asthefirstdigitoftheansweris6.
Usingtrialanderror
forabovetwoconditions,theansweris
147
414
588
1470
58800
60858
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00422
01121213221312241313221???
Answer
Thenextthreenumbersare4,2and2
Thepatternisthenumberoffactorsinprimefactorizationof
positiveintegers.Note
thatallprimenumberpositionsare1inthegivenseries.
NumberPrimeFactorizationFactorsinPrimeFactorization
110
221
331
42*22
551
62*32
771
82*2*23
93*32
102*52
Thus,thenextfewnumbersinthegivenseriesare:
42233131522241224131332152323142422
1...
Notethat1isneitheraPrimenumbernoraCompositenumber.
===========================================================
BrainTeaserNo:00464
Findthenexttwonumbersintheseries:
1,8,11,18,80,81,_,_
Answer
Thepatternis:thelistofpositiveintegersbeginningwithaVOWEL.
1(One),8(Eight),11(Eleven),18(Eighteen),80(Eighty),81(Eightyone)
Hence,thenextnumbersare82(Eightytwo),83(Eightythree),84(Eighty
four),.....
Itisnotaseriescompriseof0,1and8.Ifso,10mustbethere.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00154
Thereare4mugsplacedupturnedonthetable.Eachmughavethesame
numberofmarblesand
astatementaboutthenumberofmarblesinit.Thestatementsare:Two
orThree,Oneor
Four,ThreeorOne,OneorTwo.
Onlyoneofthestatementiscorrect.Howmanymarblesarethereunder
eachmug?
Answer
Asimpleone.
Asitisgiventhatonlyoneofthefourstatementiscorrect,the
correctnumbercannot
appearinmorethanonestatement.Ifitappearsinmorethanone
statement,thenmorethan
onestatementwillbecorrect.
Hence,thereare4marblesundereachmug.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00254
OneofthefourpeopleMr.Clinton,hiswifeMonika,theirsonMandy
andtheirdaughter
Cindyisasingerandanotherisadancer.Mr.Clintonisolderthan
hiswifeandMadyis
olderthanhissister.
1.Ifthesingerandthedancerarethesamesex,thenthedanceris
olderthanthe
singer.
2.Ifneitherthesingernorthedanceristheparentoftheother,then
thesingeris
olderthanthedancer.
3.Ifthesingerisaman,thenthesingerandthedancerarethesame
age.
4.Ifthesingerandthedancerareofoppositesexthenthemanis
olderthanthe
woman.
5.Ifthedancerisawoman,thenthedancerisolderthanthesinger.
Whoseoccupationdoyouknow?Andwhatishis/heroccupation?
Answer
CindyistheSinger.Mr.ClintonorMonikaistheDancer.
From(1)and(3),thesingerandthedancer,bothcannotbeaman.From
(3)and(4),if
thesingerisaman,thenthedancermustbeaman.Hence,thesinger
mustbeawoman.
CASEI:SingerisawomanandDancerisalsoawoman
Then,thedancerisMonikaandthesingerisCindy.
CASEII:SingerisawomanandDancerisalsoaman
Then,thedancerisMr.ClintonandthesingerisCindy.
Inboththecases,weknowthatCindyistheSinger.AndeitherMr.
ClintonorMonikais
theDancer.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00272
Whatarethenexttwonumbersinthisseries?
1,4,1,5,9,2,_,_
Answer
Nexttwonumbersare6and5.
ThepattenistheeachdigitinthevalueofPIafterthedecimalpoint.
Thevalueof
mathematicalconstantPIis3.1415926536.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00275
Therearetworopes.Eachonecanburninexactlyonehour.Theyarenot
necessarilyofthe
samelengthorwidthaseachother.Theyalsoarenotofuniformwidth
(maybethiner/wider
inmiddlethanontheend),thusburninghalfoftheropeisnot
necessarily1/2hour.
Byburningtheropes,howdoyoumeasureexactly45minutesworthof
time?
Answer
Ifyoulightbothendsofoneropesimultaneously,itwillburnin
exactlya1/2hour.
Thus,burnoneropefrombothendsandtheotherropefromonlyoneend.
Oncetheonerope
(whichisburningfrombothends)finallyburnsout(andyouknowa1/2
hourhaselapsed),
youalsoknowthattheotherrope(whichisburningfromonlyoneend)
hasexactly1/2hour
lefttoburn.Sinceyouonlywant45minutes,lightthesecondendof
therope.This
remainingpiecewillburnin15minutes.Thus,totaling45minutes.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00393
Whichofthefollowingday(s)can'tbethelastdayofacentury?
Sunday,Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday
Justifyyouranswer.
Answer
ThelastdayofacenturycannotbeTuesday,ThursdayorSaturday.
Anormalyearhas365dayswhereasaleapyearhas366days.Everyyear
whichisdivisible
by4iscalledaleapyear.Also,every4thcenturyisaleapyearbut
noothercenturyis
aleapyear.
1normalyear=365days=52weeks+1day
1leapyear=366days=52weeks+2day
Thus,anormalyearhas1odddaywhereasaleapyearhas2odddays.
100years
=76normalyears+24leapyears
=76*[52weeks+1day]+24*[52weeks+2day]
=(76*52)weeks+76days+(24*52)weeks+48days
=5200weeks+124days
=5217weeks+5days
i.e.100yearscontain5odddays
Similarly,
200yearscontain10odddaysi.e.3odddays.
300yearscontain15odddaysi.e.1odddays.
400yearscontain(20+1)odddaysi.e.0odddays.
Notethat400yearscontainonemoreleapyear.
Also,wehaveSundayfor0oddday,Mondayfor1oddday,Tuesdayfor2
odddays,andso
on...
Thus,lastdayoffirstcenturyisFriday.(5odddays)
LastdayofsecondcenturyisWednesday.(3odddays)
LastdayofthirdcenturyisMonday.(1odddays)
LastdayofforthcenturyisSunday.(0odddays)
Sincetheorderisrepeatinginsuccessivecycles,thelastdayofa
centurycannotbe
Tuesday,ThursdayorSaturday.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00474
Givenanywholenumbertakethesumofthedigits,andtheproductof
thedigits,and
multiplythesetogethertogetanewwholenumber.
Forexample,startingwith6712,thesumofthedigitsis(6+7+1+2)=
16,andtheproduct
ofthedigitsis(6*7*1*2)=84.Theanswerinthiscaseisthen84x16
=1344.
Ifwedothisagainstartingfrom1344,weget(1+3+4+4)*(1*3*4*4)=
576
Andyetagain(5+7+6)*(5*7*6)=3780
Atthisstageweknowwhatthenextanswerwillbe(withoutworkingit
out)because,asone
digitis0,theproductofthedigitswillbe0,andhencetheanswer
willalsobe0.
Canyoufindanynumberstowhichwhenweapplytheabovementionedrule
repeatedly,we
neverendupat0?
Answer
Threesuchnumbersare1,135and144.
Itseemsthatmostnumberswilleventuallyendupat0whenweapplythe
rulerepeatedly.
Butthereareafewnumbersthathavethepropertythatwhenweapply
therulerepeatedly,
weneverendupat0.
Startwith332,thenweget(3+3+2)*(3*3*2)=144
Andthen(1+4+4)*(1*4*4)=144
Thusifwereach144,westaytherehowevermanytimesweapplythis
rule.Wesaythat144
isfixedbythisrule.Nowtry233or98or332or1224.Theyallfall
intothesamegroup
i.e.wereach144.
Thereisanothernumberthatisfixedbythisrule;itis1(becausethe
sumofthedigits
of1is1,andtheproductofthedigitsis1so,startingwith1,the
answeris1*1=
1).
Andthethirdoneis135.
Ifyouknowsomeothernumbers,doletusknow.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00510
true.
WHOSE
TEETH
ARE
+AS
SWORDS
mustbeaonetoone
letterH,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherHinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Answer
ItisobviousthatS=1andT=9.
Also,(H+E)shouldbegreaterthan10andhence,(E+H+E)must20.
Thus,thereare3
possiblevaluesfor(E,H)pair:(6,8)or(7,6)or(8,4).Usetrial
nerrorand
everythingwillfitin.
WHOSE28516
TEETH96698
ARE476
+AS+41
SWORDS125731
==============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00595
true.
I
AGREE
+ITS
TOUGH
mustbeaonetoone
letterS,noother
Answer
I=7,A=2,G=9,R=4,E=5,T=3,S=6,O=0,G=9,H=8
ItisobviousthatT=A+1.Also,G=9,O=0andR+I>10.Hence,T>1
Theremustbeacarryfromtheunits.HenceE+T=8.So(E,T)canbe(6,
2),(5,3),(3,5),
(2,6)or(1,7).
Now,usetrialnerrorandsolveit.
I7
AGREE29455
+ITS+736
TOUGH30198
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00010
Inacontestofintelligence,threeproblemsA,BandCwereposed.
*Amongthecontestantstherewere25whosolvedatleastoneproblem
each.
*OfallthecontestantswhodidnotsolveproblemA,thenumberwho
solvedBwastwice
thenumberwhosolvedC.
*ThenumberofparticipantswhosolvedonlyproblemAwasonemorethan
thenumberwho
solvedproblemAandatleastoneotherproblem.
*Ofallstudentswhosolvedjustoneproblem,halfdidnotsolve
problemA.
HowmanystudentssolvedonlyproblemB?
Answer
6studentssolvedonlyproblemB
X=>StudentswhosolvedonlyproblemA
Y=>StudentswhosolvedonlyproblemB
Z=>StudentswhosolvedonlyproblemC
P=>StudentswhosolvedbothproblemBandproblemC
From4:
StudentswhosolvedonlyproblemA=StudentswhosolvedonlyproblemB
+Studentswho
solvedonlyproblemC
X=Y+Z
From3:
StudentswhosolvedproblemAandatleastoneother=X1
From2:
(Y+P)=2*(Z+P)
Y+P=2*Z+2*P
Z=(YP)/2
From1andFigure:
X+X1+Y+Z+P=25
2*X+Y+Z+P=26
2*(Y+Z)+Y+Z+P=26(from4)
3*Y+3*Z+P=26
3*Y+3*(YP)/2+P=26(from2)
6*Y+3*Y3*P+2*P=52
9*YP=52
Y=(52+P)/9
Now,itisobviousthatallvaluesareinteger.Hence,Pmustbe2andY
mustbe6.
So6studentssolvedonlyproblemB.
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00355
Montu,Bantu,ChantuandPintuhavepets.
Montusays,"IfPintuandIeachhaveadog,thenexactlyoneofBantu
andChantuhasa
dog."
Bantusays,"IfChantuandIeachhaveacat,thenexactlyoneofMontu
andPintuhasa
dog."
Chantusays,"IfMontuandIeachhaveadog,thenexactlyoneofBantu
andPintuhasa
cat."
Pintusays,"IfBantuandIeachhaveacat,thenexactlyoneofBantu
andIhasadog."
Onlyoneofthefouristellingthetruth.Whoistellingthetruth?
Answer
Bantuistellingthetruth.
ForaIFTHENstatementtobefalse,IFparthastobetrueandTHEN
parthastobefalse.
Sinceonlyonestatementistrueandremainingthreearefalse,IFpart
ofthreestatements
aretrue&THENpartofonestatementistrue.Let'sputthegiven
informationintable.
ThepetnameinthenormaltextrepresentstheIFpartandthepetname
inroundbrackets
representstheTHENpart.
MontuBantuChantuPintu
MontusaysDog(Dog)(Dog)Dog
Bantusays(Dog)CatCat(Dog)
ChantusaysDog(Cat)Dog(Cat)
PintusaysCat
(Dog)Cat
(Dog)
ItisclearthattheIFpartofthestatementsmadebyMontu,Chantuand
Pintuaretrueas
theydonotcontradicteachother.AndtheIFpartofthestatementmade
byBantuisfalse.
Thus,Bantuistellingthetruth.
MontuhaveaDogandmayormaynothaveaCat.
BantuhaveaCat.
ChantuhaveaDog.
PintuhaveaDogandaCat.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00496
Karanboughtalittleboxofmidgetmatches,eachoneinchinlength.He
foundthathe
couldarrangethemallintheformofatrianglewhoseareawasjustas
manysquareinches
astherewerematches.
Hethenusedupsixofthematches,andfoundthatwiththeremainderhe
couldagain
constructanothertrianglewhoseareawasjustasmanysquareinchesas
therewerematches.
Andusinganothersixmatcheshecouldagaindopreciselythesame.
Howmanymatcheswerethereintheboxoriginally?
Notethatthematchboxcanholdmaximumof50matches.
Answer
Initially,therewere42or36matchesinthematchbox.
Thereare42matchesintheboxwithwhichhecouldformatriangle20,
15,7,withanarea
of42squareinches.After6matcheshadbeenused,theremaining36
matcheswouldforma
triangle17,10,9,withanareaof36squareinches.Afterusing
another6matches,the
remaining30matcheswouldformatriangle13,12,5,withanareaof30
squareinches.
Afterusinganother6,the24remainingwouldformatriangle10,8,6,
withanareaof24
squareinches.
Thus,therearetwopossibleanswers.Therewereeither42or36matches
inthematchbox.
Alsoitisinterestingtoknowthattherearejust5suchtrianglesfor
whichtheperimeter
andtheareaisthesame(assumingallsidesareintegers)andthey
are:
1.24(10,8,6)
2.30(13,12,5)
3.36(17,10,9)
4.42(20,15,7)
5.60(29,25,6)
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00524
LastSaturdayMilanwentforthelatenightshowandcamelate.Inthe
morningfamily
membersaskedhimwhichmoviedidhesee.Hegavedifferentanswersto
everyone.
*HetoldtohisfatherthathehadgonetoseeMONEY.
*Accordingtohismom,hesaweitherJOHNYorBABLU.
*HiselderbrothercametoknowthathesawBHABI.
*Tohissister,hetoldROBOT.
*AndhisgrandpaheardthathesawBUNNY.
Thus,Milangavesixmovienames,allfiveletterwords.Buthesawsome
othermoviewith
fiveletterword.Moreover,eachofthesixmovienamesmentionedabove
hasexactlytwo
letterscommonwiththemoviehesaw.(withthesamepositions)
CanyoutellwhichmoviedidMilansee?
Answer
MilansawBOBBY.
ThesixmovienamesareMONEY,JOHNY,BABLU,BHABI,ROBOTandBUNNY.
CompareMONEYandJOHNY.TheyhaveOcommonatthesecondplaceandY
commonatthefifth
place.Also,theycan'thavetwodifferentletterseach,commonwiththe
requiredmovieas
thelettersinremainingthreeplacesarealldifferent.Thus,the
requiredmoviemusthave
eitherOatthesecondplaceorYatthefifthplaceorboth.
Similarly,comparingJOHNYandBUNNYtherequiredmoviemusthave
eitherNatthefourth
placeorYatthefifthplaceorboth.Also,comparingMONEYandBUNNY
therequiredmovie
musthaveeitherNatthethirdplaceorYatthefifthplaceorboth.
Fromtheabove3deduction,eitherYisatfifthplaceorOisatthe
secondplaceandNis
atthethird&fourthplace.Thelatercombinationisnotpossibleas
BABLU,BHABI&ROBOT
willneedatleast3otherletterswhichmakestherequiredmovie6
letterlong.Hence,the
requiredmoviemusthaveYatthefifthplace.
NowYisnotthereinBABLUandBHABIatthefifthplaceandtheyhave
onlyBcommonatthe
firstplace.Hence,Bmustbethefirstletter.
AsBisatthefirstplaceandYisatthefifthplaceandeverymovie
hasexactly2
letterscommonwiththerequiredmovie.FromBUNNY,therequiredmovie
donothaveUatthe
secondplaceandNatthethirdandfourthplace.NowlookingatJOHNY
andMONEY,theymust
haveOcommonatthesecondplace.
UsingthesamekindofargumentsforBABLU,BHABIandROBOT,wecan
concludethatMilansaw
BOBBY.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00499
Sixcabinsnumbered16consecutively,arearrangedinarowandare
separatedbythin
dividers.Thesecabinsmustbeassignedtosixstaffmembersbasedon
followingfacts.
1.MissShalaka'sworkrequireshertospeakonthephonefrequently
throughouttheday.
2.MissShudhapreferscabinnumber5as5isherluckynumber.
3.Mr.ShaanandMr.Sharmaoftentalktoeachotherduringtheirwork
andprefersto
haveadjacentcabins.
4.Mr.Sinha,Mr.ShaanandMr.Solankiallsmoke.MissShudhais
allergictosmokeand
musthavenonsmokersadjacenttoher.
5.Mr.Solankineedssilenceduringwork.
Canyoutellthecabinnumbersofeachofthem?
Answer
Thecabinsfromlefttoright(16)areofMr.Solanki,Mr.Sinha,Mr.
Shaan,Mr.Sharma,
MissShudhaandMissShalaka.
From(2),cabinnumber5isassignedtoMissShudha.
AsMissShudhaisallergictosmokeandMr.Sinha,Mr.Shaan&Mr.
Solankiallsmoke,they
mustbeincabinnumbers1,2and3notnecessarilyinthesameorder.
Also,MissShalaka
andMr.Sharmamustbeincabin4and6.
From(3),Mr.Shaanmustbeincabin3andMr.Sharmamustbeincabin
4.Thus,Miss
Shalakaisincabin6.
AsMr.SolankineedssilenceduringworkandMr.Shaanisincabin3who
oftentalkstoMr.
Sharmaduringwork,Mr.Solankimustbeincabin1.Hence,Mr.Sinhais
incabin2.
Thus,thecabinsnumbersare
1#Mr.Solanki,
2#Mr.Sinha,
3#Mr.Shaan,
4#Mr.Sharma,
5#MissShudha,
6#MissShalaka
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00541
ACARhasavalueof1andaTRACTORhasavalueof2.
WhatisthevalueofanAIRPLANE?NotethatAIRPLANEcostsmorethanCAR
orTRACTOR.
Submittedby:Lynda
Answer
AIRPLANEhasavalueof4.
Thevalueofeachvehicleequalsthetotalnumberofvowelsintheword.
CARhas1voweli.e.A
TRACTORhas2vowelsi.e.AO
AIRPLANEhas4vowelsi.e.AIAE
Thereisonemorepossibleanswer:Thevalueofeachvehicleequalsthe
totalnumberof
DISTINCTvowelsintheword.SothevalueofAIRPLANEwillbe3.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00235
Consideranumber235,wherelastdigitisthesumoffirsttwodigits
i.e.2+3=5.
Howmanysuch3digitnumbersarethere?
Answer
Thereare45different3digitnumbers.
Thelastdigitcannotbe0.
Ifthelastdigitis1,theonlypossiblenumberis101.(Notethat011
isnota3digit
number)
Ifthelastdigitis2,thepossiblenumbersare202and112.
Ifthelastdigitis3,thepossiblenumbersare303,213and123.
Ifthelastdigitis4,thepossiblenumbersare404,314,224and134.
Ifthelastdigitis5,thepossiblenumbersare505,415,325,235and
145.
NotethepatternhereIfthelastdigitis1,thereisonlyone
number.Ifthelastdigit
is2,therearetwonumbers.Ifthelastdigitis3,therearethree
numbers.Ifthelast
digitis4,therearefournumbers.Ifthelastdigitis5,thereare
fivenumbers.Andso
on.....
Thus,totalnumbersare
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9=45
Altogetherthen,thereare45different3digitnumbers,wherelast
digitisthesumof
firsttwodigits.
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00284
Whilesittinginaclubwhereallsinglementellthetruthandall
marriedmenlie,a
womanisapproachedbythreemen.
Sheasksthefirstguyifheismarried,butthemusicissoloudthat
shecannothearhis
answer.
Sosheturnstothesecondguy,whotellsher,"Thefirstguysaid,'I
ammarried',buthe
isreallysingle."
Thensheturnstothethirdguy,whosays,"Thesecondguyissingle."
Canyoudeterminethemaritalstatusofeachofthethreemen?
Submittedby:Marie
Answer
Allthreearemarried.
Asinglemanwouldalwayssaythatheissingle.Andamarriedmanwould
alsoalwayssay
thatheissingle.Itmeansthatnomanintheclubwouldsaythatheis
married.Thus,the
secondmanislying,sothesecondmanismarried.
Sincethesecondman(alwayslies)saysthefirstmanissingle,the
firstmanismarried.
Similarly,thethirdmanincorrectlysaysthatthesecondmanissingle.
Hence,thethird
manislyingandheismarried.
Thus,allthreearelyingandhence,married.
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00435
GET
NUT|GINGER
|NUT
EINE
GUAO
TTOR
EOGD
UAO
mustbeaonetoone
letterU,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherUinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
I=0,G=1,E=2,T=3,A=4,R=5,O=6,U=7,N=8,D=9
Atafirstglance,itisobviousthatG=1,E=2andT=3.Everythingelse
isprettysimple
now.
123
873|108125
|873
2082
1746
3365
2619
746
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00023
Thereisagridof20squaresby10squares.Howmanydifferent
rectanglesarepossible?
Notethatsquareisarectangle.
Answer
11550
TheGenericsolutiontothisis:
Totalnumberofrectangles=(Summationofrownumbers)*(Summationof
columnnumbers)
Herethereare20rowsand10columnsorviceversa.Hence,total
possiblerectangles
=(20+19+18+17+16+....+3+2+1)*(10+9+8+7+....
+3+2+1)
=(210)*(55)
=11550
Hence,total11,550differentrectanglesarepossible.
Ifyoudon'tbelieveit,tryformulaonsomesmallergridslike4x2,
3x2,3x3etc...
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00115
Fourprisonersescapefromaprison.
Theprisoners,Mr.East,Mr.West,Mr.South,Mr.Northheadtowards
differentdirections
afterescaping.
Thefollowinginformationoftheirescapewassupplied:
*TheescaperouteswereNorthRoad,SouthRoad,EastRoadandWestRoad
*Noneoftheprisonerstooktheroadwhichwastheirnamesake
*Mr.EastdidnottaketheSouthRoad
*Mr.WestdidnottheSouthRoad
*TheWestRoadwasnottakenbyMr.East
Whatroaddideachoftheprisonerstaketomaketheirescape?
Answer
Putallthegiveninformationintothetablestructureasfollow:
NorthRoadSouthRoadEastRoadWestRoad
Mr.NorthNo
Mr.SouthNo
Mr.EastNoNoNo
Mr.WestNoNo
Nowfromtable,twothingsareobviousandtheyare:
*Mr.NorthtooktheSouthRoad
*Mr.EasttooktheNorthRoad
Putthisinformationintothetable,Alsokeepinmindthatthe
prisonersheadtowards
differentdirectionsafterescaping.
NorthRoadSouthRoadEastRoadWestRoad
Mr.NorthNoYESNoNo
Mr.SouthNoNo
Mr.EastYESNoNoNo
Mr.WestNoNoNo
Nowfromthetable:
*Mr.WesttooktheEastRoad
*Mr.SouthtooktheWestRoad
Sotheansweris:
*Mr.NorthtooktheSouthRoad
*Mr.SouthtooktheWestRoad
*Mr.EasttooktheNorthRoad
*Mr.WesttooktheEastRoad
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00216
WhenSocrateswasimprisonedforbeingadisturbinginfluence,hewas
heldinhighesteem
byhisguards.Allfourofthemhopedthatsomethingwouldoccurthat
wouldfacilitatehis
escape.Oneevening,theguardwhowasondutyintentionallyleftthe
celldooropenso
thatSocratescouldleavefordistantparts.
Socratesdidnotattempttoescape,asitwashisphilosophythatifyou
acceptsociety's
rules,youmustalsoacceptit'spunishments.However,theopendoorwas
consideredbythe
authoritiestobeaseriousmatter.Itwasnotclearwhichguardwason
thatevening.The
fourguardsmakethefollowingstatementsintheirdefense:
Aaron:
A)Ididnotleavethedooropen.
B)Clementwastheonewhodidit.
Bob:
A)Iwasnottheonewhowasondutythatevening.
B)Aaronwasonduty.
Clement:
A)Bobwastheoneondutythatevening.
B)IhopedSocrateswouldescape.
David:
A)Ididnotleavethedooropen.
B)IwasnotsurprisedthatSocratesdidnotattempttoescape.
Consideringthat,intotal,threestatementsaretrue,andfive
statementsarefalse,which
guardisguilty?
Answer
Davidistheguilty.
Notethat"Allfourofthemhopedthatsomethingwouldoccurthatwould
facilitatehis
escape".ItmakesClement'sstatementBTrueandDavid'sstatementB
False.
Nowconsidereachofthemasaguilty,oneatatime.
AaronBobClementDavidTrue
Stmts
ABABABAB
IfAaronisguiltyFalseFalseTrueTrueFalseTrueTrueFalse4
IfBobisguiltyTrueFalseFalseFalseTrueTrueTrueFalse4
IfClementisguiltyTrueTrueTrueFalseFalseTrueTrueFalse5
IfDavidisguiltyTrueFalseTrueFalseFalseTrueFalseFalse3
Sinceintotal,threestatementsaretrueandfivestatementsarefalse.
Itisclearfrom
theabovetablethatDavidistheguity.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00296
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingsubtraction
problemtrue.
SANTA
CLAUS
XMAS
mustbeaonetoone
letterM,noother
Answer
Oneofthesimplestbrainteaserastherearetotal26possibleanswers.
ItisobviousthatS=C+1.SinceAS=S,itisclearthatA=2*Sor2*s10.
Also,LandXare
interchangeable.
SANTACLAUS=XMAS
2403416492=7542
2403417492=6542
2407415432=8642
2407418432=5642
2453416492=8042
2453418492=6042
2479416452=8342
2479418452=6342
2480415462=9342
2480419462=5342
2497416432=8542
2497418432=6542
3680627643=9163
3680629643=7163
3615627693=8463
3615628693=7463
6213254206=7926
6213257206=4926
6217253246=8926
6217258246=3926
6240253276=9126
6240259276=3126
6271253286=9426
6271259286=3426
6293258206=4726
6293254206=8726
========================
BrainTeaserNo:00844
Scientistdecidedtodoastudyonthepopulationgrowthofrabbits.
Insideacontrolled
environment,1000rabbitswereplaced.
Sixmonthslater,therewere1000Zrabbits.Atthebeginningofthe3rd
year,therewere
roughly2828Zrabbits,whichwas4timeswhatthescientistsplacedin
thereatthe
beginningofthe1styear.
IfZisapositivevariable,howmanyrabbitswouldbethereatthe
beginningofthe11th
year?
Submittedby:DavidJohnson
Answer
Atthebeginningofthe11thyear,therewouldbe1,024,000rabbits.
Atthebeginning,therewere1000rabbits.Also,therewere4000rabbits
atthebeginning
ofthirdyearwhichisequalto2828Z.Thus,Z=4000/2828i.e.1.414
(thesquarerootof
2)
Notethat2828Zcanberepresentedas2000*Z*Z(Z=1.414),whichcanbe
furthersimplified
as1000*Z*Z*Z*Z
Also,itisgiventhatattheendof6months,therewere1000Zrabbits.
Itisclearthatthepopulationgrowthis1.414timeseverysixmonths
i.e.2timesevery
year.AfterNyears,thepopulationwouldbe1000*(Z^(2N))i.e.
1000*(2^N)
Thus,atthebeginningofthe11thyear(i.e.after10years),there
wouldbe1000*(2^10)
i.e.1,024,000rabbits.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00036
Anumberof9digitshasthefollowingproperties:
*Thenumbercomprisingtheleftmosttwodigitsisdivisibleby2,that
comprisingthe
leftmostthreedigitsisdivisibleby3,theleftmostfourby4,the
leftmostfiveby5,
andsoonfortheninedigitsofthenumberi.e.thenumberformedfrom
thefirstndigits
isdivisiblebyn,2<=n<=9.
*Eachdigitinthenumberisdifferenti.e.nodigitsarerepeated.
*Thedigit0doesnotoccurinthenumberi.e.itiscomprisedonlyof
thedigits19
insomeorder.
Findthenumber.
Answer
Theansweris381654729
OnewaytosolveitisTrial&Error.Youcanmakeitbiteasierasodd
positionswill
alwaysoccupyODDnumbersandevenpositionswillalwaysoccupyEVEN
numbers.Further5th
positionwillcontain5as0doesnotoccur.
Theotherwaytosolvethisproblemisbywritingacomputerprogram
thatsystematically
triesallpossibilities.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00127
Grassinlawngrowsequallythickandinauniformrate.Ittakes24
daysfor70cowsand
60daysfor30cowstoeatthewholeofthegrass.
Howmanycowsareneededtoeatthegrassin96days?
Answer
20cows
ggrassatthebeginning
rrateatwhichgrassgrows,perday
yrateatwhichonecoweatsgrass,perday
nnoofcowstoeatthegrassin96days
Fromgivendata,
g+24*r=70*24*yA
g+60*r=30*60*yB
g+96*r=n*96*yC
Solvingfor(BA),
(60*r)(24*r)=(30*60*y)(70*24*y)
36*r=120*yD
Solvingfor(CB),
(96*r)(60*r)=(n*96*y)(30*60*y)
36*r=(n*9630*60)*y
120*y=(n*9630*60)*y[FromD]
120=(n*961800)
n=20
Hence,20cowsareneededtoeatthegrassin96days.
=============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00164
WORLD
+TRADE
CENTER
mustbeaonetoone
letterW,noother
lettercanbe3andallotherWinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Answer
Atoughone.
ItisobviousthatC=1.Also,themaximumpossiblevalueofEis7.Now,
startputting
possiblevaluesofD,EandRastheyoccurefrequentlyandusetrialn
error.
WORLD53684
+TRADE+76042
CENTER129726
=============================================
BrainTeaserNo:00391
Inthefollowingmultiplication,certaindigitshavebeenreplacedwith
asterisks(*).
Replacealltheasteriskssuchthattheproblemholdstheresult.
**7
X3**
*0*3
*1*
*5*
*7**3
Answer
Asimpleone.
117
X319
1053
117
351
37323
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00468
Ablindfoldedmanisaskedtositinthefrontofacarromboard.The
holesoftheboard
areshutwithlidsinrandomorder,i.e.anynumberofallthefour
holescanbeshutor
open.
Nowthemanissupposedtotouchanytwoholesatatimeandcandothe
following.
*Opentheclosedhole.
*Closetheopenhole.
*Lettheholebeasitis.
Afterhehasdoneit,thecarromboardisrotatedandagainbroughtto
someposition.The
manisagainnotawareofwhataretheholeswhichareopenorclosed.
Howmanyminimumnumberofturnsdoestheblindfoldedmanrequireto
eitheropenallthe
holesorclosealltheholes?
Notethatwheneveralltheholesareeitheropenorclose,therewillbe
analarmsothat
theblindfoldedmanwillknowthathehaswon.
Submittedby:VikrantRamteke
Answer
Theblindfoldedmanrequires5turns.
1.Opentwoadjacentholes.
2.Opentwodiagonalholes.Nowatleast3holesareopen.If4thholeis
alsoopen,then
youaredone.Ifnot,the4thholeisclose.
3.Checktwodiagonalholes.
*Ifoneisclose,openitandalltheholesareopen.
*Ifbothareclose,openanyonehole.Now,twoholesareopenandtwo
are
close.Thediagonalholesareintheoppositestatusi.e.inboththe
diagonals,onehole
isopenandoneisclose.
4.Checkanytwoadjacentholes.
*Ifbothareopen,closebothofthem.Now,allholesareclose.
*Ifbothareclose,openbothofthem.Now,allholesareopen.
*Ifoneisopenandoneisclose,invertthemi.e.closetheopenhole
andopen
theclosehole.Now,thediagonalholesareinthesamestatusi.e.two
holesinone
diagonalareopenandinotherareclose.
5.Checkanytwodiagonalholes.
*Ifbothareopen,closebothofthem.Now,allholesareclose.
*Ifbothareclose,openbothofthem.Now,allholesareopen.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00807
Howmanypossiblecombinationsarethereina3x3x3rubicscube?
Inotherwords,ifyouwantedtosolvetherubicscubebytrying
differentcombinations,
howmanymightittakeyou(worstcasesenerio)?
Howmanyfora4x4x4cube?
Submittedby:SarahFlod
Answer
Thereare4.3252*10^19possiblecombinationsfor3x3x3Rubicsand
7.4012*10^45possible
combinationsfor4x4x4Rubics.
Let'sconsider3x3x3Rubicsfirst.
Thereare8cornercubes,whichcanbearrangedin8!ways.
Eachofthese8cubescanbeturnedin3differentdirections,sothere
are3^8
orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneofthecornercube
intochosen
positionsandorientations,onlyoneof3orientationsofthefinal
cornercubeis
possible.Thus,totalwayscornercubescanbeplaced=(8!)*(3^8)/8=
(8!)*(3^7)
Similarly,12edgecubescanbearrangedin12!ways.
Eachofthese12cubescanbeturnedin2differentdirections,sothere
are2^12
orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneoftheedgecube
intochosenpositions
andorientations,onlyoneof2orientationsofthefinaledgecubeis
possible.Thus,
totalwaysedgecubescanbeplaced=(12!)*(2^12)/2=(12!)*(2^11)
Here,wehaveessentiallypulledthecubesapartandstuckcubesbackin
placewhereverwe
please.Inreality,wecanonlymovecubesaroundbyturningthefaces
ofthecubes.It
turnsoutthatyoucan'tturnthefacesinsuchawayastoswitchthe
positionsoftwo
cubeswhilereturningalltheotherstotheiroriginalpositions.Thus
ifyougetallbut
twocubesinplace,thereisonlyoneattainablechoiceforthem(not
2!).Hence,wemust
divideby2.
Totaldifferentpossiblecombinationsare
=[(8!)*(3^7)]*[(12!)*(2^11)]/2
=(8!)*(3^7)*(12!)*(2^10)
=4.3252*10^19
Similarly,for4x4x4Rubicstotaldifferentpossiblecombinationsare
=[(8!)*(3^7)]*[(24!)]*[(24!)/(4!^6)]/24
=7.4011968*10^45
Notethatthereare24edgecubes,whichyoucannotturnin2
orientations(henceno2^24
/2).Also,thereare4centercubesperfacei.e.(24!)/(4!^6).You
canswitch2cubes
withoutaffectingtherestofthecombinationas4*4*4haseven
dimensions(henceno
divisionby2).Butpatternononesideisrotatedin4directionsover
6faces,hence
divideby24.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00093
Thereisanumberthatis5timesthesumofitsdigits.Whatisthis
number?Answerisnot
0.
Answer
Thenumberis45,simplybecause
45=5*(4+5)
Howdoesonefindthisnumber?
LetTbethedigitinthetensplaceandUbethedigitintheunits
place.Then,the
numberis10*T+U,andthesumofitsdigitsisT+U.
Thefollowingequationcanbereadilywritten:
10*T+U=5*(T+U)or
10*T+U=5*T+5*Uor
5*T=4*U
Thus,T/U=4/5
SinceTandUaredigits,Tmustbe4andUmustbe5.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00273
Elevenboysandgirlswaittotaketheirseatsinthesamerowina
movietheater.There
areexactly11seatsintherow.
Theydecidedthatafterthefirstpersonsitsdown,thenextpersonhas
tositnexttothe
first.Thethirdsitsnexttooneofthefirsttwoandsoonuntilall
elevenareseated.
Inotherwords,nopersoncantakeaseatthatseparateshim/herfromat
leastoneother
person.
Howmanydifferentwayscanthisbeaccomplished?Notethatthefirst
personcanchooseany
ofthe11seats.
Answer
Thereare1024differentways.
ThisisthetypeofBrainTeaserthatcanbesolvedusingthemethodof
induction.
Ifthereisjustaonepersonandoneseat,thatpersonhasonlyone
option.
Iftherearetwopersonsandtwoseats,itcanbeaccomplishedin2
differentways.
Iftherearethreepersonsandthreeseats,itcanbeaccomplishedin4
differentways.
Rememberthatnopersoncantakeaseatthatseparateshim/herfromat
leastoneother
person.
Similarly,fourpersonsandfourseatsproduce8differentways.And
fivepersonswithfive
seatsproduce16differentways.
Itcanbeseenthatwitheachadditionalpersonandseat,thedifferent
waysincreaseby
thepoweroftwo.Forsixpersonswithsixseats,thereare32different
ways.
ForanynumberN,thedifferentpossiblewaysare2(N1)
Thus,for11personsand11seats,totaldifferentwaysare210i.e.
1024
========================
BrainTeaserNo:00340
Findthenextintheset:
AZFR,LARU,AMAS,SBNS,KICI,????
Answer
ThenextwordintheseriesisAAEA.
Ifyoucollectthecorrespondingletterfromeachword,theyarenames
oftheplaces.
Considerthefollowingfivenames:
ALASKA
ZAMBIA
FRANCE
RUSSIA
Firstletterofeachword:AZFR
Secondletterofeachword:LARU
Thirdletterofeachword:AMAA
Forthletterofeachword:SBNS
Fifthletterofeachword:KICI
Sixthletterofeachword:AAEA
Hence,theanswerisAAEA.
============================
BrainTeaserNo:00477
Supposefivebalesofhayareweighedtwoatatimeinallpossible
ways.Theweightsin
poundsare110,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,120,and121.
Howmuchdoeseachbaleweigh?
Submittedby:TravisLara
Answer
Theyweigh54,56,58,59,62pounds.
Let'sassumethattheweightoffivebalesareB1,B2,B3,B4andB5
poundsrespectively.
Also,B1<=B2<=B3<=B4<=B5
Itisgiventhatfivebalesofhayareweighedtwoatatimeinall
possibleways.Itmeans
thateachofthebaleisweightedfourtimes.
Thus,
4*(B1+B2+B3+B4+B5)=(110+112+113+114+115+116+117+
118+120+121)
4*(B1+B2+B3+B4+B5)=1156
(B1+B2+B3+B4+B5)=289pounds
Now,B1andB2mustaddto110astheyarethelightestone.
B1+B2=110
Similarly,B4andB5mustaddto121astheyaretheheaviestone.
B4+B5=121
Fromabovethreeequation,wegetB3=58pounds
Also,itisobviousthatB1andB3willaddto112thenextpossible
highervalue.
Similarly,B3andB5willaddto120thenextpossiblelowervalue.
B1+B3=112
B3+B5=120
SubstitutingB3=58,wegetB1=54andB5=62
From2&3equations,wegetB2=56andB4=59
Hence,theweightoffivebalesare54,56,58,59and62pounds.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00461
Buffaloproduces10poundsofmilkdaily,acowproduces1poundofmilk
daily,andsheep
produce1/4poundofmilkdaily.
Ineedexactly100poundsofmilkfromexactly100differentanimals
daily.Also,Ishould
useall3typesofanimals.
HowdoIgetit?
Submittedby:JK
Answer
Thereare7possibleanswerstoit.
AssumethatthereareBBuffaloes,CCowsandSSheep.
ItisgiventhataBuffaloproduces10poundsofmilk,aCowproduces1
poundofmileanda
Sheepproduces0.25poundofmilk.Also,weneed100poundofmilkfrom
exactly100
animals,weget2equations.
10*B+C+0.25*S=100(I)
B+C+S=100(II)
Subtractingequation(II)fromequation(I)
9*B0.75*S=0
36*B3*S=0(multipliedby4)
12*BS=0(divisionby3)
12*B=S
Now,fordifferentvaluesofB,wewillgetmultiplesolutions.
*1Buffalo,12Sheep,87Cows
*2Buffaloes,24Sheep,74Cows
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00526
Whatarethenexttwonumberintheseries?
1,2,4,7,28,33,198,?,?
Answer
Thepatternis:1+1*2+3*4+5*6+7*8+9*10ortothe
currentnumberadd
andmultiplyalternativelybythenumber'spositiontogetthenext
number.
Firstnumber=1
Secondnumber=1+1=2
Thirdnumber=2*2=4
Fourthnumber=4+3=7
Fifthnumber=7*4=28
Sixthnumber=28+5=33
Seventhnumber=33*6=198
Eightnumber=198+7=205
Ninthnumber=205*8=1640
Tenthnumber=1640+9=1649
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00537
Thereisa4charactercode,with2ofthembeinglettersandtheother
2beingnumbers.
Howmanymaximumattemptswouldbenecessarytofindthecorrectcode?
Notethatthecode
iscasesensitive.
Submittedby:Destructo_girl
Answer
Themaximumnumberofattemptsrequiredare16,22,400
Thereare52possiblelettersatozandAtoZ,and10possible
numbers0to9.Now,4
characters2lettersand2numbers,canbeselectedin52*52*10*10
ways.These4
characterscanbearrangedin4C2i.e.6differentwaysthenumberof
uniquepatterns
thatcanbeformedbyliningup4objectsofwhich2aredistinguished
oneway(i.e.they
mustbeletters)andtheother2aredistinguishedanotherway(i.e.
theymustbenumbers).
Consideranexample:Let'sassumethat@representsletterand#
representsnumber.the6
possiblewaysofarrangingthemare:@@##,@#@#,@##@,#@@#,#@#@,##@@
Hence,therequiredansweris
=52*52*10*10*6
=16,22,400attempts
=1.6millionapprox.
ThankstoTimSandersforopeningBrainVista'sbrain!!!
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00643
A,BandCarethreepointsonastraightline,notnecessarily
equidistantwithBbeing
betweenAandC.Threesemicirclesaredrawnonthesamesideofthe
linewithAB,BCand
ACasthediameters.BDisperpendiculartothelineABC,andDlieson
thesemicircleAC.
Ifthefunnyshapeddiagrambetweenthethreesemicircleshasanareaof
1000squarecms,
findthelengthofBD.
Answer
ThelengthofBDis35.68cms
Thereare3rightangledtrianglesABD,CBDandADC.
FromABD,AB^2+BD^2=AD^2I
FromCBD,CB^2+BD^2=CD^2II
FromADC,AD^2+CD^2=AC^2III
AddingIandII,
AB^2+BC^2+2*BD^2=AD^2+CD^2IV
FROMIIIandIV
AB^2+BC^2+2*BD^2=AC^2
AB^2+BC^2+2*BD^2=(AB+CB)^2
2*BD^2=2*AB*CB
BD^2=AB*CB
BD=SQRT(AB*CB)
Giventhatfunnyshapeddiagrambeweenthreesemicircleshasanareaof
1000squarecms.
[PI/2*(AC/2)^2][PI/2*(AB/2)^2][PI/2*(BC/2)^2]=1000
PI/8*[AC^2AB^2BC^2]=1000
PI*[(AB+BC)^2AB^2BC^2]=8000
PI*[2*AB*BC]=8000
AB*BC=4000/PI
HenceBD=SQRT(4000/PI)=35.68cms
wherePI=3.141592654
Hence,thelengthofBDis35.68cms.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00142
TherearefourgroupsofMangoes,ApplesandBananasasfollows:
GroupI:1Mango,1Applesand1Banana
GroupII:1Mango,5Applesand7Bananas
GroupIII:1Mango,7Applesand10Bananas
GroupIV:9Mango,23Applesand30Bananas
GroupIIcostsRs300andGroupIIIcostsRs390.
CanyoutellhowmuchdoesGroupIandGroupIVcost?
Answer
GroupIcostsRs120andGroupIVcostsRs1710
Assumethatthevaluesofonemango,oneappleandonebananaareM,A
andBrespectively.
FromGroupII:M+5A+7B=300
FromGroupIII:M+7A+10B=390
Subtractingabovetoequations:2A+3B=90
ForGroupI:
=M+A+B
=(M+5A+7B)(4A+6B)
=(M+5A+7B)2(2A+3B)
=3002(90)
=300180
=120
Similarly,forGroupIV:
=9M+23A+30B
=9(M+5A+7B)(22A+33B)
=9(M+5A+7B)11(2A+3B)
=9(300)11(90)
=2700990
=1710
Thus,GroupIcostsRs120andGroupIVcostsRs1710.
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00580
InColumnIbelow,aregivensomewords.Thesehavebeentranslatedinto
acodelanguage.
ThecodeequivalentsofthewordsinColumnIaregiveninColumnII,
notnecessarily
oppositetothecorrespondingwords.Also,thecodesforthedifferent
lettersineachword
havealsonotbeengiventhesameorderastheseletteroccurinthe
originalword.
COLUMNICOLUMNII
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPEmoi
COPlhhpok
TIEnls
ROTATEnhpk
SAYnkpl
TREATmsr
YEARkhlph
SIPhrp
TYREpmlh
Canyoudecodetheindividuallettercodes?
Answer
Wefirstfindtheexactcodesoftheeachgivenwords.
ROTATEisa6letterword.Soitscodeislhhpok.AndhisforT.
TREATisa5letterword.Soitscodeiskhlph.
The4letterwordsareTAPE,YEAR,TYREandcodesarenhpk,nkpl,pmlh.
YEARandTYREhave
3lettersincommon(Y,E,R).Theymustbeeithernhpkornkpl.Hence,
thecodeforTAPE
ispmlhandmisforP.AlsothecodeforTYREisnhpk(ashisforT)
andthecodefor
YEARisnkpl.
The3letterwordsareCOP,TIE,SAY,SIPandcodesaremoi,nls,msr,
hrp.
ThecodeforTIEishrp.
ThecodeforSIPismsr.
ThecodeforCOPismoi.AndthecodeforSAYisnls.
Thus,thewordsandtheircodesare:
ROTATElhhpok
TREATkhlph
TAPEpmlh
TYREnhpk
YEARnkpl
TIEhrp
COPmoi
SIPmsr
SAYnls
SofarweknowthathisforTandmisforP.
InSAYandSIP,thecommonletterisSstandsfors.
InTYREandSAY,thecommonletterYstandsforn.
Thus,inSAY,theremainingletterAstandsforl.
InTIEandSIP,thecommonletterIstandsforr.
Thus,inTIE,theremainingletterEstandsforp.
InROTATEandCOP,thecommonletterOstandsforo.
Thus,inROTATE,theremainingletterRstandsfork.
Also,inCOP,theremainingletterCstandsfori.
SummerizinghT,iC,kR,lA,mP,nY,oO,pE,rI,sS
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00266
Whatarethenexttwolettersintheseries?
E,O,E,R,E,X,N,T,E,_,_
Submittedby:KatieCinquegrana
Answer
ThenexttwolettersintheseriesareNandN
ThepatternisLastletterofthenumbersstartingfrom1whenwritten
inEnglishi.e.
onE,twO,threE,fouR,fivE,siX,seveN,eighT,ninE,teN,eleveN,
twelvE,etc...
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00274
Findallsetsofconsecutiveintegersthataddupto1000.
Submittedby:JamesBarberousse
Answer
Therearetotal8suchseries:
1.Sumof2000numbersstartingfrom999i.e.summationofnumbersfrom
999to1000.
(999)+(998)+(997)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+997+998
+999+1000
=1000
197to202.
(197)+(196)+(195)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+199+200
+201+202=
1000
54to70.
(54)+(53)+(52)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+68+69+70
=1000
27to52.
(27)+(26)+(25)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+50+51+52
=1000
5.Sumof25numbersstartingfrom28i.e.summationofnumbersfrom28
to52.
28+29+30+31+32+33+34+35+36+37+38+39+40+41+42
+43+44+
45+46+47+48+49+50+51+52=1000
to70.
55+56+57+58+59+60+61+62+63+64+65+66+67+68+69
+70=1000
to202.
198+199+200+201+202=1000
8.Sumof1numberstartingfrom1000.
1000=1000
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00437
Onesideofthebottomlayerofatriangularpyramidhas12balls.How
manyaretherein
thewholepyramid?
Notethatthepyramidisequilateralandsolid.
Submittedby:AngelaParr
Answer
Therearetotal364balls.
Asthereare12ballsalongoneside,itmeansthatthereare12layers
ofballs.Thetop
mostlayerhas1ball.Thesecondlayerhas3(1+2)balls.Thethird
layerhas6(1+2+3)
balls.Thefourthlayerhas10(1+2+3+4)balls.Thefifthlayerhas15
(1+2+3+4+5)balls.
Similarly,thereare21,28,36,45,55,66and78ballsinthe
remaininglayers.
Hence,thetotalnumberofballsare
=1+3+6+10+15+21+28+36+45+55+66+78
=364balls
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00146
Sachin,DravidandGangulyplayedinaCricketmatchbetweenIndiaand
England.
*Noneofthemscoredmorethan99runs.
*IfyouaddthedigitsoftherunsscoredbySachintohisownscore,
youwillgetthe
runsscoredbyDravid.
*IfyoureversethedigitsoftherunsscoredbyDravid,youwillget
therunsscored
byGanguly.
*Thetotalrunsscoredbythemis240.
Canyoufigureouttheirindividualscores?
Answer
Sachin,DravidandGangulyscored75,87and78respectively.
Sachin'sscoremustbelessthan86,otherwiseDravid'sscorewouldbe
morethan99.Also,
hemusthavescoredatleast42incaseDravidandGangulyscored99
each.
Also,asnoneofthemscoredmorethan99andthetotalrunsscoredby
themis240;their
individualscoresmustbearound80.
Now,usetrialnerrormethodtosolvetheteaser.
===========================
BrainTeaserNo:00196
VeerusaystoJay,"CanyoufigureouthowmanyEggsIhaveinmy
bucket?"Hegives3clues
toJay:IfthenumberofEggsIhave
1.isamultipleof5,itisanumberbetween1and19
2.isnotamultipleof8,itisanumberbetween20and29
3.isnotamultipleof10,itisanumberbetween30and39
HowmanyEggsdoesVeeruhaveinhisbucket?
Answer
32eggs
Let'sapplyall3conditionseparatelyandputallpossiblenumbers
together.
Firstconditionsaysthatifmultipleof5,thenthenumberisbetween1
and19.Hence,the
possiblenumbersare(5,10,15,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,
31,32,33,34,
35,36,37,38,39)
Secondconditionsaysthatifnotamultipleof8,thenthenumberis
between20and29.
Hence,thepossiblenumbersare(8,16,20,21,22,23,25,26,27,28,
29,32)
Thirdconditionsaysthatifnotamultipleof10,thenthenumberis
between30and39.
Hence,thepossiblenumbersare(10,20,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,
39)
Onlynumber32isthereinall3resultsets.Thatmeansthatonly
number32satisfiesall
threeconditions.Hence,Veeruhave32eggsinhisbucket.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00222
ConsiderachessboardwithasingleRook.ARookcanmoveanynumberof
square
sideways/forward,butnotdiagonally.
WhatistheminimumnumberofmovestheRookneedstomake,inorderto
passoverallthe
squaresonthechessboardandreturntotheoriginalposition?
Note:TakeanysquareasastartingpositionfortheRook.
Answer
16moves
AsaRookcanmoveanynumberofsquaresideways/forward,butnot
diagonallyandthereare
8rowsand8columnsonthechessboard;theRookneedsminimum16moves
topassoverall
thesquaresandreturntotheoriginalposition.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00295
ForaTVtalkshowonBollywood,theproducermustchooseagroupoftwo
Directorsandtwo
Musicians.AtleastoneofthemmustbeanActorandatleastonea
Singer.
1.AvailableDirectorsareMaheshBhatt,KaranJohar,SubhashGhai,
AdityaChopraand
Ashutosh.
2.AvailableMusiciansareARRehman,AnnuMalik,SandeepChowtaand
AadeshSrivastava.
3.ShubashGhai,ARRehmanandAnnuMalikareActors.
4.AdityaChopraandAadeshSrivastavaareSingers.
5.ARRehmanwillnotseatinthesameroomwithSubhashGhai,andwill
takepartonly
ifMaheshBhattisthere.
6.AdityaChoprarefusestotakepartwithAnnuMalik.
7.AshutoshrefusestotakepartwithAadeshSrivastava.
Howmanyacceptablegroupscantheproducerputtogether?
Answer
Theproducercanput9acceptablegroupstogether.
Yourbasicsolutionstepistomakeatableofthepossiblepersonsand
qualificationson
theMusiciansside,withthepossiblecombinationsontheDirectors
side.
NotethatARRehmaninsistsonMaheshBhattbeingpresent,butthe
reverseisnottrue.
Also,rememberthattheremustbeatleastoneactorandatleastone
singer.Thevalid
combinationsare:
MusicianDirector
(ARRehman,SandeepChowta)(MaheshBhatt,AdityaChopra)
(ARRehman,(MaheshBhatt,KaranJohar)
AadeshSrivastava)(MaheshBhatt,AdityaChopra)
(AnnuMalik,(MaheshBhatt,KaranJohar)
AadeshSrivastava)(MaheshBhatt,SubhashGhai)
(KaranJohar,SubhashGhai)
(SandeepChowta,(MaheshBhatt,SubhashGhai)
AadeshSrivastava)(KaranJohar,SubhashGhai)
(AdityaChopra,SubhashGhai)
Thus,therearetotal9acceptablegroups.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00570
*AisthefatheroftwochildrenBandDwhoareofdifferentsexes.
*CisB'sspouse.
*EisthesamesexasD.
*BandChavethetwochildrenFwhoisthesamesexasBandGwho
isthesamesex
asC.
*E'smother,HwhoismarriedtoL,isthesisterofD'smother,M.
*EandE'sspouse,IhavetwochildrenJandKwhoarethesamesex
asI.
Notethatnopersonshavemarriedmorethanonce.Also,therearemore
numberoffemales
thanmales.Canyoutellhowmanyfemalesarethere?
Answer
Thereare7femalesand6males.
Assumethattherearefoursexesmale,female,XandY.Preparethe
followingtreebased
onthedatagiven:
sister
L(m)H(f)M(f)A(m)
||
||
E(x)I(y)D(x)B(y)C(x)
||
||
J(y)K(y)F(y)G(x)
Itisclearthattherearealtogether13persons2males,2females,4
Xsand5Ys.
Itisgiventhattherearemorenumberoffemalesthanmale.Hence,all
Ymustrepresent
female.Thus,thereare7femalesand6males.
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00614
Placethenumbersfrom1to15intheblocksbelow,withoutrepeating
anyofthem,sucha
waythatthesumofthenumbersinanytwoadjacentblocksisalwaysa
perfectsquare.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Awholenumberissaidtobeaperfectsquareifitisequaltosome
wholenumber
multipliedbyitself.e.g.36(6*6),121(11*11)
Answer
[9][7][2][14][11][5][4][12][13][3][6][10][15][1][8]
Findoutallthepossiblepairsofthenumbersfrom1to15thatsumup
toaperfect
square.
1:(1,3),(1,8),(1,15)
2:(2,7),(2,14)
3:(3,6),(3,13)
4:(4,5),(4,12)
5:(5,4),(5,11)
6:(6,3),(6,10)
7:(7,2),(7,9)
8:(8,1)
9:(9,7)
10:(10,6),(10,15)
11:(11,5),(11,14)
12:(12,4),(12,13)
13:(13,3),(13,12)
14:(14,2),(14,11)
15:(15,1),(15,10)
Notethatthereare2numbersthatwithjustaonepairi.e.(8,1)and
(9,7).Thus,8and9
mustbeattheend.
[9][7][][][][][][][][][][][][1][8]
Now,7haveonlyoneotherpairi.e.(7,2)
[9][7][2][][][][][][][][][][][1][8]
Similarly,thereisonlyoneotherpairof2i.e.(2,14)
[9][7][2][14][][][][][][][][][][1][8]
Followingthesameprocedure,thefinalsolutionis
[9][7][2][14][11][5][4][12][13][3][6][10][15][1][8]
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00311
Replacetheletterswiththecorrectnumbers.
TWO
XTWO

THREE
Submittedby:TimmyChan
Answer
T=1,W=3,O=8,H=9,R=2,E=4
138
x138
19044
Youcanreducethenumberoftrials.Tmustbe1asthereis
multiplicationofTwithTin
hundred'sposition.Also,Ocannotbe0or1.Now,youhavetofind
threedigitnumber
whosesquaresatisfiesaboveconditionsandsquareofthathassamelast
twodigits.Hence,
itmustbebetween102and139.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00319
STILL
+WITHIN
LIMITS
mustbeaonetoone
letterS,noother
Answer
ThevalueofLmustbeonemorethanWi.e.L=W+1andtheremustbeone
carryfromS+I=I.
Also,thevalueofSmustbe9asS+I=IwithonecarryfromT+T=M,which
meansthatthe
valueofTmustbegreaterthan4.
FromI+H=I,thevalueofHmustbe0asthevalueofSis9.
Now,applyingallthoseconstraintsandusingtrialnerror,wegettwo
possibleanswers.
9716698533
+517013+258056
614179356589
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00444
SiluandMeenuwerewalkingontheroad.
Silusaid,"Iweigh51Kgs.Howmuchdoyouweigh?"
Meenurepliedthatshewouldn'trevealherweightdirectlyassheis
overweight.Butshe
said,"Iweigh29Kgsplushalfofmyweight."
HowmuchdoesMeenuweigh?
Answer
Meenuweighs58Kgs.
ItisgiventhatMeenuweighs29Kgsplushalfofherownweight.It
meansthat29Kgsis
theotherhalf.Sosheweighs58Kgs.
Solvingmathematically,let'sassumethatherweightisXKgs.
X=29+X/2
2*X=58+X
X=58Kgs
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00665
Thethreeofusmadesomebets.
First,WaldowonfromMollyasmuchasWaldohadoriginally.Next,Molly
wonfromSpikeas
muchasMollythenhadleft.Finally,SpikewonfromWaldoasmuchas
Spikethenhadleft.
Weendeduphavingequalamountsofmoney.
Istartedwith50cents.WhoamI?
Answer
IamMolly.
LetWaldostartwithW,MollywithM,andSpikewithS.Followingthe
aboveaccountweget
thefollowingprogressionofmoney:
W=2*W,M=MW
M=2*(MW),S=S(MW)=S+WM
S=2*(S+WM),W=2*W(S+WM)=W+MS
AndsoWaldofinishedwithW+MS,Mollywith2*(MW),andSpikewith
2*(S+WM).
Sincethesemustallbeequal,wehavethreeequationsandthree
unknowns,sosolve;this
givesusthat4*M=5*Sand3*S=4*W.
Now,ifS=1/2thisimpliesthatW=3/8=37.5cents,animpossible
amountofmoneyto
startwith.
IfW=1/2thisimpliesthatS=2/3,againanimpossibleamountto
startwith.
Finally,ifM=1/2thisimpliesthatS=2/5=40cents,W=3/10=30
cents,whichworks.
ItfollowsthatIamMolly.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00210
Thereare10cupsplacedonatablesuchthat3arefaceupand7are
bottomup.Amoveis
definedasinvertingapair(compulsorily)ofcups.
Whatistheminimumnumberofmovesrequiredtomakeallthecupsface
thesameway?
Answer
Itisnotatallpossible.Thereisnowaythatonecandothatwith
givenMove.
Amoveisdefinedasinvertingapairofcups,compulsorily.Also,there
areoddnumberof
cupsfaceup(3)andoddnumberofcupsbottomup(7).Nowwheneveryou
makeamoveyouhave
toinvert2cupscompulsorily.Hence,alwaysoddnumberofcupswillbe
faceupandbottom
up,whatevermoveyoumake.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00366
Therearethreebulbson19thfloorandtherearethreeswitchesX,Y
andZontheground
floor.Eachswitchbelongstoonebulbs,notnecessarilyinorder.You
canswitchonoroff
asmanytimesyouwantbutyoucangoon19thflooronlyonce.
Howwillyoufindoutwhichswichbelongstowhichbulb?Notethatyou
aretheonlyperson
overthere.Youcan'tgooutsideandcan'tuseanytools.
Answer
Thebulbbecomeshot,ifyoukeepitonforsometime.Thisisthe
characteristicsofthe
bulbandwecanuseittosolvetheteaser.
SwitchontheswitchXandwaitforsometimesay10minutes,then
switchitoff.Now
switchontheswitchYandgouptothe19thfloorandcheckthebulbs.
ThebulbwhichishotbutnotlitcorrespondstoswitchX.
ThebulbwhichislitcorrespondstoswitchY.
ThethirdbulbwhichisnotlitandiscoldcorrespondstoswitchZ.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00650
Laloo,BalooandNaloowereattheHealthClubonthesamedaythis
month.
1.Theyalljoinedthehealthclublastmonth.
2.Oneofthemgoesevery2days,anotheronegoesevery3daysandthe
thirdonegoes
every7days.
3.Laloowenttothehealthclubforthefirsttimethismonthona
Monday,Baloowent
tothehealthclubforthefirsttimethismonthonaWednesdayand
Naloowenttothe
healthclubforthefirsttimethismonthonaFriday.
4.Exactlyoneofthemwasatthehealthclubonthefirstdayofthis
month.
OnwhichdayofthismonthdidLaloo,BalooandNaloomeet?
Notethathere"thismonth"meansanyonemonthingeneral.
Answer
Theymetonthe27thofthismonth.
Findoutindividualdatesonwhichtheywereattheclub.
From(2),2daymanwenttothehealthclubforthefirsttimethis
monthonthe1stor
2nd.Also,3daymanwenttothehealthclubforthefirsttimethis
monthonthe1st,2nd
or3rd.Therearetwopossiblecases:
CaseI:
LaloowentonMonday,the1standeverytwodaysthereafter.Baloowent
onWednesday,the
3rdandeverythreedaysthereafter.NaloowentonFriday,the5thand
everysevendays
thereafter.Then,
Laloo'sdates1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,
31
Baloo'sdates3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30
Naloo'sdates5,12,19,26
CaseII:
BaloowentonWednesday,the1standeverytwodaysthereafter.Naloo
wentonFriday,the
3rdandeverythreedaysthereafter.LaloowentonMonday,the6thand
everysevendays
thereafter.Then,
Baloo'sdates1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,
31
Naloo'sdates3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30
Laloo'sdates6,13,20,27
Itisgiventhattheywereattheclubonthesamedaythismonth,then
CaseIisnot
possible.AndfromCaseII,theymetonthe27thofthismonth.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00053
AmanisgoingtoanAntiqueCarauction.Allpurchasesmustbepaidfor
incash.Hegoes
tothebankanddrawsout$25,000.
Sincethemandoesnotwanttobeseencarryingthatmuchmoney,he
placesitin15
evelopesnumbered1through15.Eachenvelopecontainstheleastnumber
ofbillspossible
ofanyavailableUScurrency(i.e.notwotensinplaceofatwenty).
Attheauctionhemakesasuccessfulbidof$8322foracar.Hehands
theauctioneer
envelopesnumber(s)2,8,and14.Afteropeningtheenvelopesthe
auctioneerfindsexactly
therightamount.
Howmanyonesdidtheauctioneerfindintheenvelopes?
Answer
Eachenvelopecontainsthemoneyequaltothe2raisedtotheenvelope
numberminus1.The
sentence"Eachenvelopecontainstheleastnumberofbillspossibleof
anyavailableUS
currency"isonlytomisguideyou.Thisisalwayspossibleforany
amount!!!
Onemorethingtonoticehereisthatthemanmusthaveplacedmoneyin
envelopesinsucha
waythatifhebidsforanyamountlessthan$25000,heshouldbeable
topickthemin
termsofenvelopes.
Firstenvelopecontains,20=$1
Secondenvelopecontains,21=$2
Thirdenvelopecontains,22=$4
Fourthenvelopecontains,23=$8andsoon...
Hencetheamountinenvelopesare$1,$2,$4,$8,$16,$32,$64,$128,
$256,$512,$1024,
$2048,$4096,$8192,$8617
Lastenvelope(No.15)containsonly$8617astotalamountisonly
$25000.
Nowashebidsfor$8322andgivesenvelopenumber2,8and14which
contains$2,$128and
$8192respectively.
EnvelopeNo2conrainsone$2bill
EnvelopeNo8conrainsone$100bill,one$20bill,one$5bill,one$2
billandone$1
bill
EnvelopeNo14conrainseightyone$100bill,one$50bill,four$10
billandone$2bill
Hencetheauctioneerwillfindone$1billintheenvelopes.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00140
OneofMr.Bajaj,hiswife,theirsonandMr.Bajaj'smotherisan
Engineerandanotheris
aDoctor.
*IftheDoctorisamale,thentheEngineerisamale.
*IftheEngineerisyoungerthantheDoctor,thentheEngineerandthe
Doctorarenot
bloodrelatives.
*IftheEngineerisafemale,thensheandtheDoctorareblood
relatives.
CanyoutellwhoistheDoctorandtheEngineer?
Answer
Mr.BajajistheEngineerandeitherhiswifeorhissonistheDoctor.
Mr.Bajaj'swifeandmotherarenotbloodrelatives.Sofrom3,ifthe
Engineerisa
female,theDoctorisamale.Butfrom1,iftheDoctorisamale,then
theEngineerisa
male.Thus,thereisacontradiction,iftheEngineerisafemale.
Hence,eitherMr.Bajaj
orhissonistheEngineer.
Mr.Bajaj'ssonistheyoungestofallfourandisbloodrelativeof
eachofthem.Sofrom
2,Mr.Bajaj'ssonisnottheEngineer.Hence,Mr.Bajajisthe
Engineer.
Nowfrom2,Mr.Bajaj'smothercannotbetheDoctor.SotheDoctoris
eitherhiswifeor
hisson.Itisnotpossibletodetermineanythingfurther.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00566
HereisthefamilytreeofMr.RAHUL
RAHUL
|
||||
RATISHYASHOMTRILOK
||?
|||||
AMARAMITRAMHARSHASHOK
||
|||||
HowmanychildrendoesMr.TRILOKhave?
Answer
TRILOKhave5children.
Nameofthepersonandnumberofhischildrenarerelatedbysome
pattern.
Assigneachvowelfollowingvalues.
A=0E=1I=2O=3U=4
Thenumberofchildrentoanypersonisthesumofthevalues
representedbyvowelsinhis
name.
RATISH=0(A)+2(I)=2
OM=3(O)=3
AMIT=0(A)+2(I)=2
ASHOK=0(A)+3(O)=3
TRILOK=2(I)+3(O)=5
Hence,TRILOKhave5children.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00856
Findtheleastnumberwhichwhendividedby35,leavesremainder25;
whendividedby45,
leavesremainder35andwhendividedby55,leavesremainder45.
Answer
3455
TheanswerisLCMof(35,45,55)minus10.
LCMof(35,45,55)is3465.
Hence,theansweris3455.
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00094
Thereare3antsat3cornersofatriangle,theyrandomlystartmoving
towardsanother
corner.
Whatistheprobabilitythattheydon'tcollide?
Answer
Let'smarkthecornersofthetriangleasA,B,C.Therearetotal8ways
inwhichantscan
move.
1.A>B,B>C,C>A
2.A>B,B>C,C>B
3.A>B,B>A,C>A
4.A>B,B>A,C>B
5.A>C,C>B,B>A
6.A>C,C>B,B>C
7.A>C,C>A,B>A
8.A>C,C>A,B>C
Outofwhich,thereareonlytwocasesunderwhichtheantswon't
collide:
*A>B,B>C,C>A
*A>C,C>B,B>A
Therefore,probabilityofantsnotcolliding:2/8=1/4
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00116
Completetheseries:
5,20,24,6,2,8,?
Answer
12
Notethesequenceofoperations:
5*4=20
20+4=24
24/4=6
64=2
2*4=8
Thereisarithmaticoperationonthecurrentnumbertogetnextnumber
intheseries.The
sequenceofoperationsis*,+,/andby4.
Soaftermultiplyingby4,nextoperationisadditionof4.Sothenext
numberis8+4=
12
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00219
ThefloorareaofMilan'shouseis1007squarefeet.Thespacediagonal
ofthehouses
59.75feet.
Whatwillbetheheightofthehouse?Notethatfloorisrectanglein
shape.Also,length
andwidthareinteger.
Answer
20feet
Thefloorareais1007squarefeet.Theonlypossiblefloordimensionis
19by53.Thusthe
floordiagonalis56.3feet.
Thespacediagonalis59.75feetwhichmakesrightangledtrianglewith
floordiagonaland
height.Hence,theheightofthehouseis20feet.
===========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00456
B,JandParerelatedtoeachother.
1.AmongthethreeareB'slegalspouse,J'ssiblingandP'ssisterin
law.
2.B'slegalspouseandJ'ssiblingareofthesamesex.
Whoisthemarriedman?
Answer
Jisthemarriedman.
Notethataperson'ssisterinlawmaybethewifeofthatperson's
brotherorthesister
ofthatperson'sspouse.
Thereare2cases:
1.IfB'slegalspouseisJ,thenJ'ssiblingmustbePandP'ssister
inlawmustbeB.
2.IfB'slegalspouseisP,thenP'ssisterinlawmustbeJandJ's
siblingmustbeB.
ItisgiventhatB'slegalspouseandJ'ssiblingareofthesamesex.
Also,itisobvious
thatP'ssisterinlawisfemale.Then,B'slegalspouseandJ'ssibling
bothmustbe
males.
B'sspouseJ'ssiblingP'ssisterinlaw
(male)(male)(female)
CaseIJPB
CaseIIPBJ
CaseIIisnotpossibleasB&Paremarriedtoeachotherandbothare
male.Hence,Jis
themarriedman.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00506
Whatisthelastdigitof746?Inotherwords,whatwilltheremainder
be,if746is
dividedby10?
Don'ttrytosolvethisoncalculator,youmaygetthewronganswer.
Also,doexplainyour
answer.
Answer
Thelastdigitof746is9.
Thepowersofanynumberhavearepeatingpatternforthelastdigit.It
canbefound
easilywithoutperformingtheentiremultiplicationofeachpower.
Let'sconsiderthepowersof7.
7NValueLastDigit
7011
7177
72499
733433
7424011
75168071
761176491
Notethatthereisarepeatingpatternoffournumbers(1,7,9,3)for
thepowersof7.
Hence,thelastdigitof744willbe1,of745willbe7andof746will
be9.
Also,thereisnoneedtoactuallyperformtheentiremultiplication.
Startwith1,
multiplyitby7,discardalldigitsexceptunitsandmultiplyagainby
7andsoon.
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00259
Whatisthesmallestnumberwhichwhendividedby10leavesaremainder
of9,whendivided
by9leavesaremainderof8,whendividedby8leavesaremainderof7,
whendividedby7
leavesaremainderof6andsoonuntilwhendividedby2leavesa
remainderof1?
Answer
Thesmallestsuchnumberis2519.
TheeasiestwayistofindtheLeastCommonMultiple(LCM)of2,3,4,
5,6,7,8and9.
Andsubtract1fromit.
TheLCMof2,3,4,5,6,7,8and9isgivenby2520.Hence,the
requirednumberis2519.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00262
WhatTWOnumberwillcomenextintheseries:
6,1,7,2,8,3,9,4,10,5,_,_
Submittedby:David
Answer
11and6
Thepatternis:oddnumbersarecountingupfrom6andevennumbersare
countingdownfrom
1.
Theotherwayis:67+89+1011+1213+1415+1617andsoon.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00392
ThecricketmatchbetweenIndiaandPakistanwasover.
*HarbhajanscoredmorerunsthanGanguly.
*SachinscoredmorerunsthanLaxmanbutlessthanDravid
*BadaniscoredasmuchrunsasAgarkarbutlessthanDravidandmore
thanSachin.
*GangulyscoredmorerunsthaneitherAgarkarorDravid.
Eachbatsmanscored10runsmorethanhisimmediatebatsman.Thelowest
scorewas10runs.
Howmuchdideachoneofthemscore?
Answer
Asimpleone.Usethegivenfactsandputdownalltheplayersinorder.
Theorderisas
followwithHarbhajan,thehighestscorerandLaxman,thelowestscorer.
1.Harbhajan
2.Ganguly
3.Dravid
4.Badani,Agarkar
5.Sachin
6.Laxman
Also,asthelowestscorewas10runs.Laxmanmusthavescored10,
Sachin20,Badani&
Agarkar30andsoon.
1.Harbhajan60runs
2.Ganguly50runs
3.Dravid40runs
4.Badani,Agarkar30runseach
5.Sachin20runs
6.Laxman10runs
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00025
Whatistheremainderleftafterdividing1!+2!+3!++100!By
7?
Thinkcarefully!!!
Answer
Atrickyone.
7!onwardsalltermsaredivisibleby7as7isoneofthefactor.So
thereisnoremainder
leftforthosetermsi.e.remainderleftafterdividing7!+8!+9!
+...+100!is0.
Theonlyparttobeconsideris
=1!+2!+3!+4!+5!+6!
=1+2+6+24+120+720
=873
Theremainderleftafterdividing873by7is5
Hence,theremainderis5.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00182
Subhashis14inchestallerthanJatin.ThedifferencebetweenSubhash
andSanjeevistwo
incheslessthanbetweenSanjeevandJatin.Subhashat6'6"isthe
tallest.
HowtallareSanjeevandJatin?
Answer
Sanjeevis6'andJatinis5'4"
ItisgiventhatSubhashat6'6"isthetallestandalsoheis14inches
tallerthanJatin.
ItmeansthatJatinis5'4".
NowasthedifferencebetweenSubhashandSanjeevistwoinchesless
thanbetweenSanjeev
andJatin,Sanjeev'sheightismorethanJatin's.Andthatis6'.
Thus,Sanjeevis6'andJatinis5'4".
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00229
DifferencebetweenBholu'sandMolu'sageis2yearsandthedifference
betweenMolu'sand
Kolu'sageis5years.
Whatisthemaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheir
ages,takentwoat
atime?
Submittedby:Cake
Answer
Themaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheirages
takentwoatatime
is14years.
Itisgiventhat
"DifferencebetweenBholu'sandMolu'sageis2years"
"DifferencebetweenMolu'sandKolu'sageis5years"
Now,togetthemaximumpossiblevalue,thedifferencebetweenBholu's
andKolu'sage
shouldbemaximumi.e.Molu'sageshouldbeinbetweenBholu'sand
Kolu'sage.Then,the
differencebetweenBholu'sandKolu'sageis7years.
Hence,themaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheir
agestakentwoat
atimeis(2+5+7)14years.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00574
MajorJasbirisformingfivepersonSpecialTaskGroup.Thegroupmust
containoneleader,
twobombexpertsandtwosoldiers.
P,QandRarepossiblebombexperts.R,SandTarepossibleleaders.
U,VandWare
possiblesoldiers.Also,PandRpreferstoworkwitheachotherinthe
sameteam.T
preferstoworkonlyifVworks.
HowmanydifferentpossibleGroups,MajorJasbircanmake?
Answer
MajorJasbircanmake8differentpossiblegroups.
As2bombexpertstobeselectedfromthegiven3andalsoP&Rprefers
toworktogether,
PRmustbethereinallthepossibleGroups.Also,Tpreferstowork
onlyifVworks.It
doesn'tmeanthatVwon'tworkwithoutT.
Hence,possiblegroupsare:
PRSUV
PRSVW
PRSWU
PRTUV
PRTVW
PQRUV
PQRVW
PQRWU
Hence,there8differentgroupsarepossible.
=============================
BrainTeaserNo:00630
Inaschool,maincomputerpasswordchangesaftereveryhourbasedon
setofwordschosen
foreachday.Thefollowingisthesetofpasswordsforaparticular
day.
9AM1stPassword:isnotreadyclothbrainbathsimple
10AM2ndPassword:readynotisclothsimplebathbrain
11AM3rdPassword:clothisnotreadybrainbathsimple
12PM4thPassword:notisclothreadysimplebathbrain
1PM5thPassword:readyclothisnotbrainbathsimple
Followingthesamerule,whatwillthe6thPassword,ifthe1st
passowardis"ShyShelly
SaysSheShallSewSheets"?
Answer
The6thPasswordwillbe"ShySheSaysShellySheetsSewShall".
ThepatternisInthefirststep,thefirstthreeandthelastthree
wordsarewrittenin
areverseorder.Then,thefirstfourandthelastthreewordsare
writteninareverse
order.Theprocessisrepeatedtoobtainsuccessivepasswords.
9AM1stPassword:ShyShellySaysSheShallSewSheets
10AM2ndPassword:SaysShellyShySheSheetsSewShall
11AM3rdPassword:SheShyShellySaysShallSewSheets
12PM4thPassword:ShellyShySheSaysSheetsSewShall
1PM5thPassword:SaysSheShyShellyShallSewSheets
2PM6thPassword:ShySheSaysShellySheetsSewShall
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00655
true.
THATS
THE
+THEORY
ANYWAY
mustbeaonetoone
letterY,noother
Answer
T=8,H=6,A=9,S=7,E=3,O=2,R=4,Y=1,N=5,W=0
Itstoughoneandrequireslotsoftrialnerror.Butitcanbereduce
fromthefollowing
deductions:
A=T+1,T<9andA>1
S+E=10
H+R=10
oneof(O,Y,N,W)is0
H>1
Thereare8possiblevaluesfor(A,T)(2,3),(3,4),(4,5),(5,6),
(6,7),(7,8),(8,9)
Also,thereare4possiblevaluepairsfor(S,E)and(H,R)(1,9),
(2,8),(3,7),(4,6),
butnotnecessarilyinthesameorder.
Now,takingpossiblevaluesof(A,T)oneatatimeandevaluating
corresponding(S,E)and
(H,R)values,wecanfindtheanswer.
THATS86987
THE863
+THEORY+863241
ANYWAY951091
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00242
Thereisashortageoftubelights,bulbsandfansinavillage
Kharghar.Itisfoundthat
*Allhousesdonothaveeithertubelightorbulborfan.
*exactly19%ofhousesdonothavejustoneofthese.
*atleast67%ofhousesdonothavetubelights.
*atleast83%ofhousesdonothavebulbs.
*atleast73%ofhousesdonothavefans.
Whatpercentageofhousesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan?
Answer
42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
Let'sassumethatthereare100houses.Hence,thereshouldbetotal300
itemsi.e.100
tubelights,100bulbsand100fans.
Fromthegivendata,weknowthatthereisshortageofatleast
(67+83+73)223itemsin
every100houses.
Also,exactly19housesdonothavejustoneitem.Itmeansthat
remaining81housesshould
accountfortheshortageofremaining(22319)204items.Ifthose
remaining81housesdo
nothave2itemseach,therewouldbeashortageof162items.Buttotal
of204itemsare
short.Hence,atleast(204162)42housesdonothaveall3items
tubelight,bulband
fan.
Thus,42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00248
Aseriescomprisingofalphabetscontainsonlysevenletters.Thefirst
fivelettersinthe
givenseriesareA,B,D,O,P
Canyoufindouttheremainingtwoletters?
Answer
TheremainingtwolettersareQandR.
IntheEnglishAlphabet,thereareonly7uppercaseletterswith
enclosedspacesorholes
inthem.TheyareA,B,D,O,P,QandR.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00255
Findnexttwonumbersintheseries:
60,30,20,15,?,?
Answer
12and10
Thepatternis60dividebythepositionofthenumber.
Thefirstnumberis60/1=60
Thesecondnumberis60/2=30
Thethirdnumberis60/3=20
Thefourthnumberis60/4=15
Thefifthnumberis60/5=12
Thesixthnumberis60/6=10
Hencethenexttwonumbersintheseriesare12and10.
======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00324
Youhavejustbuiltahouse.However,youmayonlytakecertainitems
intothehouse.You
cantakedoors,butyouaren'tallowedanywindows.Youcan'thave,but
youareallowed
coffee.Abookisokay,butnopaper.Finally,youcantakeapuppyor
kitten,butyou
can'ttakeadogorcat.
Giveonemorethingthatyoucan/can'ttake,andexplainwhy.
Submittedby:JW
Answer
Anythingwithdoublelettersinspellingisallowedandwithoutdouble
lettersisnot
allowed.
Ifyouyoulookatthespellingofthenamesoftheitemsthatare
allowedinthehouse,
youwillnoticethattheyallhavedoublelettersi.e.DOOR,BOOK,
PUPPY,KITTEN
SoyoucantakeitemslikeCoffee,Balloon,Pillow.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00620
NicoleandSharon,togetherhavemorethan10butfewerthan30
bodyguards.Oneday,oneof
thebodyguards,Cruz,decidedtoleaveNicoleandjoinSharon.Nowboth
thefemaleshadthe
samenumberofbodyguards.
Eventually,CruzrejoinedNicole.Also,JimdecidedtoleaveSharonand
joinNicole.Now,
boththefemaleshadaprimenumberofbodyguards.
Howmanybodyguardsdideachhavenow?
Answer
Nicolehave11bodyguardsandSharonhave7bodyguards.
Ifonebodyguardismovedfromonegrouptoother,itdecreasesone
groupbyoneand
increasesotherbyone.
BeforeCruzjoinedSharon,NicolehadtwomorebodyguardsthanSharon.
(SinceCruz'sswitch
madethenumberofbodyguardsofboththefemalesequal)
WhenCruzswitchedbacktoNicole,onceagainNicolehadtwomore
bodyguardsthanSharon.
Then,JimmovedfromSharontoNicoledecreasingSharon'sbodyguardsby
oneandincreasing
Nicole'sbodyguardsbyone.Hence,Nicolehadfourmorebodyguardsthan
Sharon.
Itisgiventhattogetherhadmorethan10butfewerthan30bodyguards.
Also,attheend
theybothhadprimenumberofbodyguards.Theonlynumbersfitthegiven
conditionsare7
and11.
Hence,nowNicolehave11bodyguardsandSharonhave7bodyguards.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00784
Thepopulationofanislandconsistsoftwoandonlytwotypesofpeople
:theknights,who
invariablytellthetruthandtheknaveswhoalwayslie.
Onedayastangerintheisland,metfourinhabitants.Heaskedthe
firstonewhetherthe
secondwasaKnightoraKnave.Thereplywas"Knave".Similarly,the
secondinhabitant
saidthatthethirdwasa"Knave",andthethirdsaidthesameaboutthe
fourth.
Nowheaskedthefourthinhabitantthatwhatwouldthefirsthavesaid
aboutthethird.The
replyonceagainwas"Knave".
Whoisthefourthinhabitant,KnightorKnave?
Answer
ThefourthinhabitantisaKnave.
Taketwocases.
AssumethatthefirstinhabitantwasaKnight.Itmeansthatsecond
inhabitantwasaKnave
asthefirstwastellingthetruth.Similarly,thethirdinhabitantwas
aKnightasthe
secondwaslying.Inturn,theforthinhabitantwasaKnaveasthethird
wastellingthe
truth.
NowthefirstandthethirdbothareKnight.Sothefirstwouldhave
said"Knight"forthe
thirdperson.Buttheforthwouldhavesaid"Knave"andhedid.Hence,
thefourthperson
wasKnave.
Tryoutsecondcaseyourselfi.e.assumethatthefirstinhabitantwasa
Knave.
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00085
Youhave3baskets,&eachonecontainsexactly4balls,eachofwhich
isofthesamesize.
Eachballiseitherred,black,white,orpurple,&thereisoneofeach
colorineach
basket.
Ifyouwereblindfolded,&lightlyshookeachbasketsothattheballs
wouldberandomly
distributed,&thentook1ballfromeachbasket,whatchanceisthere
thatyouwouldhave
exactly2redballs?
Answer
Thereare64differentpossibleoutcomes,&in9ofthese,exactly2of
theballswillbe
red.Thereisthusaslightlybetterthan14%chance[(9/64)*100]that
exactly2ballswill
bered.
Amuchfasterwaytosolvetheproblemistolookatitthisway.There
are3scenarios
whereexactly3ballsarered:
123
RRX
RXR
XRR
Xisanyballthatisnotred.
Thereisa4.6875%chancethateachofthesesituationswilloccur.
Takethefirstone,forexample:25%chancethefirstballisred,
multipliedbya25%
chancethesecondballisred,multipliedbya75%chancethethirdball
isnotred.
Becausethereare3scenarioswherethisoutcomeoccurs,youmultiply
the4.6875%chanceof
anyoneoccurringby3,&youget14.0625%
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00197
Thereare70employeesworkingwithBrainVistaofwhich30arefemales.
Also,
*30employeesaremarried
*24employeesareabove25yearsofage
*19marriedemployeesareabove25years,ofwhich7aremales
*12malesareabove25yearsofage
*15malesaremarried.
Howmanyunmarriedfemalesarethereandhowmanyofthemareabove25?
Answer
15unmarriedfemales&noneareabove25yearsofage.
Simplyputallgiveninformationintothetablestructureandyouwill
gettheanswer.
MarriedUnmarried
Below25Above25Below25Above25
Female312150
Male87205
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00370
Youhave14apples.YourFriendMargetakesaway3andgivesyou2.You
drop7butpickup
4.Brettakes4andgives5.YoutakeonefromMargeandgiveittoBret
inexchangefor3
more.Yougivethose3toMargeandshegivesyouanappleandan
orange.Frankcomesand
takestheappleMargegaveyouandgivesyouapear.Yougivethepear
toBretinexchange
foranapple.FrankthentakesanapplefromMarge,givesittoBretfor
anorange,gives
youtheorangeforanapple.
Howmanypearsdoyouhave?
Submittedby:BigMike
Answer
None
FrankgaveyouapearinexchangeoftheapplewhichMargegaveyou.And
yougavethatpear
toBretinexchangeforanapple.Alltheothersexchangesinvolved
applesand/ororganges.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00403
ThereareNsecretagentseachknowadifferentpieceofsecret
information.Theycan
telephoneeachotherandexchangealltheinformationtheyknow.After
thetelephonecall,
theybothknowanythingthateitherofthemknewbeforethecall.
Whataretheminimumnumberoftelephonecallsneededsothatallofthe
themknow
everything?
Answer
(2N3)telephonecalls,forN=2,3
(2N4)telephonecalls,forN>3
DividetheNsecretagentsintotwogroups.IfNisodd,onegroupwill
containoneextra
agent.
Considerfirstgroup:agent1willcallupagent2,agent2willcallup
agent3andsoon.
Similarlyinsecondgroup,agent1willcallupagent2,agent2will
callupagent3and
soon.After(N2)calls,twoagentsineachthegroupwillknow
anythingthatanyone
knewinhisgroup,saytheyareY1&Y2fromgroup1andZ1&Z2from
group2.
Now,Y1willcallupZ1andY2willcallupZ2.Hence,innexttwocalls
totalof4agents
willknoweverything.
Now(N4)telephonecallsarereqiuredforremaining(N4)secret
agents.
Totaltelephonecallsrequireare
=(N2)+2+(N4)
=2N4
Let\'stakeanexample.Saythereare4secretagentsW,X,Y&Z.
Dividethemintotwo
groupsof2eachi.e.(W,X)and(Y,Z).Here,4telephonecallsare
required.
1.WwillcallupX.
2.YwillcallupZ.
3.W,whoknowsWXwillcallupY,whoknowsYZ.
4.X,whoknowsWXwillcallupZ,whoknowsYZ.
Takeananotherexample.Saythereare5secretagentsJ,K,L,M&N.
Dividethemintotwo
groupsi.e.(J,K)and(L,M,N).Here,6telephonecallsarerequired.
1.JwillcallupK.
2.LwillcallupM.
3.MwillcallupN.NowMandNknowLMN.
4.J,whoknowsJKwillcallupM,whoknowsLMN.
5.K,whoknowsJKwillcallupN,whoknowsLMN.
6.Lwillcalluptoanyoneoffour.
=====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00450
Yesterdayinaparty,IaskedMr.Shahhisbirthday.Withamischievous
glintinhiseyes
hereplied."ThedaybeforeyesterdayIwas83yearsoldandnextyearI
willbe86."
CanyoufigureoutwhatistheDateofBirthofMr.Shah?Assumethat
thecurrentyearis
2000.
Answer
Mr.Shah'sdateofbirthis31December,1915
Todayis1January,2000.Thedaybeforeyesterdaywas30December,1999
andMr.Shahwas
83onthatday.Todayi.e.1January,2000heis84.On31December
2000,hewillbe85
andnextyeari.e.31December,2001hewillbe86.Hence,thedateof
birthis31
December,1915.
ManypeopledothinkofLeapyearanddateofbirthas29thFebruaryas
2000istheLeap
yearandthereisdifferenceof3yearsinMr.Shah'sage.Butthatis
nottheanswer.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00559
Ifyouweretodialany7digitsonatelephoneinrandomorder,whatis
theprobability
thatyouwilldialyourownphonenumber?
Assumethatyourtelephonenumberis7digits.
Submittedby:AlessandroTabora
Answer
1in10,000,000
Thereare10digitsi.e.09.Firstdigitcanbedialedin10ways.
Seconddigitcanbe
dialedin10ways.Thirddigitcanbedialedin10ways.Andsoon.....
Thus,7digitcanbedialedin10*10*10*10*10*10*10(=10,000,000)ways.
And,youhavejust
onetelephonenumber.Hence,thepossibilitythatyouwilldialyourown
numberis1in
10,000,000.
Notethat0123456maynotbeavalid7digittelephonenumber.Butwhile
dialinginrandom
order,thatisoneofthepossible7digitnumberwhichyoumaydial.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00200
Anapplevendorhas1000applesand10emptyboxes.Heaskshissonto
placeallthe1000
applesinallthe10boxesinsuchamannerthatifheasksforany
numberofapplesfrom1
to1000,hissonshouldbeabletopickthemintermsofboxes.
Howdidthesonplacealltheapplesamongthe10boxes,giventhatany
numberofapples
canbeputinonebox.
Answer
1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,489
Let'sstartfromscratch.
*Theapplevandorcanaskforonly1apple,sooneboxmustcontain1
apple.
*Hecanaskfor2apples,sooneboxmustcontain2apples.
Hecanaskfor3apples,inthatcaseboxoneandboxtwowilladdupto
3.
*Hecanaskfor4apples,sooneboxi.e.thirdboxmustcontain4
apples.
*Nowusingboxnumberone,twoandthreecontaining1,2and4apples
respectively,
hissoncangiveupto7apples.Hence,forthboxmustcontain8apples.
*Similarly,usingfirstfourboxescontaining1,2,4and8apples,his
soncangive
upto15apples.Hencefifthboxmustcontain16apples.
*Youmusthavenoticedonethingtillnowthateachboxtillnow
containspowerof2
apples.Hencetheansweris1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,489.This
istrueforany
numberofapples,hereinourcaseonlyupto1000.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00170
Aseriescomprisingofalphabetscontains13letters.Thefirstseven
lettersinthegiven
seriesareA,E,F,H,I,L,M
Canyoufindthenexttwoletters?
Answer
ThenextlettersintheseriesareN,O,R,S,U,X.
ThepatternisletterswhoseEnglishnames(PhoneticPronunciations)
startwithvowels.
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00271
OUT
STEM|DEMISE
|DMOC
TUIS
STEM
ZZZE
ZUMM

IST
mustbeaonetoone
letterM,noother
Submittedby:Calon
Answer
C=0,U=1,S=2,T=3,O=4,M=5,I=6,Z=7,E=8,D=9
ItisobviousthatU=1(asU*STEM=STEM)andC=0(asIC=I).
S*OisasingledigitandalsoS*Tisasingledigit.Hence,their
values(O,S,T)mustbe
2,3or4(astheycannotbe0or1orgreaterthan4).
Consider,STEM*O=DMOC,whereC=0.ItmeansthatMmustbe5.Now,its
simple.O=4,S=2,
T=3,E=8,Z=7,I=6andD=9.
OUT413
STEM|DEMISE2385|985628
|DMOC|9540
TUIS3162
STEM2385
ZZZE7778
ZUMM7155
IST623
Also,whenarrangedfrom0to9,itspellsCUSTOMIZED.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00180
Whichnumberintheseriesdoesnotfitinthegivenseries:
143166367649100
Answer
Thisisaserieswithoddpositionscontainingpositionnumberwhereas
evenpositions
containingsquareoftheposition.i.e.evenpositionnumbersare41636
64100andodd
positionnumbersare13579
Hence,6doesnotfitintheseries.Itshouldbe5.
=========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00194
SitasaystoGita,"Ihave3sons.Theyarealllessthan10yearsin
ageandallareof
differentage.Theproductoftheagesofthetwoyoungerbrothersis
equaltotheageof
theeldestbrother.Also,thesumoftheiragesisaPrimenumber."
Howoldistheeldestson?
Answer
Theeldestsonis6yearsold.
Firstlistoutallcombinationsofthreenumberssuchthatallofthem
arelessthan10and
productoffirsttwoisthirdnumber.Thereareonly3combination.
224
236
248
339
Also,notethatageoftheyoungerbrothercannotbe1year.Asinthat
caseothertwo
willbetwinsanditismentionedinteaserthat"theeldestbrother"
i.e.thereisonly
onebrotherwiththeeldestage.
Nowcheckfothesecondconditioni.e.thesumoftheiragesisaPrime
number.
2+2+4=8
2+3+6=11
2+4+8=14
3+3+9=15
11isthePrimenumber.Hence,therequiredcombinationis2,3and6.
Theeldestsonis6
yearsold.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00754
MarkatehalfofapizzaonMonday.Heatehalfofwhatwaslefton
Tuesdayandsoon.He
followedthispatternforoneweek.
Howmuchofthepizzawouldhehaveeatenduringtheweek?
Submittedby:AshleyKrapf
Answer
Markwouldhaveate127/128(99.22%)ofthepizzaduringtheweek.
MarkatehalfthepizzaonMonday.OnTuesday,hewouldhaveatehalfof
theremaining
pizzai.e.1/4oftheoriginalpizza.Similarly,hewouldhaveate1/8
oftheoriginal
pizzaonWednesdayandsoonforthesevendays.
TotalpizzaMarkateduringtheweekis
=1/2+1/4+1/8+1/16+1/32+1/64+1/128
=127/128
=99.22%oftheoriginalpizza
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00087
Findthenextnumberintheseries111220233346.....
Answer
Allthenumbersgivenarethefibonaccinumbersinincreasingbases
starting2!!!
Therefore,
11=3base2
12=5base3
20=8base4
23=13base5etc...
Answer=67whichis55base8
(Fibonacciseries:2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89.....wherenext
numberissumofthe
previoustonumbers.)
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00108
SOME
+GOOD
IDEAS
mustbeaonetoone
letterS,noother
Answer
Byjustlookingattheteaser,onecanguessthatImustbe1.
Now,taketherightsideoftheteaseri.e.E+D=Sandtaketheleft
sideoftheteaser
i.e.S+G=D.HerenotethatS+Gshouldbegreaterthan11asEorD
cannotbe0(E+
D=S)andIis1.
Withtrialanderror,andalsobyapplyingsuchconstraints,weget
8795
+4773
13568
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00117
Iboughtacarwithapeculiar5digitnumberedlicenceplatewhichon
reversingcould
stillberead.Onreversingvalueisincreasedby78633.
Whatstheoriginalnumberifalldigitsaredifferent?
Answer
Only0168and9canbereadupsidedown.Soonrearrangingthese
digitswegetthe
answeras10968.
================================
BrainTeaserNo:00120
Replaceeachletterbyadigit.Eachlettermustberepresentedbythe
samedigitandno
beginningletterofawordcanbe0.
ONE
ONE
ONE
+ONE
TEN
Answer
Usetrialanderror.0=1,N=8,E=2,T=7
182
182
182
+182
728
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00471
SlowRunExpressrunsbetweenBangaloreandMumbai,Fortheupaswellas
thedownjourney,
thetrainleavesthestartingstationat10:00PMeverydayandreaches
thedestinationat
11:30PMafterthreedays.
Mr.HaanioncetravelledbySlowRunExpressfromMumbaitoBangalore.
HowmanySlowRun
Expressdidhecrossduringhisjourney?
Answer
Mr.Haanicrossed7SlowRunExpressesduringhisjourney.
Let'ssaythatMr.HaanitravelledbySlowRunExpressonWednesday
10:00PMfromMumbai.The
firsttrainhewouldhavecrossedistheonescheduledtoarriveat
Mumbaiat11:30PMthe
samedayi.e.theonethatleftBangaloreat10:00PMonlastSunday.
Also,hewouldhavecrossedthelasttrainjustbeforereaching
BangaloreonSaturday.
Thus,Mr.Haanimusthavecrossed7SlowRunExpressesduringhis
journey.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00039
Findnextnumberintheseries:
3,7,31,211,?
Answer
1831
AllthenumbersintheseriesarePrimeNumbers.Sothenextnumberwill
alsobeaprime
number.
Twoconsecutivenumbersintheseries
(AandB)TotalPrimenumbersbewtweenAandB
(C)PrimenumberjustbeforeB
(D)E=(C+D)
3and7156
7and3162935
31and21135199234
*Numberafter7istheprimenumberonskipping6primenumbersafter7
i.e.31
*Numberafter31istheprimenumberonskipping35primenumbersafter
31i.e.211
*Hence,numberafter211istheprimenumberonskipping234prime
numbersafter211
i.e.1831
Theotherpossibleansweris1891.
Subtract1fromeachnumberinthegivenseries:2,6,30,210
Firstnumber=2*1=2
Secondnumber=2*3=6
Thirdnumber=6*5=30
Fourthnumber=30*7=210
Fifthnumber=210*9=1890
Sixthnumber=1890*11=20790
Thus,thepatternis:multiplypreviousnumberbynextoddnumberand
addonetothe
multiplication.Thus,theseriesis3,7,31,211,1891,20791,...
ThankstoN.Anandforthismuchmoresimpleranswer.
====================================
BrainTeaserNo:00047
TheratioofBoystoGirlsis6:4.60%oftheboysand40%ofthegirls
takelunchinthe
canteen.What%ofclasstakeslunchincanteen?
Answer
Assumethereare6Xboysand4XGirls
TotalStudentstakinglunchincanteen
=(6X)(60/100)+(4X)(40/100)
=36(X/10)+16(X/10)
=52(X/10)
Totalstudentsare=6X+4X=10X
%ofclasstakinglunchincanteen
=((52X/10)*100)/10X
=52%
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00699
HereinEnglandMcDonald'shasjustlaunchedanewadvertisingcampaign.
Thepostershows8
McDonald'sproductsandunderneathclaimsthereare40312combinations
oftheaboveitems.
Giventhatthemaximumnumberofitemsallowedis8,andyouareallowed
tohavelessthan
8items,andthattheorderofpurchasedoesnotmatter(i.e.buyinga
burgerandfriesis
thesameasbuyingfriesandaburger)
Howmanypossiblecombinationsarethere?AreMcDonald'scorrectin
claimingthereare
40312combinations?
Answer
Totalpossiblecombinationsare12869.
Itisgiventhatyoucanordermaximumof8itemsandyouareallowedto
havelessthan8
items.Also,theorderofpurchasedoesnotmatter.Let'screateatable
fororderingtotal
NitemsusingXproducts.
Items
Ordered
(N)ProductsUsed(X)
12345678
11
211
3121
41331
514641
615101051
71615201561
8172135352171
Total(T)8285670562881
Waystochoose
Xproductsfrom
8products(W)8C18C28C38C48C58C68C78C8
Totalcombinations
(T*W)64784313649003136784641
Thus,totalpossiblecombinationsare
=64+784+3136+4900+3136+784+64+1
=12869
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00003
Inahotel,roomsarenumberedfrom101to550.Aroomischosenat
random.Whatisthe
probabilitythatroomnumberstartswith1,2or3andendswith4,5or
6?
Answer
Therearetotal450rooms.
Outofwhich299roomnumberstartswitheither1,2or3.(asroom
number100isnot
there)Nowoutofthose299roomsonly90roomnumbersendwith4,5or
6
Sotheprobabilityis90/450i.e.1/5or0.20
=================================
BrainTeaserNo:00015
InthetowncalledAlibaug,thefollowingfactsaretrue:
*Notwoinhabitantshaveexactlythesamenumberofhairs.
*Noinhabitantshasexactly2025hairs.
*Therearemoreinhabitantsthantherearehairsontheheadofanyone
inhabitants.
WhatisthelargestpossiblenumberoftheinhabitantsofAlibaug?
Answer
2025
Itisgiventhatnoinhabitantshaveexactly2025hairs.Hencethereare
2025inhabitants
with0to2024hairsinthehead.
Supposetherearemorethan2025inhabitants.Butthesewillviolatethe
conditionthat
"Therearemoreinhabitantsthantherearehairsontheheadofanyone
inhabitants."As
foranynumbermorethan2025,therewillbesamenumberofinhabitants
asthemaximum
numberofhairsontheheadofanyinhabitant.
=======================================
BrainTeaserNo:00035
Inasportscontestthereweremmedalsawardedonnsuccessivedays(n
>1).
1.Onthefirstday1medaland1/7oftheremainingm1medalswere
awarded.
2.Onthesecondday2medalsand1/7ofthenowremainingmedalswas
awarded;andso
on.
3.Onthenthandlastday,theremainingnmedalswereawarded.
Howmanydaysdidthecontestlast,andhowmanymedalswereawarded
altogether?
Answer
Total36medalswereawardedandthecontestwasfor6days.
Onday1:Medalsawarded=(1+35/7)=6:Remaining30medals
Onday6:Medalsawarded6
Igotthisanswerbywritingsmallprogram.Ifanyoneknowanyother
simplermethod,do
submitit.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00330
ThesecretagentXemailedacodewordtohisheadoffice.Theyare"AIM
DUEOATTIEMOD".
Butfourofthesefivewordsarefakeandonlyonecontainsthe
information.
TheagentXalsomailedasentenceasaclueifItellyouanyone
characterofthecode
word,youwouldbeabletotellthenumberofvowelsinthecodeword.
Canyoutellwhichisthecodeword?
Answer
ThecodewordisTIE.
IfyouweretoldanyonecharacterofMOD,thenyouwouldnotbeableto
determinewhether
thenumberofvowelsareoneortwo.e.g.ifyouweretoldM,thereare
twowordswithM
AIMwith2vowelsandMODwith1vowel.Soyouwouldnotbeabletosay
thenumberof
vowels.SameargumentscanbegivenforcharactersOandD.
Hence,thewordwithanyoneofM,OorDisnotacodewordi.e.AIM,
DUE,OATandMODare
notthecodeword.Thus,TIEisthecodeword.
T:twowordsTIEandOAT,bothwith2vowels
I:twowordsTIEandAIM,bothwith2vowels
E:twowordsTIEandDUE,bothwith2vowels.
==================================
BrainTeaserNo:00520
Somebodymarkedthesixfacesofadiewiththenumbers1,2and3
eachnumbertwice.The
diewasputonatable.FourpeopleAbu,Babu,CaluandDabusat
aroundthetableso
thateachonewasabletoseeonlythreesidesofthedieataglance.
*Abuseesthenumber1andtwoevennumbers.
*BabuandCalucanseethreedifferentnumberseach.
*Dabuseesnumber2twiceandhecan'trememberthethirdnumber.
Whatnumberisfacedownonthetable?
Answer
Number3isfacedownonthetable.
IfAbucanseetwoevennumbersi.e.number2twice,andifDabucansee
number2twice,
thennumber2mustbefacingup.
Noweverythingelseissimple.(seethefollowingdiagram)
DabuAbu
1
322
1
CaluBabu
Thus,thenumberhiddenfromtheviewisnumber3andhencetheanswer.
========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00291
AdrinksmachineoffersthreeselectionsTea,CoffeeorRandom(Either
teaorCoffee)but
themachinehasbeenwiredupwronglysothateachbuttondoesnotgive
whatitclaims.
Ifeachdrinkcosts50p,howmuchminimummoneydoyouhavetoputinto
themachinetowork
outwhichbuttongiveswhichselection?
Answer
Youhavetoputjust50p.
Put50pandpushthebuttonforRandom.Thereareonly2possibilities.
Itwillgiveeither
TeaorCoffee.
*IfitgivesTea,thenthebuttonnamedRandomisforTea.Thebutton
namedCoffeeis
forRandomselection.AndthebuttonnamedTeaisforCoffee.
*IfitgivesCoffee,thenthebuttonnamedRandomisforCoffee.The
buttonnamedTea
isforRandomselection.AndthebuttonnamedCoffeeisforTea.
Thus,youcanmakeoutwhichbuttonisforwhatbyputtingjust50pand
pressingRandom
selectionfirst.
===============================
BrainTeaserNo:00298
Whichofthefollowingnumbersistheoddoneout,andwhy?
1,2,3,5,9,13,21
Notethat2isnottheoddone.
Submittedby:BrettHurrell
Answer
Theoddnumberis9.
ItisaFibonacciSeriesaseriesinwhichnextnumberissummationof
previous2
numbers.
Thefirsttwonumbersare1and2.
Thirdnumberis=1+2=3
Fourthnumberis3+5=8
Fifthnumberis5+8=13
Sixthnumberis8+13=21
Hence9istheoddnumberItshould8.
===================================
BrainTeaserNo:00315
Afarmerbuiltafencearoundhis25cowsinasquareregion.Hebuilt
itinsuchaway
thatonecansee5polesfromeitherofthefoursides.
Whataretheminimumnumberofpolesthefarmermusthaveused?
Answer
16poles
XXXXX
XX
XX
XX
XXXXX
Onepoleateachcornerandthreepolesalongeachsidesothatonecan
alwayssee5poles
fromeitherofthefoursides.Thecornerpoleissharedbytwosides
andhencereducing
thenumberofpolesto16.
==============================
BrainTeaserNo:00579
Mr.Waglegoestoworkbyabus.Onedayhefallsasleepwhenthebus
stillhastwiceas
fartogoasithasalreadygone.
Halfwaythroughthetriphewakesupasthebusbouncesoversomebad
potholes.Whenhe
finallyfallsasleepagain,thebusstillhashalfthedistancetogo
thatithasalready
travelled.Fortunately,Mr.Waglewakesupattheendofhistrip.
WhatportionofthetotaltripdidMr.Waglesleep?
Answer
Mr.waglesleptthroughhalfhistrip.
Let'sdrawatimeline.Picturethebusrouteonalineshowenbelow:
________________________
Start1/31/22/3End
showstimeforwhichMr.Waglewasnotsleeping
_____showstimeforwhichMr.Waglewassleeping
WhenMr.Waglefellasleepthefirsttime,thebussillhadtwiceasfar
togoasithad
alreadygone,thatmarksthefirstthirdofhistrip.
Hewakeuphalfwaythroughthetripi.esleptfrom1/3marktothe1/2
mark.Hefellsleep
againwhenthebusstillhadhalfthedistancetogothatithadalready
traveledi.e2/3
mark.
Addingup,allsleepingtimes,
=(1/21/3)+(12/3)
=1/6+1/3
=1/2
Hence,Mr.waglesleptthroughhalfhistrip.
============================
BrainTeaserNo:00153
InaRoadRace,oneofthethreebikerswasdoing15kmlessthanthe
firstand3kmmore
thanthethird.Healsofinishedtherace12minutesafterthefirstand
3minutesbefore
thethird.
Canyoufindoutthespeedofeachbiker,thetimetakenbyeachbiker
tofinishtherace
andthelengthofthecourse?
Assumethattherewerenostopsintheraceandalsotheyweredriving
withconstantspeeds
throughouttherace.
Answer
Letusassumethat
SpeedofFirstbiker=V1km/min
SpeedofSecondbiker=V2km/min
SpeedofThirdbiker=V3km/min
Totaltimetakebyfirstbiker=T1min
Totaldistance=Skm
Nowasperthedatagivenintheteaser,atatimeTmin
X1=V1*T>1
X115=V2*T>2
X118=V3*T>3
AtaDistanceSKm.
S=V1*T1>4
S=V2*(T1+12)>5
S=V3*(T1+15)>6
Thusthereare6equationsand7unknowndatathatmeansithasinfinite
numberof
solutions.
Bysolvingabove6equationsweget,
Timetakenbyfirstbiker,T1=60Min.
TimetakenbySecondbiker,T2=72Min.
Timetakenbyfirstbiker,T3=75Min.
Also,weget
Speedoffirstbiker,V1=90/Tkm/min
Speedofsecondbiker,V2=(5/6)V1=75/Tkm/min
Speedofthirdbiker,V3=(4/5)V1=72/Tkm/min
Also,thelengthofthecourse,S=5400/Tkm
Thus,forthedatagiven,onlythetimetakenbyeachbikercanbefound
i.e.60,72and75
minutes.Forotherquantities,onemoreindependentdatumisrequired
i.e.eitherTorV1
orV2orV3
ThankstoTheerthamSrinivasfortheanswer!!!
==========================================
BrainTeaserNo:00313
Agroupoffriendswentonaholidaytoahillstation.Itrainedfor13
days.Butwhenit
rainedinthemorning,theafternoonwaslovely.Andwhenitrainedin
theafternoon,the
daywasprecededbyclearmorning.
Altogethertherewere11verynicemorningsand12veryniceafternoons.
Howmanydaysdid
theirholidaylast?
Answer
Theholidaylastfor18days.
Let'sassumethenumberofdaysasfollows:
Raininthemorningandlovelyafternoon=Xdays
Clearmorningandrainintheafternoon=Ydays
Noraininthemorningandintheafternoon=Zdays
Numberofdayswithrain=X+Y=13days
Numberofdayswithclearmornings=Y+Z=11days
Numberofdayswithclearafternoons=X+Z=12days
Solvingabove3equations,wegetX=7,Y=6andZ=5
Hence,totalnumberofdaysonholiday=18days

281 Puzzles Collected On 10th October 10

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