400 Puzzles

Threefriendsdividedsomebulletsequally.
Afterallofthemshot4bullets
thetotalnumberofbulletsremainingisequaltothebulletseachhadafter
division.Findtheoriginalnumberdivided.
Answer
18
Assumethatinitialtherewere3*Xbullets.
SotheygotXbulletseachafterdivision.
Allofthemshot4bullets.Sonowtheyhave(X4)bulletseach.
Butitisgiventhat,aftertheyshot4bulletseach,totalnumberofbullets
remainingisequaltothebulletseachhadafterdivisioni.e.X
Therefore,theequationis
3*(X4)=X
3*X12=X
2*X=12
X=6
Thereforethetotalbulletsbeforedivisionis=3*X=18
FindsumofdigitsofD.
Let
1999
A=1999
B=sumofdigitsofA
C=sumofdigitsofB
D=sumofdigitsofC
(HINT:A=B=C=D(mod9))
Answer
ThesumofthedigitsodDis1.
LetE=sumofdigitsofD.
ItfollowsfromthehintthatA=E(mod9)
Consider,
1999
A=1999
2000
<2000
2000
2000
=2
*1000
200
6000
=1024
*10
800
6000
<10
*10
6800
=10
6800
i.e.A<10
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)
1999
so1999
=1(mod9)

ThereforeweconcludethatE=1.
Thereisa50mlongarmyplatoonmarchingahead.Thelastpersoninthe
platoonwantstogivealettertothefirstpersonleadingtheplatoon.Sowhile
theplatoonismarchingherunsahead,reachesthefirstpersonandhands
overthelettertohimandwithoutstoppingherunsandcomesbacktohis
originalposition.
Inthemeantimethewholeplatoonhasmovedaheadby50m.
Thequestionishowmuchdistancedidthelastpersoncoverinthattime.
Assumingthatheranthewholedistancewithuniformspeed.
Submitted
Answer
Thelastpersoncovered120.71meters.
Itisgiventhattheplatoonandthelastpersonmovedwithuniformspeed.
Also,theybothmovedfortheidenticalamountoftime.Hence,theratioof
thedistancetheycoveredwhilepersonmovingforwardandbackwordare
equal.
Let'sassumethatwhenthelastpersonreachedthefirstperson,theplatoon
movedXmetersforward.
Thus,whilemovingforwardthelastpersonmoved(50+X)meterswhereas
theplatoonmovedXmeters.
Similarly,whilemovingbackthelastpersonmoved[50(50X)]Xmeters
whereastheplatoonmoved(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,onemightthinkthatthetotaldistancecoveredby
thelastpersonis100meters,asheranthetotallenghtoftheplatoon(50
meters)twice.TRUE,butthat'stherelativedistancecoveredbythelast
personi.e.assumingthattheplatoonisstationary.
Ifyoutakeamarker&startfromacorneronacube,whatisthemaximum
numberofedgesyoucantraceacrossifyounevertraceacrossthesame
edgetwice,neverremovethemarkerfromthecube,&nevertraceanywhere
onthecube,exceptforthecorners&edges?
Answer
Toverifythis,youcanmakeadrawingofacube,&numbereachofits12
edges.Then,alwaysstartingfrom1corner&1edge,youcandetermineall
ofthepossiblecombinationsfortracingalongtheedgesofacube.
Thereisnoneedtostartfromothercornersoredgesofthecube,asyouwill
onlyberepeatingthesamecombinations.Theprocessisalittlemore
involvedthanthis,butisusefulforsolvingmanytypesofspatialpuzzles.
OneofMr.Bajaj,hiswife,theirsonandMr.Bajaj'smotherisanEngineer
andanotherisaDoctor.
IftheDoctorisamale,thentheEngineerisamale.
IftheEngineerisyoungerthantheDoctor,thentheEngineerandthe
Doctorarenotbloodrelatives.
IftheEngineerisafemale,thensheandtheDoctorareblood
relatives.
CanyoutellwhoistheDoctorandtheEngineer?
Answer
Mr.BajajistheEngineerandeitherhiswifeorhissonistheDoctor.
Mr.Bajaj'swifeandmotherarenotbloodrelatives.Sofrom3,ifthe
Engineerisafemale,theDoctorisamale.Butfrom1,iftheDoctorisa
male,thentheEngineerisamale.Thus,thereisacontradiction,ifthe
Engineerisafemale.Hence,eitherMr.BajajorhissonistheEngineer.
Mr.Bajaj'ssonistheyoungestofallfourandisbloodrelativeofeachof
them.Sofrom2,Mr.Bajaj'ssonisnottheEngineer.Hence,Mr.Bajajisthe
Engineer.
Nowfrom2,Mr.Bajaj'smothercannotbetheDoctor.SotheDoctoris
eitherhiswifeorhisson.Itisnotpossibletodetermineanythingfurther.
ThreemenSam,CamandLauriearemarriedtoCarrie,BillyandTina,
butnotnecessarilyinthesameorder.
Sam'swifeandBilly'sHusbandplayCarrieandTina'shusbandatbridge.No
wifepartnersherhusbandandCamdoesnotplaybridge.
WhoismarriedtoCam?
Answer
CarrieismarriedtoCam.
"Sam'swifeandBilly'sHusbandplayCarrieandTina'shusbandatbridge."
ItmeansthatSamisnotmarriedtoeitherBillyorCarrie.Thus,Samis
marriedtoTina.
AsCamdoesnotplaybridge,Billy'shusbandmustbeLaurie.
Hence,CarrieismarriedtoCam.
Thereare3personsX,YandZ.Onsomeday,XlenttractorstoYandZas
manyastheyhad.AfteramonthYgaveasmanytractorstoXandZas
manyastheyhave.AfteramonthZdidthesamething.Attheendofthis
transactioneachoneofthemhad24.
Findthetractorseachoriginallyhad?
Answer
Onewaytosolveitisbymaking3equationsandsolvethem
simultaneously.ButthereisrathereasierwaytosolveitusingBacktracing.
It'sgiventhatattheend,eachhad24tractors(24,24,24)i.e.afterZgave
tractorstoX&Yasmanyastheyhad.Itmeansthataftergettingtractors
fromZtheirtractorsgotdoubled.SobeforeZgavethemtractors,theyhad
12tractorseachandZhad48tractors.(12,12,48)
Similarly,beforeYgavetractorstoX&Z,theyhad6&24tractors
respectivelyandYhad42tractorsi.e.(6,42,24)
Again,beforeXgavetractorstoY&Z,theyhad21&12tractors
respectivelyandXhad39tractorsi.e.(39,21,12)
Hence,initially
Xhad39tractors,Yhad21tractors
and
Zhad12
tractors.
Acertainstreethas1000buildings.Asignmakeriscontractedtonumber
thehousesfrom1to1000.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
Thereare9coins.Outofwhichoneisoddonei.eweightislessormore.
Howmanyiterationsofweighingarerequiredtofindoddcoin?
Answer
Itisalwayspossibletofindoddcoinin3weighingsandtotellwhetherthe
oddcoinisheavierorlighter.
1. Take8coinsandweigh4against4.
Ifbotharenotequal,gotostep2
Ifbothareequal,gotostep3
2.
Oneofthese8coinsistheoddone.Namethecoinsonheaviersideof
thescaleasH1,H2,H3andH4.Similarly,namethecoinsonthe
lightersideofthescaleasL1,L2,L3andL4.EitheroneofH'sis
heavieroroneofL'sislighter.Weigh(H1,H2,L1)against(H3,H4,
X)whereXisonecoinremaininginintialweighing.
Ifbothareequal,oneofL2,L3,L4islighter.WeighL2against
L3.
Ifbothareequal,L4istheoddcoinandislighter.
IfL2islight,L2istheoddcoinandislighter.
If(H1,H2,L1)isheaviersideonthescale,eitherH1orH2is
heavier.WeightH1againstH2
Ifbothareequal,thereissomeerror.
IfH1isheavy,H1istheoddcoinandisheavier.
If(H3,H4,X)isheaviersideonthescale,eitherH3orH4is
heavierorL1islighter.WeightH3againstH4
3.
TheremainingcoinXistheoddone.WeighXagainsttheanyone
coinusedininitialweighing.
IfXisheavy,Xistheoddcoinandisheavier.
IfXislight,Xistheoddcoinandislighter.
Inasportscontestthereweremmedalsawardedonnsuccessivedays(n>
1).
1.
2.
3.
Onthefirstday1medaland1/7oftheremainingm1medalswere
awarded.
Onthesecondday2medalsand1/7ofthenowremainingmedalswas
awardedandsoon.
th
Onthen
andlastday,theremainingnmedalswereawarded.
Howmanydaysdidthecontestlast,andhowmanymedalswereawarded
altogether?
Answer
Total36medalswereawardedandthecontestwasfor6days.
Onday1:Medalsawarded=(1+35/7)=6:Remaining30medals
Onday6:Medalsawarded6
Igotthisanswerbywritingsmallprogram.Ifanyoneknowanyother
simplermethod,dosubmitit.
Anumberof9digitshasthefollowingproperties:
Thenumbercomprisingtheleftmosttwodigitsisdivisibleby2,that
comprisingtheleftmostthreedigitsisdivisibleby3,theleftmostfour
by4,theleftmostfiveby5,andsoonfortheninedigitsofthe
numberi.e.thenumberformedfromthefirstndigitsisdivisiblebyn,
2<=n<=9.
Eachdigitinthenumberisdifferenti.e.nodigitsarerepeated.
Thedigit0doesnotoccurinthenumberi.e.itiscomprisedonlyof
thedigits19insomeorder.
Findthenumber.
Answer

Theansweris
381654729
OnewaytosolveitisTrial&Error.Youcanmakeitbiteasierasodd
positionswillalwaysoccupyODDnumbersandevenpositionswillalways
occupyEVENnumbers.Further5thpositionwillcontain5as0doesnot
occur.
Theotherwaytosolvethisproblemisbywritingacomputerprogramthat
systematicallytriesallpossibilities
1/3rdofthecontentsofacontainerevaporatedonthe1stday.3/4thofthe
remainingcontentsofthecontainerevaporatedonthesecondday.
Whatpartofthecontentsofthecontainerisleftattheendofthesecondday?
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
Vipulwasstudyingforhisexaminationsandthelightswentoff.Itwas
around1:00AM.Helightedtwouniformcandlesofequallengthbutone
thickerthantheother.Thethickcandleissupposedtolastsixhoursandthe
thinonetwohoursless.Whenhefinallywenttosleep,thethickcandlewas
twiceaslongasthethinone.
ForhowlongdidVipulstudyincandlelight?
Answer

Vipulstudiedfor3hoursincandlelight.
AssumethattheinitiallenghtofboththecandlewasLandVipulstudiedfor
Xhours.
InXhours,totalthickcandleburnt=XL/6
InXhours,totalthincandleburnt=XL/4
AfterXhours,totalthickcandleremaining=LXL/6
AfterXhours,totalthincandleremaining=LXL/4
Also,itisgiventhatthethickcandlewastwiceaslongasthethinonewhen
hefinallywenttosleep.
(LXL/6)=2(LXL/4)
(6X)/6=(4X)/2
(6X)=3*(4X)
6X=123X
2X=6
X=3
Hence,Vipulstudiedfor3hoursi.e.180minutesincandlelight.
IfyoustartedabusinessinwhichyouearnedRs.1onthefirstday,Rs.3on
thesecondday,Rs.5onthethirdday,Rs.7onthefourthday,&soon.
Howmuchwouldyouhaveearnedwiththisbusinessafter50years
(assumingthereareexactly365daysineveryyear)?
Answer
Rs.333,062,500
Tobeginwith,youwanttoknowthetotalnumberofdays:365x50=
18250.
Byexperimentation,thefollowingformulacanbediscovered,&usedto
determinetheamountearnedforanyparticularday:1+2(x1),withxbeing
thenumberoftheday.Takehalfofthe18250days,&pairthemupwiththe
otherhalfinthefollowingway:day1withday18250,day2withday
18249,&soon,&youwillseethatifyouaddthesepairstogether,they
alwaysequalRs.36500.
Multiplythisnumberbythetotalnumberofpairs(9125),&youhavethe
amountyouwouldhaveearnedin50years.
Mathgurusmayuseseriesformulatosolveit.(series:1,3,5,7,9,11.....upto
18250terms)
Aworkerearnsa5%raise.Ayearlater,theworkerreceivesa2.5%cutin
pay,&nowhissalaryisRs.22702.68
Whatwashissalarytobeginwith?
Answer
Rs.22176
AssumehissalarywasRs.X
Heearns5%raise.Sohissalaryis(105*X)/100
Ayearlaterhereceives2.5%cut.Sohissalaryis((105*X)/100)*(97.5/100)
whichisRs.22702.68
Hence,solvingequation((105*X)/100)*(97.5/100)=22702.68
X=22176
At6'oaclockticks6times.Thetimebetweenfirstandlastticksis30seconds.
Howlongdoesittickat12'o.
Answer
66seconds
Itisgiventhatthetimebetweenfirstandlastticksat6'ois30seconds.
Totaltimegapsbetweenfirstandlastticksat6'o=5
(i.e.between1&2,2&3,3&4,4&5and5&6)
Sotimegapbetweentwoticks=30/5=6seconds.
Now,totaltimegapsbetweenfirstandlastticksat12'o=11
Thereforetimetakenfor12ticks=11*6=66seconds(andnot60seconds)
500menarearrangedinanarrayof10rowsand50columnsaccordingto
theirheights.
Tallestamongeachrowofallareaskedtocomeout.Andtheshortest
amongthemisA.
Similarlyafterresumingthemtotheiroriginalpositions,theshortestamong
eachcolumnareaskedtocomeout.AndthetallestamongthemisB.
NowwhoistallerAorB?
Answer
Nooneistaller,botharesameasAandBarethesameperson.
Asitismentionedthat500menarearrangedinanarrayof10rowsand50
columns
accordingtotheirheights
.Let'sassumethatpositionnumbers
representtheirheights.Hence,theshortestamongthe50,100,150,...450,
500ispersonwithheight50i.e.A.Similarlythetallestamong1,2,3,4,5,
.....48,48,50ispersonwithheight50i.e.B
Now,bothAandBarethepersonwithheight50.Hencebotharesame.
InMr.Mehta'sfamily,thereareonegrandfather,onegrandmother,two
fathers,twomothers,onefatherinlaw,onemotherinlaw,fourchildren,
threegrandchildren,onebrother,twosisters,twosons,twodaughtersand
onedaughterinlaw.
HowmanymembersarethereinMr.Mehta'sfamily?Giveminimalpossible
answer.
Answer
Thereare7membersinMr.Mehta'sfamily.Mother&FatherofMr.Mehta,
Mr.&Mrs.Mehta,hissonandtwodaughters.
Mother&FatherofMr.Mehta
|
|
Mr.&Mrs.Mehta
|
|
OneSon&TwoDaughters
WhenAlexandertheGreatattackedtheforcesofPorus,anIndiansoldier
wascapturedbytheGreeks.Hehaddisplayedsuchbraveryinbattle,
however,thattheenemyofferedtolethimchoosehowhewantedtobe
killed.Theytoldhim,"Ifyoutellalie,youwillputtothesword,andifyou
tellthetruthyouwillbehanged."
Thesoldiercouldmakeonlyonestatement.Hemadethatstatementand
wentfree.Whatdidhesay?
Answer
Thesoldiersaid,"Youwillputmetothesword."
ThesoldierhastosayaParadoxtosavehimself.Ifhisstatementistrue,he
willbehanged,whichisnottheswordandhencefalse.Ifhisstatementis
false,hewillbeputtothesword,whichwillmakeittrue.AParadox!!!
ApersonwantedtowithdrawXrupeesandYpaisefromthebank.But
cashiermadeamistakeandgavehimYrupeesandXpaise.Neitherthe
personnorthecashiernoticedthat.

Afterspending20paise,thepersoncountsthemoney.Andtohissurprise,
hehasdoubletheamounthewantedtowithdraw.
FindXandY.(1Rupee=100Paise)
Answer
Asgiven,thepersonwantedtowithdraw100X+Ypaise.
Buthegot100Y+Xpaise.
Afterspending20paise,hehasdoubletheamounthewantedto
withdraw.Hence,theequationis
2*(100X+Y)=100Y+X20
200X+2Y=100Y+X20
199X98Y=20
98Y199X=20
Now,wegotoneequationbutthereare2variables.Wehavetoapply
littlebitoflogicoverhere.WeknowthatifweinterchangeX&Y,
amountgetsdouble.SoYshouldbetwiceofXoronemorethantwiceof
Xi.e.Y=2XorY=2X+1
CaseI:
Y=2X
Solvingtwoequationssimultaneously
98Y199X=20
Y2X=0
WegetX=20/3&Y=40/2
CaseII:
Y=2X+1
98Y199X=20
Y2X=1
WegetX=26&Y=53
Now,itsobviousthathewantedtowithdrawRs.26.53
Submit
Answer
Users
Answer(2)
BrainVista
Answer
ThegameofTicTacToeisbeingplayedbetweentwoplayers.Onlythelast
marktobeplacedinthegameasshown.
Whowillwinthegame,OorX?Canyoutellwhichwasthesixthmarkand
atwhichposition?Doexplainyouranswer.
AttheParty:
1. Therewere9menandchildren.
2. Therewere2morewomenthanchildren.
3. Thenumberofdifferentmanwomancouplespossiblewas24.Note
thatiftherewere7menand5women,thentherewouldhavebeen35
manwomancouplespossible.
Also,ofthethreegroupsmen,womenandchildrenattheparty:
4. Therewere4ofonegroup.
Exactlyoneoftheabove6statementsisfalse.
Canyoutellwhichoneisfalse?Also,howmanymen,womenandchildren
arethereattheparty
Assumethatboththeplayersareintelligentenough.
Answer
Owillwinthegame.ThesixthmarkwasXinsquare9.
The7thmarkmustbeplacedinsquare5whichisthewinsituationforboth
XandO.Hence,the6thmarkmustbeplacedinalinealreadycontaining
twooftheopponentsmarks.Therearetwosuchpossibilitiesthe6thmark
wouldhavebeeneitherOinsquare7orXinsquare9.
Asweknowboththeplayersareintelligentenough,the6thmarkcouldnot
beOinsquare7.Instead,hewouldhaveplacedOinsquare5andwould
havewon.
Hence,thesixthmarkmustbeXplacedinsquare9.Andtheseventhmark
willbeO.ThusOwillwinthegame.
Answer
Statement(4)isfalse.Thereare3men,8womenand6children.
AssumethatStatements(4),(5)and(6)arealltrue.Then,Statement(1)is
false.ButthenStatement(2)and(3)bothcannotbetrue.Thus,
contradictorytothefactthatexactlyonestatementisfalse.
SoStatement(4)orStatement(5)orStatement(6)isfalse.Also,Statements
(1),(2)and(3)allaretrue.
From(1)and(2),thereare11menandwomen.Thenfrom(3),thereare2
possiblecaseseitherthereare8menand3womenorthereare3menand8
women.
Ifthereare8menand3women,thenthereis1child.ThenStatements(4)
and(5)botharefalse,whichisnotpossible.
Hence,thereare3men,8womenand6children.Statement(4)isfalse.
Thereisashortageoftubelights,bulbsandfansinavillageKharghar.Itis
foundthat
Allhousesdonothaveeithertubelightorbulborfan.
exactly19%ofhousesdonothavejustoneofthese.
atleast67%ofhousesdonothavetubelights.
atleast83%ofhousesdonothavebulbs.
atleast73%ofhousesdonothavefans.
Whatpercentageofhousesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan?
Answer
42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
Let'sassumethatthereare100houses.Hence,thereshouldbetotal300
itemsi.e.100tubelights,100bulbsand100fans.
Fromthegivendata,weknowthatthereisshortageofatleast(67+83+73)
223itemsinevery100houses.
Also,exactly19housesdonothavejustoneitem.Itmeansthatremaining
81housesshouldaccountfortheshortageofremaining(22319)204items.
Ifthoseremaining81housesdonothave2itemseach,therewouldbea
shortageof162items.Buttotalof204itemsareshort.Hence,atleast
(204162)42housesdonothaveall3itemstubelight,bulbandfan.
Thus,42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
Mr.SubramaniamrentsaprivatecarforAndheriColabaAndheritrip.It
costshimRs.300everyday.
OnedaythecardriverinformedMr.Subramaniamthatthereweretwo
studentsfromBandrawhowishedtogofromBandratoColabaandbackto
Bandra.BandraishalfwaybetweenAndheriandColaba.Mr.Subramaniam
askedthedrivertoletthestudentstravelwithhim.
Onthefirstdaywhentheycame,Mr.Subramaniamsaid,"Ifyoutellmethe
mathematicallycorrectpriceyoushouldpayindividuallyforyourportionof
thetrip,Iwillletyoutravelforfree."
Howmuchshouldtheindividualstudentpayfortheirjourney?
Answer
TheindividualstudentshouldpayRs.50fortheirjourney.
Notethat3personsaretravellingbetweenBandraandColaba.
TheentiretripcostsRs.300toMr.Subramanian.Hence,halfofthetrip
costsRs.150.
ForAndheriBandraAndheri,onlyonepersoni.e.Mr.Subramaniamis
travelling.Hence,hewouldpayRs.150.
ForBandraColabaBandra,threepersonsi.eMr.Subramaniamandtwo
students,aretravelling.Hence,eachstudentwouldpayRs.50.
SubstitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingDivisiontrue
OUT
STEM|DEMISE
|DMOC
TUIS
STEM
ZZZE
ZUMM
IST
Notethattheleftmostlettercan'tbezeroinanyword.Also,theremustbea
onetoonemappingbetweendigitsandletters.e.g.ifyousubstitute3forthe
letterM,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherMinthepuzzlemustbe
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,theirvalues(O,S,
T)mustbe2,3or4(astheycannotbe0or1orgreaterthan4).
Consider,STEM*O=DMOC,whereC=0.ItmeansthatMmustbe5.Now,
itssimple.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,itspells
CUSTOMIZED
.
Atwhattimeafter4.00p.m.istheminuteshandofaclockexactlyaligned
withthehourhand?
Answer
4:21:49.5
AssumethatXminutesafter4.00PMminutehandexactlyalignswithand
hourhand.
Foreveryminute,minutehandtravels6degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravel6*Xdegrees.
Foreveryminute,hourhandtravels1/2degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravelX/2degrees.
At4.00PM,theanglebetweenminutehandandhourhandis120degrees.
Also,afterXminutes,minutehandandhourhandareexactlyaligned.So
theanglewithrespectto12i.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.
Asoldierlooseshiswayinathickjungle.Atrandomhewalksfromhis
campbutmathematicallyinaninterestingfashion.
FirsthewalksonemileEastthenhalfmiletoNorth.Then1/4miletoWest,
then1/8miletoSouthandsoonmakingaloop.
Finallyhowfarheisfromhiscampandinwhichdirection?
Answer
Thesoldieris0.8944milesawayfromhiscamptowardsEastNorth.
ItisobviousthatheisinEastNorthdirection.
DistancetravelledinNorthandSouthdirections
=1/21/8+1/321/128+1/5121/2048+andsoon...(ageometricseries
withr=(1/4))
n
(1/2)*(1(1/4)
)
=
(1(1/4))
=1/(2*(1(1/4)))
=2/5
SimilarlyinEastandWestdirections
=11/4+1/161/64+1/256andsoon...(ageometricserieswithr=
(1/4))
n
(1)*(1(1/4)
)
=
(1(1/4))
=1/((1(1/4))
=4/5
Sothesoldieris4/5milesawaytowardsEastand2/5milesawaytowards
North.Sousingrightangledtriangle,soldieris0.8944milesawayfromhis
camp.
RajhasajewelchestcontainingRings,PinsandEarrings.Thechest
contains26pieces.Rajhas21/2timesasmanyringsaspins,andthe
numberofpairsofearringsis4lessthanthenumberofrings.
HowmanyearringsdoesRajhave?
Answer
12earrings
AssumethatthereareRrings,PpinsandEpairofearrings.
Itisgiventhat,hehas21/2timesasmanyringsaspins.
R=(5/2)*PorP=(2*R)/5
And,thenumberofpairsofearringsis4lessthanthenumberofrings.
E=R4orR=E+4
Also,therearetotal26pieces.
R+P+2*E=26
R+(2*R)/5+2*E=26
5*R+2*R+10*E=130
7*R+10*E=130
7*(E+4)+10*E=130
7*E+28+10*E=130
17*E=102
E=6
Hence,thereare6pairsofEarringsi.e.total12Earrings
Howmanywaysarethereofarrangingthesixteenblackorwhitepiecesofa
standardinternationalchesssetonthefirsttworowsoftheboard?
Giventhateachpawnisidenticalandeachrook,knightandbishopis
identicaltoitspair.
Submitted
Answer
6,48,64,800ways
16
Therearetotal16pieceswhichcanbearrangedon16placesin
P
=16!
16
ways.
(16!=16*15*14*13*12*.....*3*2*1)
But,therearesomeduplicatecombinationsbecauseofidenticalpieces.
8
Thereare8identicalpawn,whichcanbearrangedin
P
=8!ways.
8
Similarlythereare2identicalrooks,2identicalknightsand2
2
identicalbishops.Eachcanbearrangedin
P
=2!ways.
2
Hence,therequireansweris
=(16!)/(8!*2!*2!*2!)
=6,48,64,800
Apersonwithsomemoneyspends1/3forcloths,1/5oftheremainingfor
foodand1/4oftheremainingfortravel.HeisleftwithRs100/
Howmuchdidhehavewithhiminthebegining?
Answer
Rs.250/
AssumethatinitiallyhehadRs.X
Hespent1/3forcloths=.(1/3)*X
Remainingmoney=(2/3)*X
Hespent1/5ofremainingmoneyforfood=(1/5)*(2/3)*X=(2/15)*X
Remainingmoney=(2/3)*X(2/15)*X=(8/15)*X
Again,hespent1/4ofremainingmaoneyfortravel=(1/4)*(8/15)*X=
(2/15)*X
Remainingmoney=(8/15)*X(2/15)*X=(6/15)*X
ButafterspendingfortravelheisleftwithRs.100/So
(6/15)*X=100
X=250
Grassinlawngrowsequallythickandinauniformrate.Ittakes24daysfor
70cowsand60daysfor30cowstoeatthewholeofthegrass.
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.
Thereisasafewitha5digitnumberasthekey.The4thdigitis4greater
thantheseconddigit,whilethe3rddigitis3lessthanthe2nddigit.The1st
digitisthricethelastdigit.Thereare3pairswhosesumis11.
Findthenumber.
Answer
65292
Aspergivenconditions,therearethreepossiblecombinationsfor2nd,3rd
and4thdigits.Theyare(3,0,7)or(4,1,8)or(5,2,9)
Itisgiventhatthereare3pairswhosesumis11.Allpossiblepairsare(2,
9),(3,8),(4,7),(5,6).Nowrequirednumberis5digitnumberandit
contains3pairsof11.Soitmustnotbehaving0and1init.Hence,theonly
possiblecombinationfor2nd,3rdand4thdigitsis(5,2,9)
Also,1stdigitisthricethelastdigit.Thepossiblecombinationsare(3,1),
(6,2)and(9,3),outofwhichonly(6,2)with(5,2,9)gives3pairsof11.
Hence,theansweris65292.
FourfriendsArjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhawerecomparingthenumber
ofsheepthattheyowned.

ItwasfoundthatGuranhadtenmoresheepthanLakha.
IfArjangaveonethirdtoBhuvan,andBhuvangaveaquarterofwhathe
thenheldtoGuran,whothenpassedonafifthofhisholdingtoLakha,they
wouldallhaveanequalnumberofsheep.
Howmanysheepdideachofthempossess?Givetheminimalpossible
answer
Answer
Arjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhahad90,50,55and45sheep
respectively.
AssumethatArjan,Bhuvan,GuranandLakhahadA,B,GandLsheep
respectively.Asitisgiventhatattheendeachwouldhaveanequalnumber
ofsheep,comparingthefinalnumbersfromtheabovetable.
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.55sheepandLakhahadA/2i.e.45sheep.
Consideranumber235,wherelastdigitisthesumoffirsttwodigitsi.e.2+
3=5.
Howmanysuch3digitnumbersarethere?
Answer
Thereare45different3digitnumbers.
Thelastdigitcannotbe0.
Ifthelastdigitis1,theonlypossiblenumberis101.(Notethat011isnota
3digitnumber)
Ifthelastdigitis2,thepossiblenumbersare202and112.
Ifthelastdigitis3,thepossiblenumbersare303,213and123.
Ifthelastdigitis4,thepossiblenumbersare404,314,224and134.
Ifthelastdigitis5,thepossiblenumbersare505,415,325,235and145.

NotethepatternhereIfthelastdigitis1,thereisonlyonenumber.Ifthe
lastdigitis2,therearetwonumbers.Ifthelastdigitis3,therearethree
numbers.Ifthelastdigitis4,therearefournumbers.Ifthelastdigitis5,
therearefivenumbers.Andsoon.....
Thus,totalnumbersare
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9=45
Altogetherthen,thereare45different3digitnumbers,wherelastdigitisthe
sumoffirsttwodigits.
Findthesmallestnumbersuchthatifitsrightmostdigitisplacedatitsleft
end,thenewnumbersoformedisprecisely50%largerthantheoriginal
number.
Answer
Theansweris
285714
.
Ifitsrightmostdigitisplacedatitsleftend,thennewnumberis428571
whichis50%largerthantheoriginalnumber285714.
Thesimplestwayistowriteasmallprogram.Andtheotherwayistrialand
error!!!
TwoidenticalpackofcardsAandBareshuffledthroughly.Onecardis
pickedfromAandshuffledwithB.ThetopcardfrompackAisturnedup.
IfthisistheQueenofHearts,whatarethechancesthatthetopcardinBwill
betheKingofHearts?
Answer
52/2703
Therearetwocasestobeconsidered.
CASE1:
KingofHeartsisdrawnfromPackAandshuffledwithPackB
ProbabilityofdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=1/51(asQueenof
Heartsisnottobedrawn)
ProbabilityofhavingKingofHeartsonthetopofthePackB=2/53
Sototalprobabilityofcase1=(1/51)*(2/53)=2/(51*53)
CASE2:
KingofHeartsisnotdrawnfromPackA
ProbabilityofnotdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=50/51(asQueenof
Nowaddingboththeprobability,therequiredprobabilityis
=2/(51*53)+50/(51*53)
=52/(51*53)
=52/2703
=0.0192378
Thereare3antsat3cornersofatriangle,theyrandomlystartmoving
towardsanothercorner.
Whatistheprobabilitythattheydon'tcollide?
Answer
Let'smarkthecornersofthetriangleasA,B,C.Therearetotal8waysin
whichantscanmove.
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'tcollide:
A>B,B>C,C>A
A>C,C>B,B>A

Findallsetsofconsecutiveintegersthataddupto1000.
Submittedby:JamesBarberousse
Answer
Therearetotal8suchseries:
1. Sumof2000numbersstartingfrom999i.e.summationof
numbersfrom999to1000.
(999)+(998)+(997)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+997+998
+999+1000=1000
2. Sumof400numbersstartingfrom197i.e.summationofnumbers
from197to202.
(197)+(196)+(195)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+199+200
+201+202=1000
from54to70.
(54)+(53)+(52)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+68+69+70=
1000
from27to52.
(27)+(26)+(25)+.....+(1)+0+1+2+.....+50+51+52=
1000
from28to52.
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
from55to70.
55+56+57+58+59+60+61+62+63+64+65+66+67+
68+69+70=1000
from198to202.
198+199+200+201+202=1000
8. Sumof1numberstartingfrom1000.
1000=1000
Thereisa4charactercode,with2ofthembeinglettersandtheother2
beingnumbers.
Howmanymaximumattemptswouldbenecessarytofindthecorrectcode?
Notethatthecodeiscasesensitive.
Answer
Themaximumnumberofattemptsrequiredare16,22,400
Thereare52possiblelettersatozandAtoZ,and10possiblenumbers0
to9.Now,4characters2lettersand2numbers,canbeselectedin
4
52*52*10*10ways.These4characterscanbearrangedin
C
i.e.6different
2
waysthenumberofuniquepatternsthatcanbeformedbyliningup4
objectsofwhich2aredistinguishedoneway(i.e.theymustbeletters)and
theother2aredistinguishedanotherway(i.e.theymustbenumbers).
Consideranexample:Let'sassumethat@representsletterand#represents
number.the6possiblewaysofarrangingthemare:@@##,@#@#,@##@,
#@@#,#@#@,##@@
Hence,therequiredansweris
=52*52*10*10*6
=16,22,400attempts
=1.6millionapprox.
ThankstoTimSandersforopeningBrainVista'sbrain!!!
Howmanypossiblecombinationsarethereina3x3x3rubicscube?
Inotherwords,ifyouwantedtosolvetherubicscubebytryingdifferent
combinations,howmanymightittakeyou(worstcasesenerio)?
Howmanyfora4x4x4cube?
Submitted
Answer
Thereare4.3252*10^19possiblecombinationsfor3x3x3Rubicsand
7.4012*10^45possiblecombinationsfor4x4x4Rubics.
Let'sconsider3x3x3Rubicsfirst.
Thereare8cornercubes,whichcanbearrangedin8!ways.
Eachofthese8cubescanbeturnedin3differentdirections,sothereare3^8
orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneofthecornercubeinto
chosenpositionsandorientations,onlyoneof3orientationsofthefinal
cornercubeispossible.Thus,totalwayscornercubescanbeplaced=(8!)*
(3^8)/8=(8!)*(3^7)
Similarly,12edgecubescanbearrangedin12!ways.
Eachofthese12cubescanbeturnedin2differentdirections,sothereare
2^12orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneoftheedgecubeinto
chosenpositionsandorientations,onlyoneof2orientationsofthefinaledge
cubeispossible.Thus,totalwaysedgecubescanbeplaced=(12!)*
(2^12)/2=(12!)*(2^11)
Here,wehaveessentiallypulledthecubesapartandstuckcubesbackin
placewhereverweplease.Inreality,wecanonlymovecubesaroundby
turningthefacesofthecubes.Itturnsoutthatyoucan'tturnthefacesin
suchawayastoswitchthepositionsoftwocubeswhilereturningallthe
otherstotheiroriginalpositions.Thusifyougetallbuttwocubesinplace,
thereisonlyoneattainablechoiceforthem(not2!).Hence,wemustdivide
by2.
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,whichyoucannotturnin2orientations
(henceno2^24/2).Also,thereare4centercubesperfacei.e.(24!)/(4!^6).
Youcanswitch2cubeswithoutaffectingtherestofthecombinationas
4*4*4hasevendimensions(hencenodivisionby2).Butpatternononeside
isrotatedin4directionsover6faces,hencedivideby24.
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingrelationtrue.
NEVER
LEAVE
+ME
ALONE
letterM,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherMinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Answer
Atoughone!!!
SinceR+E+E=10+E,itisclearthatR+E=10andneitherRnorEis
equalto0or5.Thisistheonlyentrypointto
solveit.Nowusetrialnerrormethod.
NEVER21419
LEAVE31541
+ME+61
ALONE53021
OneofthefourpeopleMr.Clinton,hiswifeMonika,theirsonMandyand
theirdaughterCindyisasingerandanotherisadancer.Mr.Clintonis
olderthanhiswifeandMadyisolderthanhissister.
1. Ifthesingerandthedancerarethesamesex,thenthedancerisolder
thanthesinger.
2. Ifneitherthesingernorthedanceristheparentoftheother,thenthe
singerisolderthanthedancer.
3. Ifthesingerisaman,thenthesingerandthedancerarethesameage.
4. Ifthesingerandthedancerareofoppositesexthenthemanisolder
thanthewoman.
5. Ifthedancerisawoman,thenthedancerisolderthanthesinger.
Whoseoccupationdoyouknow?Andwhatishis/heroccupation?
Answer
CindyistheSinger.Mr.ClintonorMonikaistheDancer.
From(1)and(3),thesingerandthedancer,bothcannotbeaman.From(3)
and(4),ifthesingerisaman,thenthedancermustbeaman.Hence,the
singermustbeawoman.
CASEI
:SingerisawomanandDancerisalsoawoman
Then,thedancerisMonikaandthesingerisCindy.
CASEII
:SingerisawomanandDancerisalsoaman
Then,thedancerisMr.ClintonandthesingerisCindy.
Inboththecases,weknowthatCindyistheSinger.AndeitherMr.Clinton
orMonikaistheDancer.
Thereare20peopleinyourapplicantpool,including5pairsofidentical
twins.
Ifyouhire5peoplerandomly,whatarethechancesyouwillhireatleast1
pairofidenticaltwins?(Needlesstosay,thiscouldcausetrouble))
Submitted
Answer
Theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleast1pairofidenticaltwinsis
25.28%
5peoplefromthe20peoplecanbehiredin20C5=15504ways.
Now,divide20peopleintotwogroupsof10peopleeach:
G1withalltwins
G2withallpeopleotherthantwins
Let'sfindoutallpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepairof
indenticaltwins.
People
People
NoofwaystohireG1
Noof
Total
fromG1 fromG2
withoutasinglepairof
waysto
ways
indenticaltwins
hireG2
0
10C0
10C5
252
10C1
10C4
2100
10C2*8/9
10C3
4800
10C3*8/9*6/8
10C2
3600
10C4*8/9*6/8*4/7
10C1
800
10C5*8/9*6/8*4/7*2/6 10C0
32
Total
11584
Thus,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepairofindentical
twins=11584ways
So,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins=1550411584=3920ways
Hence,theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins
=3920/15504
=245/969
=0.2528
=25.28%
Inahotel,roomsarenumberedfrom101to550.Aroomischosenat
random.Whatistheprobabilitythatroomnumberstartswith1,2or3and
endswith4,5or6?
Answer

Therearetotal450rooms.
Outofwhich299roomnumberstartswitheither1,2or3.(asroomnumber
100isnotthere)Nowoutofthose299roomsonly90roomnumbersend
with4,5or6
Sotheprobabilityis90/450i.e.1/5or0.20
Draw9dotsonapage,intheshapeofthreerowsofthreedotstoforma
square.Nowplaceyourpenonthepage,draw4straightlinesandtryand
coverallthedots.
You'renotallowedtoliftyourpen.
Note:Don'tbeconfinedbythedimensionsofthesquare.
Submitted
Thereare3personsX,YandZ.Onsomeday,XlenttractorstoYandZas
manyastheyhad.AfteramonthYgaveasmanytractorstoXandZas
manyastheyhave.AfteramonthZdidthesamething.Attheendofthis
transactioneachoneofthemhad24.
Findthetractorseachoriginallyhad?
Answer
Onewaytosolveitisbymaking3equationsandsolvethem
simultaneously.ButthereisrathereasierwaytosolveitusingBacktracing.
It'sgiventhatattheend,eachhad24tractors(24,24,24)i.e.afterZgave
tractorstoX&Yasmanyastheyhad.Itmeansthataftergettingtractors
fromZtheirtractorsgotdoubled.SobeforeZgavethemtractors,theyhad
12tractorseachandZhad48tractors.(12,12,48)
Similarly,beforeYgavetractorstoX&Z,theyhad6&24tractors
respectivelyandYhad42tractorsi.e.(6,42,24)

Again,beforeXgavetractorstoY&Z,theyhad21&12tractors
respectivelyandXhad39tractorsi.e.(39,21,12)
Hence,initially
Xhad39tractors,Yhad21tractors
and
Zhad12
tractors.
Thereisa50mlongarmyplatoonmarchingahead.Thelastpersoninthe
platoonwantstogivealettertothefirstpersonleadingtheplatoon.Sowhile
theplatoonismarchingherunsahead,reachesthefirstpersonandhands
overthelettertohimandwithoutstoppingherunsandcomesbacktohis
originalposition.
Inthemeantimethewholeplatoonhasmovedaheadby50m.
Thequestionishowmuchdistancedidthelastpersoncoverinthattime.
Assumingthatheranthewholedistancewithuniformspeed.
Submitted
Answer
Thelastpersoncovered120.71meters.
Itisgiventhattheplatoonandthelastpersonmovedwithuniformspeed.
Also,theybothmovedfortheidenticalamountoftime.Hence,theratioof
thedistancetheycoveredwhilepersonmovingforwardandbackwordare
equal.
Let'sassumethatwhenthelastpersonreachedthefirstperson,theplatoon
movedXmetersforward.
Thus,whilemovingforwardthelastpersonmoved(50+X)meterswhereas
theplatoonmovedXmeters.
Similarly,whilemovingbackthelastpersonmoved[50(50X)]Xmeters
whereastheplatoonmoved(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,onemightthinkthatthetotaldistancecoveredby
thelastpersonis100meters,asheranthetotallenghtoftheplatoon(50
meters)twice.TRUE,butthat'stherelativedistancecoveredbythelast
personi.e.assumingthattheplatoonisstationary.
Assumethatyouhaveenoughcoinsof1,5,10,25and50cents.
Howmanywaysaretheretomakechangeforadollar?Doexplainyour
answer.
Thereare292waystomakechangeforadollarusingcoinsof1,5,10,
25and50cents.
Let'sgeneralisedtheteaserandmakeatableasshownabove.
Ifyouwishtomakechangefor75centsusingonly1,5,10and25cent
coins,gotothe.25rowandthe75columntoobtain121waystodothis.
Thetablecanbecreatedfromlefttorightandtoptobottom.Startwiththe
toplefti.e.1centrow.Thereisexactlyonewaytomakechangeforevery
amount.Thencalculatethe5centsrowbyaddingthenumberofwaysto
makechangefortheamountusing1centcoinsplusthenumberofwaysto
makechangefor5centslessusing1and5centcoins.
Let'stakeanexample:
Togetchangefor50centsusing1,5and10centcoins.
*50centschangeusing1and5centcoins=11ways
*(5010)40centschangeusing1,5and10centcoins=25ways
*50centschangeusing1,5and10centcoins=11+25=36ways
Let'stakeanotherexample:
Togetchangefor75centsusingallcoinsupto50centi.e.1,5,10,25and
50centscoins.
*75centschangeusingcoinsupto25cent=121ways
*(7550)25centschangeusingcoinsupto50cent=13ways
*75centschangeusingcoinsupto50cent=121+13=134ways
Forpeoplewhodon'twanttoteasetheirbrainandlovetodocomputer
programming,thereisasimpleway.Writeasmallmultiloopprogramto
solvetheequation:A+5B+10C+25D+50E=100
where,
A=0to100
B=0to20
C=0to10
D=0to4
E=0to2
TheprogramshouldoutputallthepossiblevaluesofA,B,C,DandEfor
whichtheequationissatisfied.
InaRoadRace,oneofthethreebikerswasdoing15kmlessthanthefirst
and3kmmorethanthethird.Healsofinishedtherace12minutesafterthe
firstand3minutesbeforethethird.
Canyoufindoutthespeedofeachbiker,thetimetakenbyeachbikerto
finishtheraceandthelengthofthecourse?
Assumethattherewerenostopsintheraceandalsotheyweredrivingwith
constantspeedsthroughoutthe
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
numberofsolutions.
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,onlythetimetakenbyeachbikercanbefoundi.e.
60,72and75minutes.Forotherquantities,onemoreindependentdatumis
requiredi.e.eitherTorV1orV2orV3
ThankstoTheerthamSrinivasfortheanswer!!!
Whatisthefourdigitnumberinwhichthefirstdigitis1/3ofthesecond,the
thirdisthesumofthefirstandsecond,andthelastisthreetimesthe
second?
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.Soweareleftwithonlytwooptions.
Also,thelastdigitisthreetimesthesecond,whichrulesoutthesecond
option.Hence,theansweris1349.
DifferencebetweenBholu'sandMolu'sageis2yearsandthedifference
betweenMolu'sandKolu'sageis5years.
Whatisthemaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheir
ages,takentwoatatime?
Answer
Themaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheirages
takentwoatatimeis14years.
Itisgiventhat
"DifferencebetweenBholu'sandMolu'sageis2years"
"DifferencebetweenMolu'sandKolu'sageis5years"
Now,togetthemaximumpossiblevalue,thedifferencebetweenBholu's
andKolu'sageshouldbemaximumi.e.Molu'sageshouldbeinbetween
Bholu'sandKolu'sage.Then,thedifferencebetweenBholu'sandKolu'sage
is7years.
Hence,themaximumpossiblevalueofthesumofthedifferenceintheir
agestakentwoatatimeis(2+5+7)14years.
Ifitisgiventhat:
252=3
100x2=20
36/3=2
Whatis1443=?
Submitted
Answer
Thereare3possibleanswerstoit.
Answer1:9
Simplyreplacethefirstnumberbyitssquareroot.
(25)52=3
(100)10x2=20
(36)6/3=2
(144)123=9
Answer2:11
Dropthedigitinthetenspositionfromthefirstnumber.
(2)52=3
1(0)0x2=20
(3)6/3=2
1(4)43=11
Youwillgetthesameansweronremovingleftandrightdigitalternatively
fromthefirstnumberi.eremoveleftdigitfromfirst(2),rightdigitfrom
second(0),leftdigitfromthird(3)andrightdigitfromforth(4).
(2)52=3
10(0)x2=20
(3)6/3=2
14(4)3=11
Answer3:14
Dropleftandrightdigitalternativelyfromtheactualanswer.
252=(2)3(dropleftdigiti.e.2)
100*2=20(0)(droprightdigiti.e.0)
36/3=(1)2(dropleftdigiti.e.1)
1443=14(1)(droprightdigiti.e.1)
A3digitnumberissuchthatit'sunitdigitisequaltotheproductoftheother
twodigitswhichareprime.Also,thedifferencebetweenit'sreverseand
itselfis396.
Whatisthesumofthethreedigits?
Answer
Therequirednumberis236andthesumis11.
Itisgiventhatthefirsttwodigitsoftherequirednumberareprimenumbers
i.e.2,3,5or7.Notethat1isneitherprimenorcomposite.Also,thethird
digitisthemultiplicationofthefirsttwodigits.Thus,firsttwodigitsmust
beeither2or3i.e.22,23,32or33whichmeansthattherearefourpossible
numbers224,236,326and339.
Now,itisalsogiventhatthedifferencebetweenit'sreverseanditselfis
396.Only236satisfiesthiscondition.Hence,thesumofthethreedigitsis
11.
Thereare4mugsplacedupturnedonthetable.Eachmughavethesame
numberofmarblesandastatementaboutthenumberofmarblesinit.The
statementsare:TwoorThree,OneorFour,ThreeorOne,OneorTwo.
Onlyoneofthestatementiscorrect.Howmanymarblesarethereunder
eachmug?
Answer
Asimpleone.
Asitisgiventhatonlyoneofthefourstatementiscorrect,thecorrect
numbercannotappearinmorethanonestatement.Ifitappearsinmorethan
onestatement,thenmorethanonestatementwillbecorrect.
Hence,thereare4marblesundereachmug.
AtUniversityofProbability,thereare375freshmen,293sophomores,187
juniors,&126seniors.Onestudentwillrandomlybechosentoreceivean
award.
Whatpercentchanceistherethatitwillbeajunior?Roundtothenearest
wholepercent
Answer
19%
Thispuzzleiseasy.Dividethenumberofjuniors(187)bythetotalnumber
ofstudents(981),&thenmultiplythenumberby100toconverttoa
percentage.
Hencetheansweris(187/981)*100=19%
Ifyouweretodialany7digitsonatelephoneinrandomorder,whatisthe
probabilitythatyouwilldialyourownphonenumber?
Assumethatyourtelephonenumberis7digits.
Answer
1in10,000,000
Thereare10digitsi.e.09.Firstdigitcanbedialedin10ways.Seconddigit
canbedialedin10ways.Thirddigitcanbedialedin10ways.Andsoon.....
Thus,7digitcanbedialedin10*10*10*10*10*10*10(=10,000,000)ways.
And,youhavejustonetelephonenumber.Hence,thepossibilitythatyou
willdialyourownnumberis1in10,000,000.
Notethat0123456maynotbeavalid7digittelephonenumber.Butwhile
dialinginrandomorder,thatisoneofthepossible7digitnumberwhichyou
maydial.
Ananthropologistdiscoversanisolatedtribewhosewrittenalphabet
containsonlysixletters(callthelettersA,B,C,D,EandF).Thetribehasa
tabooagainstusingthesamelettertwiceinthesameword.It'sneverdone.
Ifeachdifferentsequenceoflettersconstituesadifferentwordinthe
language,whatisthemaximumnumberofsixletterwordsthatthelanguage
canemploy?
Submitted
Answer
Thelanguagecanemploymaximumof720sixletterwords.
Itisasimplepermutationproblemofarranging6letterstogetdifferent
sixletterwords.Anditcanbedoneinin6!waysi.e.720ways.
Inotherwords,thefirstlettercanbeanyofthegiven6letters(AthroughF).
Then,whateverthefirstletteris,thesecondletterwillalwaysbefromthe
remaining5letters(assamelettercannotbeusedtwice),andthethirdletter
alwaysbefromtheremaining4letters,andsoon.Thus,thedifferent
possiblesixletterwordsare6*5*4*3*2*1=720
Kate,Demi,Madona,Sharon,BritneyandNicoledecidedtolunchtogether
inarestaurant.Thewaiterledthemtoaroundtablewithsixchairs.

Howmanydifferentwayscantheyseat?
Answer
Thereare120differentpossibleseatingarrangments.
NotethatonaroundtableABCDEFandBCDEFAisthesame.
Thefirstpersoncansitonanyoneoftheseats.Now,forthesecondperson
thereare5options,forthethirdpersonthereare4options,fortheforth
personthereare3options,forthefifthpersonthereare2optionsandforthe
lastpersonthereisjustoneoption.
Thus,totaldifferentpossibleseatingarrangementsare
=5*4*3*2*1
=120
3blocksarechosenrandomlyonachessboard.Whatistheprobabilitythat
theyareinthesamediagonal?
Answer
Therearetotalof64blocksonachessboard.So3blockscanbechosen
64
outof64in
C
ways.
3
Sothesamplespaceis=41664
Thereare2diagonalonchessboardeachonehaving8blocks.Consider
oneofthem.
8
3blocksoutof8blocksindiagonalcanbechosenin
C
ways.
3
8
Butthereare2suchdiagonals,hencefavourables=2*
C
=2*56=112
3
Therequireprobabilityis
=112/41664
=1/372
=0.002688
WhatistheareaofthetriangleABCwithA(e,p)B(2e,3p)andC(3e,5p)?
wherep=PI(3.141592654)
Answer
AtrickyONE.
Given3pointsarecolinear.Hence,itisastraightline.
Henceareaoftriangleis0.
SiluandMeenuwerewalkingontheroad.
Silusaid,"Iweigh51Kgs.Howmuchdoyouweigh?"
Meenurepliedthatshewouldn'trevealherweightdirectlyassheis
overweight.Butshesaid,"Iweigh29Kgsplushalfofmyweight."
HowmuchdoesMeenuweigh?
Answer
Meenuweighs58Kgs.
ItisgiventhatMeenuweighs29Kgsplushalfofherownweight.Itmeans
that29Kgsistheotherhalf.Sosheweighs58Kgs.
Solvingmathematically,let'sassumethatherweightisXKgs.
X=29+X/2
2*X=58+X
X=58Kgs
Considerthesum:ABC+DEF+GHI=JJJ
Ifdifferentlettersrepresentdifferentdigits,andtherearenoleadingzeros,
whatdoesJrepresent?
Answer
ThevalueofJmustbe9.
Sincetherearenoleadingzeros,Jmustbe7,8,or9.(JJJ=ABC+DEF+
GHI=14?+25?+36?=7??)
Now,theremainderleftafterdividinganynumberby9isthesameasthe
remainderleftafterdividingthesumofthedigitsofthatnumberby9.Also,
notethat0+1+...+9hasaremainderof0afterdividingby9andJJJhasa
remainderof0,3,or6.
Thenumber9istheonlynumberfrom7,8and9thatleavesaremainderof
0,3,or6ifyouremoveitfromthesum0+1+...+9.Hence,itfollowsthat
Jmustbe9.
AmanhasTenHorsesandninestablesasshownhere.
[][][][][][][][][]
ThemanwantstofitTenHorsesintoninestables.HowcanhefitTen
horsesintoninestables?
Submitted
Answer
Theanswerissimple.Itsaysthemanwantstofit"TenHorses"intonine
stables.Thereareninelettersinthephrase"TenHorses".Soyoucanputone
lettereachinallninestables.
[T][E][N][H][O][R][S][E][S]
Amanisatariverwitha9gallonbucketanda4gallonbucket.Heneeds
exactly6gallonsofwater.
Howcanheusebothbucketstogetexactly6gallonsofwater?
Notethathecannotestimatebydumpingsomeofthewateroutofthe9
gallonbucketorthe4gallonbucket
Answer
Forthesackofexplanation,let'sidentify4gallonbucketasBucketPand9
gallonbucketasBucketQ.
4gallonbucket 9gallonbucket
Operation
(BucketP)
(BucketQ)
Initially
FillthebucketQwith9gallonwater
Pour4gallonwaterfrombucketQto
bucketP
EmptybucketP
bucketP
EmptybucketP
bucketP
FillthebucketQwith9gallonwater
bucketP
9gallonbucketcontains6gallonofwater,asrequired.
EachofthefivecharactersinthewordBRAINhasadifferentvaluebetween
0and9.Usingthegivengrid,canyoufindoutthevalueofeachcharacter?
BRAIN31
BBRBA31
NIABB32
NIBAI30
IRAAA23
3729252729
Thenumbersontheextremerightrepresentthesumofthevalues
representedbythecharactersinthatrow.Also,thenumbersonthelastraw
representthesumofthevaluesrepresentedbythecharactersinthatcolumn.
e.g.B+R+A+I+N=31(fromfirstrow)
Answer
B=7,R=6,A=4,I=5andN=9
Maketotal10equations5forrowsand5forcolumnsandsovlethem.
FromRow3andRow4,
N+I+A+B+B=N+I+B+A+I+2
B=I+2
FromRow1andRow3,
B+R+A+I+N=N+I+A+B+B1
R=B1
FromColumn2,
R+B+I+I+R=29
B+2R+2I=29
B+2(B1)+2I=29
3B+2I=31
3(I+2)+2I=31
5I=25
I=5
Hence,B=7andR=6
FromRow2,
B+B+R+B+A=31
3B+R+A=31
3(7)+6+A=31
A=4
FromRow1,
B+R+A+I+N=31
7+6+4+5+N=31
N=9
Thus,B=7,R=6,A=4,I=5andN=9
Submit
Answer
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Answer(24)
BrainV
Thereare9coins.Outofwhichoneisoddonei.eweightislessormore.
Howmanyiterationsofweighingarerequiredtofindoddcoin?
Answer
Itisalwayspossibletofindoddcoinin3weighingsandtotellwhetherthe
oddcoinisheavierorlighter.
1. Take8coinsandweigh4against4.
2.
Oneofthese8coinsistheoddone.Namethecoinsonheaviersideof
thescaleasH1,H2,H3andH4.Similarly,namethecoinsonthe
X)whereXisonecoinremaininginintialweighing.
L3.
3.
TheremainingcoinXistheoddone.WeighXagainsttheanyone
coinusedininitialweighing.
IfXisheavy,Xistheoddcoinandisheavier.
IfXislight,Xistheoddcoinandislighter.
Inasportscontestthereweremmedalsawardedonnsuccessivedays(n>
1).
1. Onthefirstday1medaland1/7oftheremainingm1medalswere
awarded.
2. Onthesecondday2medalsand1/7ofthenowremainingmedalswas
awardedandsoon.
th
3. Onthen
andlastday,theremainingnmedalswereawarded.
Howmanydaysdidthecontestlast,andhowmanymedalswereawarded
altogether?
Answer
Total36medalswereawardedandthecontestwasfor6days.
Onday6:Medalsawarded6
Igotthisanswerbywritingsmallprogram.Ifanyoneknowanyother
simplermethod,dosubmitit.
Anumberof9digitshasthefollowingproperties:
Thenumbercomprisingtheleftmosttwodigitsisdivisibleby2,that
comprisingtheleftmostthreedigitsisdivisibleby3,theleftmostfour
by4,theleftmostfiveby5,andsoonfortheninedigitsofthe
numberi.e.thenumberformedfromthefirstndigitsisdivisiblebyn,
2<=n<=9.
Eachdigitinthenumberisdifferenti.e.nodigitsarerepeated.
Thedigit0doesnotoccurinthenumberi.e.itiscomprisedonlyof
thedigits19insomeorder.
Findthenumber.
Answer
Theansweris
381654729
OnewaytosolveitisTrial&Error.Youcanmakeitbiteasierasodd
positionswillalwaysoccupyODDnumbersandevenpositionswillalways
occupyEVENnumbers.Further5thpositionwillcontain5as0doesnot
occur.
Theotherwaytosolvethisproblemisbywritingacomputerprogramthat
systematicallytriesallpossibilities.
1/3rdofthecontentsofacontainerevaporatedonthe1stday.3/4thofthe
remainingcontentsofthecontainerevaporatedonthesecondday.
Whatpartofthecontentsofthecontainerisleftattheendofthesecond
day?
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
Therearefourpeopleinaroom(notincludingyou).Exactlytwoofthese
fouralwaystellthetruth.Theothertwoalwayslie.
YouhavetofigureoutwhoiswhoINONLY2QUESTIONS.Your
questionshavetobeYESorNOquestionsandcanonlybeansweredbyone
person.(Ifyouaskthesamequestiontotwodifferentpeoplethenthat
countsastwoquestions).Keepinmindthatallfourknoweachother's
characteristicswhethertheylieornot.
Whatquestionswouldyouasktofigureoutwhoiswho?Rememberthat
youcanaskonly2questions.
Submitted
Youhave3baskets,&eachonecontainsexactly4balls,eachofwhichisof
thesamesize.Eachballiseitherred,black,white,orpurple,&thereisone
ofeachcolorineachbasket.
Ifyouwereblindfolded,&lightlyshookeachbasketsothattheballswould
berandomlydistributed,&thentook1ballfromeachbasket,whatchanceis
therethatyouwouldhaveexactly2redballs?
Answer
Thereare64differentpossibleoutcomes,&in9ofthese,exactly2ofthe
ballswillbered.Thereisthusaslightlybetterthan14%chance
[(9/64)*100]thatexactly2ballswillbered.
Amuchfasterwaytosolvetheproblemistolookatitthisway.Thereare3
scenarioswhereexactly3ballsarered:
123
RRX
RXR

XRR
Xisanyballthatisnotred.
Thereisa4.6875%chancethateachofthesesituationswilloccur.
Takethefirstone,forexample:25%chancethefirstballisred,multiplied
bya25%chancethesecondballisred,multipliedbya75%chancethethird
ballisnotred.
Becausethereare3scenarioswherethisoutcomeoccurs,youmultiplythe
4.6875%chanceofanyoneoccurringby3,&youget14.0625%
Considerastatelotterywhereyougettochoose8numbersfrom1to80,no
repetitonallowed.TheLotteryCommissionchooses11fromthose80
numbers,againnorepetition.Youwinthelotteryifatleast7ofyour
numbersarethereinthe11chosenbytheLotteryCommission.
Whatistheprobablityofwinningthelottery?
Answer
Theprobabilityofwinningthelotteryistwoinonebillioni.e.onlytwo
personcanwinfromonebillion!!!
Let'sfindoutsamplespacefirst.TheLotteryCommissionchooses11
numbersfromthe80.Hence,the11numbersfromthe80canbeselected
80
13
in
C
wayswhichisveryveryhighandisequalto1.04776*10
11
Now,youhavetoselect8numbersfrom80whichcanbeselectedin
80C8ways.Butweareinterestedinonlythosenumberswhicharein11
numbersselectedbytheLotteryCommision.Thereare2cases.
Youmightselect8numberswhichallaretherein11numbers
11
choosenbytheLotteryCommission.Sothereare
C
ways.
8
Anothercaseisyoumightselect7luckynumbersand1nonlucky
11
69
numberfromtheremaining69numbers.Thereare(
C
)*(
C
)
7
1
waystodothat.
Sototalluckywaysare
11
11
69
=(
C
)+(
C
)*(
C
)
8
7
1
=(165)+(330)*(69)
=165+22770
=22935
Hence,theprobabilityofthewinninglotteryis
=(Totalluckyways)/(TotalSamplespace)
13
=(22935)/(1.04776*10
)
9
=2.1889*10
i.e.2inabillion.
Submit
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BrainVista
Puzzle
Answer
Answer(4)
Answer
TomoveaSafe,twocylindricalsteelbars7inchesindiameterareusedas
rollers.
Howfarwillthesafehavemovedforwardwhentherollershavemadeone
revolution?
Answer
Thesafemusthavemoved22inchesforward.
Iftherollersmakeonerevolution,thesafewillmovethedistanceequalto
thecircumferenceoftheroller.Hence,thedistancecoveredbythesafeis
=PI*Diameter(or2*PI*Radius)
=PI*7
=3.14159265*7
=21.99115
=22inchesapprox.
Submitt
Ifarookandabishopofastandardchesssetarerandomlyplacedon
achessboard,whatistheprobabilitythatoneisattackingtheother?
Notethatbotharedifferentcoloredpieces.
Subm
Answer
TheprobabilityofeithertheRookortheBishopattackingtheotheris
0.3611
64
ARookandaBishoponastandardchessboardcanbearrangedin
P
=
2
64*63=4032ways
Now,thereare2casesRookattackingBishopandBishopattackingRook.
NotethattheRookandtheBishopneverattackeachothersimultaneously.
Let'sconsiderboththecasesonebyone.
CaseIRookattackingBishop
TheRookcanbeplacedinanyofthegiven64positionsanditalways
attacks14positions.Hence,totalpossiblewaysoftheRookattackingthe
Bishop=64*14=896ways
CaseIIBishopattackingRook
Viewthechessboardasa4cocentrichollowsquareswiththeoutermost
squarewithside8unitsandtheinnermostsquarewithside2units.
Ifthebishopisinoneoftheouter28squares,thenitcanattack7positions.
Ifthebishopisinoneofthe20squaresatnextinnerlevel,thenitcanattack
9positions.Similarlyifthebishopisinoneofthe12squaresatnext
innerlevel,thenitcanattack11positions.Andifthebishopisinoneofthe
4squaresatnextinnerlevel(theinnermostlevel),thenitcanattack13
positions.
Hence,totalpossiblewaysoftheBishopattackingtheRook
=28*7+20*9+12*11+4*13
=560ways
Thus,therequiredprobabilityis
=(896+560)/4032
=13/36
=0.3611
itted
ed
HereinEnglandMcDonald'shasjustlaunchedanewadvertisingcampaign.
Thepostershows8McDonald'sproductsandunderneathclaimsthereare
40312combinationsoftheaboveitems.
Giventhatthemaximumnumberofitemsallowedis8,andyouareallowed
tohavelessthan8items,andthattheorderofpurchasedoesnotmatter(i.e.
buyingaburgerandfriesisthesameasbuyingfriesandaburger)
Howmanypossiblecombinationsarethere?AreMcDonald'scorrectin
claimingthereare40312combinations?
Answer
Totalpossiblecombinationsare12869.
Itisgiventhatyoucanordermaximumof8itemsandyouareallowedto
havelessthan8items.Also,theorderofpurchasedoesnotmatter.Let's
createatablefororderingtotalNitemsusingXproducts.
Pro
duct
s
Use
d
(X)
Items
Ordered
(N)
10
10
15
20
15
21
35
35
21
Total(T)
28
56
70
56
28
Waystochoose 8C1 8C2

Xproductsfrom
8products(W)
8C3
8C4
8C5 8C6 8C7 8C8
Totalcombinations
(T*W)
64 784 3136 4900 3136 784
64
Thus,totalpossiblecombinationsare
=64+784+3136+4900+3136+784+64+1
=12869
Whatarethechancesthatatleasttwooutofagroupoffiftypeoplesharethe
samebirthday?
Submitted
Answer
Theprobabilityofatleasttwooutofagroupof50peoplesharethesame
birthdayis97%
Probabilityofatleasttwosharethesamebirthday=1probabilityofall50
havedifferentbirthdays
Probabilityofall50havedifferentbirthday
=365/365*364/365*363/365*...*317/365*316/365
50
=(365*364*363*362*...*317*316)/365
=0.0296264
Probabilityofatleasttwosharethesamebirthday
=10.0296264
=0.9703735
=97%approx.
Thus,theprobabilityofatleasttwooutofagroupof50peoplesharethe
samebirthdayis97%
Thisexplains
whyinaschool/collegewithclassroomsof50students,
thereareatleasttwostudentswithabirthdayonthesamedayofthe
year
.Also,ifthereare23peopleintheroom,thenthereare50%chances
thatatleasttwoofthemhaveabirthdayonthesamedayoftheyear!!!
AtankcanbefilledbypipeAin30minutesandbypipeBin24minutes.
OutletpipeCcanemptythefulltankinXminutes.
IfthetankisemptyinitiallyandifallthethreepipesA,BandCareopened
simultaneously,thetankwillNEVERbefull.Givethemaximalpossible
valueofX.
Answer
ThemaximumpossiblevalueofXis13minutes20seconds.
Inoneminute,
pipeAcanfill1/30partofthetank.
pipeBcanfill1/24partofthetank.
Thus,thenetwaterlevelincreaseinoneminuteis
=1/30+1/24
=3/40partofthetank
Inordertokeepthetankalwaysempty,outletpipeCshouldemptyatleast
3/40partofthetankinoneminute.Thus,pipeCcanemptythefulltankin
40/3i.e.13minutes20seconds.
Aworkerearnsa5%raise.Ayearlater,theworkerreceivesa2.5%cutin
pay,&nowhissalaryisRs.22702.68
Whatwashissalarytobeginwith?
Answer
Rs.22176
AssumehissalarywasRs.X
Heearns5%raise.Sohissalaryis(105*X)/100
Ayearlaterhereceives2.5%cut.Sohissalaryis((105*X)/100)*(97.5/100)
whichisRs.22702.68
Hence,solvingequation((105*X)/100)*(97.5/100)=22702.68
X=22176
500menarearrangedinanarrayof10rowsand50columnsaccordingto
theirheights.
Tallestamongeachrowofallareaskedtocomeout.Andtheshortest
amongthemisA.
Similarlyafterresumingthemtotheiroriginalpositions,theshortestamong
eachcolumnareaskedtocomeout.AndthetallestamongthemisB.
NowwhoistallerAorB?
ApersonwantedtowithdrawXrupeesandYpaisefromthebank.But
cashiermadeamistakeandgavehimYrupeesandXpaise.Neitherthe
personnorthecashiernoticedthat.
Afterspending20paise,thepersoncountsthemoney.Andtohissurprise,
hehasdoubletheamounthewantedtowithdraw.
FindXandY.(1Rupee=100Paise)
Asgiven,thepersonwantedtowithdraw100X+Ypaise.
Buthegot100Y+Xpaise.
Afterspending20paise,hehasdoubletheamounthewantedto
withdraw.Hence,theequationis
2*(100X+Y)=100Y+X20
200X+2Y=100Y+X20
199X98Y=20
98Y199X=20
Now,wegotoneequationbutthereare2variables.Wehavetoapply
littlebitoflogicoverhere.WeknowthatifweinterchangeX&Y,
amountgetsdouble.SoYshouldbetwiceofXoronemorethantwiceof
Xi.e.Y=2XorY=2X+1
CaseI:
Y=2X
98Y199X=20
Y2X=0
WegetX=20/3&Y=40/2
CaseII:
Y=2X+1
98Y199X=20
Y2X=1
WegetX=26&Y=53
Now,itsobviousthathewantedtowithdrawRs.26.53
Submit
Answer
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Answer(2)
BrainVista
Answer
Puzzle
AttheParty:
1. Therewere9menandchildren.
2. Therewere2morewomenthanchildren.
3. Thenumberofdifferentmanwomancouplespossiblewas24.Note
thatiftherewere7menand5women,thentherewouldhavebeen35
manwomancouplespossible.
Also,ofthethreegroupsmen,womenandchildrenattheparty:
Exactlyoneoftheabove6statementsisfalse.
Canyoutellwhichoneisfalse?Also,howmanymen,womenandchildren
arethereattheparty?
Answer
Statement(4)isfalse.Thereare3men,8womenand6children.
AssumethatStatements(4),(5)and(6)arealltrue.Then,Statement(1)is
false.ButthenStatement(2)and(3)bothcannotbetrue.Thus,
contradictorytothefactthatexactlyonestatementisfalse.
SoStatement(4)orStatement(5)orStatement(6)isfalse.Also,Statements
(1),(2)and(3)allaretrue.
From(1)and(2),thereare11menandwomen.Thenfrom(3),thereare2
possiblecaseseitherthereare8menand3womenorthereare3menand8
women.
Ifthereare8menand3women,thenthereis1child.ThenStatements(4)
and(5)botharefalse,whichisnotpossible.
Hence,thereare3men,8womenand6children.Statement(4)isfalse.
BrainTeaserNo:00242
Thereisashortageoftubelights,bulbsandfansinavillageKharghar.It
isfoundthat
Allhousesdonothaveeithertubelightorbulborfan.
exactly19%ofhousesdonothavejustoneofthese.
atleast67%ofhousesdonothavetubelights.
atleast83%ofhousesdonothavebulbs.
atleast73%ofhousesdonothavefans.
Whatpercentageofhousesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan?
Answer
42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
Let'sassumethatthereare100houses.Hence,thereshouldbetotal300
itemsi.e.100tubelights,100bulbsand100fans.
Fromthegivendata,weknowthatthereisshortageofatleast(67+83+73)
223itemsinevery100houses.
Also,exactly19housesdonothavejustoneitem.Itmeansthatremaining
81housesshouldaccountfortheshortageofremaining(22319)204items.
Ifthoseremaining81housesdonothave2itemseach,therewouldbea
shortageof162items.Buttotalof204itemsareshort.Hence,atleast
(204162)42housesdonothaveall3itemstubelight,bulbandfan.
Thus,42%housesdonothavetubelight,bulbandfan.
Whatistheremainderleftafterdividing1!+2!+3!++100!By7?
Thinkcarefully!!!
Answer
Atrickyone.
7!onwardsalltermsaredivisibleby7as7isoneofthefactor.Sothereis
noremainderleftforthosetermsi.e.remainderleftafterdividing7!+8!+
9!+...+100!is0.
Theonlyparttobeconsideris
=1!+2!+3!+4!+5!+6!
=1+2+6+24+120+720
=873
Theremainderleftafterdividing873by7is5
Hence,theremainderis5.
Imaginethatyouhave26constants,labelledAthroughZ.Eachconstantis
assignedavalueinthefollowingway:A=1therestofthevaluesequal
theirpositioninthealphabet(Bcorrespondstothesecondpositionsoit
equals2,C=3,etc.)raisedtothepowerofthepreceedingconstantvalue.
So,B=2^(A'svalue),orB=2^1=2.C=3^2=9.D=4^9,etc.
Findtheexactnumericalvaluetothefollowingequation:(XA)*(XB)*
(XC)*...*(XY)*(XZ)
Answer
(XA)*(XB)*(XC)*...*(XY)*(XZ)equals0since(XX)is
zero
Ifthreebabiesareborneverysecondoftheday,thenhowmanybabieswill
bebornintheyear2001?
Su
Answer
9,46,08,000babies
Thetotalsecondsinyear2001
=365days/year*24hours/day*60minutes/hours*60seconds/minute
=365*24*60*60seconds
=3,15,36,000seconds
Thus,thereare3,15,36,000secondsintheyear2001.Also,threebabies
bornareeverysecond.Hence,totalbabiesborn
=3*3,15,36,000seconds
=9,46,08,000
bmitted
Replacetheletterswiththecorrectnumbers.
TWO
XTWO
THREE
Submittedby:TimmyChan
Answer
T=1,W=3,O=8,H=9,R=2,E=4
138
x138
19044
Youcanreducethenumberoftrials.Tmustbe1asthereismultiplicationof
TwithTinhundred'sposition.Also,Ocannotbe0or1.Now,youhaveto
findthreedigitnumberwhosesquaresatisfiesaboveconditionsandsquare
ofthathassamelasttwodigits.Hence,itmustbebetween102and139.
BrainTeaserNo:00052
Fourwordsadduptoafifthwordnumerically:
mars
venus
uranus
saturn
neptune
Eachofthetenletters(m,a,r,s,v,e,n,u,t,andp)representaunique
numberfromtherange0..9.
Furthermore,numbers1and6arebeingusedmostfrequently.
Answer
Theeasiestwaytosolvethisproblemisbywritingacomputerprogramthat
systematicallytriesallpossiblemappingsfromthenumbersontotheletters.
Thiswillgiveyouonlyonesolutionwhichmeetstheconditionthatnumbers
1and6aremostfrequentlyused.
marsm=4
venusa=5
uranusr=9
saturns=3
+v=24593
neptunee=020163

n=1695163
u=6358691
t=8+
p=71078610
Thereare4armymen.Theyhavebeencapturedbyarebelgroupandhave
beenheldatransom.Anarmyintelligentofficerordersthemtobeburried
deepindirtuptotheirnecks.Theformatoftheirburrialareasshowninthe
figure.
Conditions
Theyeachhavehatsontheirheads.eitherblack(b)orwhite(w)look
atdiagramabove.Therearetotal2whitehatsand2blackhats.
Theyonlylookinfrontofthemnotbehind.Theyarenotallowedto
communicatebytalking.
Betweenarmyman1and2,thereisawall.
Captiveman4canseethecolourofhatson2and3
3canonlysee2'shat
2canonlyseeawalland1canseeawalltoo,butisontheotherside
Theofficerspeaksup,"Ifoneofyoucancorrectlytellmethecolourofyour
hat,youwillallgoscottfreebacktoyourcontries.Ifyouarewrong,you
willallbekilled.
Howcanoneofthembecertainaboutthehattheyarewearingandnotrisk
thelivesoftheirfellowsouldiersbytakinga50/50guess!
Submitted
Answer
Eithersoldier3orsoldier4cansavethelifeassoldier1andsoldier2can
notseecolourofanyhat,evennottheirown..Inourcasesoldier3willtell
thecolourofhishat.
Soldier4canseethehatonsoldier2andsoldier3.Ifbotharewhite,thenhe
canbesureaboutcolourofhishatwhichwillbeblackandviceversa.Butif
oneofthemiswhiteandoneisblack,thensoldier4cannotsayanythingas
hecanhaveeitherofthem.Sohewillkeepmum.
Ifsoldier4won'tsayanyhingforawhile,thensoldier3willknowthat
soldier4isnotinpositiontotellthecolourofhatonhishat.Itmeansthat
colourofsoldier3'shatisoppositeofcolourofsoldier2'shat.Sosoldier3
cantellcorrectlythecolourofhatonhisheadwhichisBlack.
Here,weareassumingthatallthesoldiersareintelligentenough.Also,this
solutionwillworkforanycombinationof2Blackhatsand2Whitehats.
Onesideofthebottomlayerofatriangularpyramidhas12balls.Howmany
arethereinthewholepyramid?
Notethatthepyramidisequilateralandsolid.
Answer
Therearetotal364balls.
Asthereare12ballsalongoneside,itmeansthatthereare12layersof
balls.Thetopmostlayerhas1ball.Thesecondlayerhas3(1+2)balls.The
thirdlayerhas6(1+2+3)balls.Thefourthlayerhas10(1+2+3+4)balls.The
fifthlayerhas15(1+2+3+4+5)balls.Similarly,thereare21,28,36,45,55,
66and78ballsintheremaininglayers.
Hence,thetotalnumberofballsare
=1+3+6+10+15+21+28+36+45+55+66+78
=364balls
Ablindfoldedmanisaskedtositinthefrontofacarromboard.Theholesof
theboardareshutwithlidsinrandomorder,i.e.anynumberofallthefour
holescanbeshutoropen.
Nowthemanissupposedtotouchanytwoholesatatimeandcandothe
following.
Opentheclosedhole.
Closetheopenhole.
Lettheholebeasitis.
Afterhehasdoneit,thecarromboardisrotatedandagainbroughttosome
position.Themanisagainnotawareofwhataretheholeswhichareopenor
closed.
Howmanyminimumnumberofturnsdoestheblindfoldedmanrequireto
eitheropenalltheholesorclosealltheholes?
Notethatwheneveralltheholesareeitheropenorclose,therewillbean
alarmsothattheblindfoldedmanwillknowthathehaswon.
Submitted
Answer
Theblindfoldedmanrequires5turns.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Opentwoadjacentholes.
Opentwodiagonalholes.Nowatleast3holesareopen.If4thholeis
alsoopen,thenyouaredone.Ifnot,the4thholeisclose.
Checktwodiagonalholes.
Ifoneisclose,openitandalltheholesareopen.
Ifbothareclose,openanyonehole.Now,twoholesareopen
andtwoareclose.Thediagonalholesareintheoppositestatus
i.e.inboththediagonals,oneholeisopenandoneisclose.
Checkanytwoadjacentholes.
Ifbothareopen,closebothofthem.Now,allholesareclose.
Ifbothareclose,openbothofthem.Now,allholesareopen.
Ifoneisopenandoneisclose,invertthemi.e.closetheopen
holeandopentheclosehole.Now,thediagonalholesareinthe
samestatusi.e.twoholesinonediagonalareopenandinother
areclose.
Checkanytwodiagonalholes.
Ifbothareopen,closebothofthem.Now,allholesareclose.
Ifbothareclose,openbothofthem.Now,allholesareopen.
Inthemiddleoftheconfoundeddesert,thereisthelostcityof"Ash".To
reachit,Iwillhavetotraveloverlandbyfootfromthecoast.Onatreklike
this,eachpersoncanonlycarryenoughrationsforfivedaysandthefarthest
wecantravelinonedayis30miles.Also,thecityis120milesfromthe
startingpoint.
WhatIamtryingtofigureoutisthefewestnumberofpersons,including
myself,thatIwillneedinourGroupsothatIcanreachthecity,stay
overnight,andthenreturntothecoastwithoutrunningoutofsupplies.
Howmanypersons(includingmyself)willIneedtoaccomplishthis
mission?
Answer
Total4persons(includingyou)required.
Itisgiventhateachpersoncanonlycarryenoughrationsforfivedays.And
thereare4persons.Hence,totalof20daysrationsisavailable.
1. FirstDay
:4daysofrationsareusedup.Onepersongoesbackusing
onedayofrationsforthereturntrip.Therationsremainingforthe
furthertrekisfor15days.
2. SecondDay
:Theremainingthreepeopleuseup3daysofrations.
Onepersongoesbackusing2daysofrationsforthereturntrip.The
rationsremainingforthefurthertrekisfor10days.
3. ThirdDay
:Theremainingtwopeopleuseup2daysofrations.One
persongoesbackusing3daysofrationsforthereturntrip.The
rationsremainingforthefurthertrekisfor5days.
4. FourthDay
:Theremainingpersonusesuponedayofrations.He
staysovernight.Thenextdayhereturnstothecoastusing4daysof
rations.
Thus,total4persons,includingyouarerequired.
Atwhattimeafter4.00p.m.istheminuteshandofaclockexactlyaligned
withthehourhand?
Answer
4:21:49.5
AssumethatXminutesafter4.00PMminutehandexactlyalignswithand
hourhand.

Foreveryminute,minutehandtravels6degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravel6*Xdegrees.
Foreveryminute,hourhandtravels1/2degrees.
Hence,forXminutesitwilltravelX/2degrees.
At4.00PM,theanglebetweenminutehandandhourhandis120degrees.
Also,afterXminutes,minutehandandhourhandareexactlyaligned.So
theanglewithrespectto12i.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.
OUT
STEM|DEMISE
|DMOC
TUIS
STEM
ZZZE
ZUMM
IST
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,theirvalues(O,S,
T)mustbe2,3or4(astheycannotbe0or1orgreaterthan4).
Consider,STEM*O=DMOC,whereC=0.ItmeansthatMmustbe5.Now,
itssimple.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,itspells
CUSTOMIZED
.
BrainTeaserNo:00015
InthetowncalledAlibaug,thefollowingfactsaretrue:
Notwoinhabitantshaveexactlythesamenumberofhairs.
Noinhabitantshasexactly2025hairs.
Therearemoreinhabitantsthantherearehairsontheheadofany
oneinhabitants.
WhatisthelargestpossiblenumberoftheinhabitantsofAlibaug?
Answer
2025
Itisgiventhatnoinhabitantshaveexactly2025hairs.Hencethereare2025
inhabitantswith0to2024hairsinthehead.
Supposetherearemorethan2025inhabitants.Butthesewillviolatethe
conditionthat"Therearemoreinhabitantsthantherearehairsontheheadof
anyoneinhabitants."Asforanynumbermorethan2025,therewillbesame
numberofinhabitantsasthemaximumnumberofhairsontheheadofany
inhabitant.
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.
TicTacToeisbeingplayed.One'X'hasbeenplacedinoneofthecorners.
No'O'hasbeenplacedyet.
Wheredoestheplayerthatisplaying'O'hastoputhisfirst'O'sothat'X'
doesn'twin?
Assumethatbothplayersareveryintelligent.Explainyouranswer
Answer
"O"shouldbeplacedinthecenter.
Let'snumberthepositionsas:
1|2|3
4|5|6
7|8|9
Itisgiventhat"X"isplacedinoneofthecornerposition.Let'sassumethat
itsatposition1.
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'twinunless"O"
doessomethingfoolish))
Hence,"O"shouldbeplacedinthecenter.
Amit,Bhavin,HimanshuandRakesharesittingaroundatable.
TheElectonicsEngineerissittingtotheleftoftheMechanical
Engineer.
AmitissittingoppositetoComputerEngineer.
HimanshulikestoplayComputerGames.
BhavinissittingtotherightoftheChemicalEngineer.
Canyoufigureouteveryone'sprofession?
Answer
AmitistheMechanicalEngineer.BhavinistheComputerEngineer.
HimanshuandRakeshareeitherChemicalEngineerorElecronicsEngineer.
AmitandBhavinaresittingoppositetoeachother.WhereasChemical
EngineerandElecronicsEngineeraresittingoppositetoeachother.
WecannotfindoutwhoisChemicalEngineerandElecronicsEngineeras
dataprovidedisnotsufficient
FivefriendswithsurnameBatliwala,Pocketwala,Talawala,Chunawalaand
Natakwalahavetheirfirstnameandmiddlenameasfollow.
1. FourofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofParesh.
2. ThreeofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofKamlesh.
3. TwoofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofNaresh.
4. OneofthemhaveafirstandmiddlenameofElesh.
5. PocketwalaandTalawala,eitherbotharenamedKamleshorneitheris
namedKamlesh.
6. EitherBatliwalaandPocketwalabotharenamedNareshorTalawala
andChunawalabotharenamedNaresh.
7. ChunawalaandNatakwalaarenotbothnamedParesh.
WhoisnamedElesh?
Answer
PocketwalaisnamedElesh.
From(1)and(7),itisclearthatBatliwala,PocketwalaandTalawalaare
namedParesh.
From(6)and(5),ifPocketwalaorTalawalabotharenamedKamlesh,then
eitherofthemwillhavethreenamesi.e.Paresh,KamleshandNaresh.
Hence,PocketwalaandTalawalabotharenotnamedKamlesh.Itmeansthat
Batliwala,ChunawalaandNatakwalaarenamedKamlesh.
NowitisclearthatTalawalaandChunawalaarenamedNaresh.Also,
PocketwalaisnamedElesh.
Mr.Waglegoestoworkbyabus.Onedayhefallsasleepwhenthebusstill
hastwiceasfartogoasithasalreadygone.
Halfwaythroughthetriphewakesupasthebusbouncesoversomebad
potholes.Whenhefinallyfallsasleepagain,thebusstillhashalfthe
distancetogothatithasalreadytravelled.Fortunately,Mr.Waglewakesup
attheendofhistrip.
WhatportionofthetotaltripdidMr.Waglesleep?
Answer
Mr.waglesleptthroughhalfhistrip.
Let'sdrawatimeline.Picturethebusrouteonalineshowenbelow:
________________________
Start1/31/22/3End
showstimeforwhichMr.Waglewasnotsleeping
_____showstimeforwhichMr.Waglewassleeping
WhenMr.Waglefellasleepthefirsttime,thebussillhadtwiceasfartogo
asithadalreadygone,thatmarksthefirstthirdofhistrip.
Hewakeuphalfwaythroughthetripi.esleptfrom1/3marktothe1/2mark.
Hefellsleepagainwhenthebusstillhadhalfthedistancetogothatithad
alreadytraveledi.e2/3mark.
Addingup,allsleepingtimes,
=(1/21/3)+(12/3)
=1/6+1/3
=1/2
Hence,Mr.waglesleptthroughhalfhistrip.
BrainTeaserNo:00068
Inyoursockdrawer,youhavearatioof5pairsofbluesocks,4pairsof
brownsocks,and6pairsofblacksocks.
Incompletedarkness,howmanysockswouldyouneedtopullouttoget
amatchingpairofthesamecolor?
4
Ifyoudon'tagree,tryityourself!
Youhaveabucketofjellybeans.Somearered,someareblue,andsome
green.Withyoureyesclosed,pickout2ofalikecolor.
Howmanydoyouhavetograbtobesureyouhave2ofthesame?
Youhaveabucketofjellybeans.Somearered,someareblue,andsome
green.Withyoureyesclosed,pickout2ofalikecolor.
Howmanydoyouhavetograbtobesureyouhave2ofthesame?
Ifyouselect4Jellybeansyouareguarenteedthatyouwillhave2thatare
thesamecolor.
Thereare70employeesworkingwithBrainVistaofwhich30arefemales.
Also,
30employeesaremarried
24employeesareabove25yearsofage
19marriedemployeesareabove25years,ofwhich7aremales
12malesareabove25yearsofage
15malesaremarried.
Howmanyunmarriedfemalesarethereandhowmanyofthemareabove
25?
Answer
15unmarriedfemales&noneareabove25yearsofage.
Simplyputallgiveninformationintothetablestructureandyouwillgetthe
answer.
Unmarrie
d
Married
Below25
Above25
Below25
Above25
Female
12
15
Male
20
Thereisasafewitha5digitnumberasthekey.The4thdigitis4greater
thantheseconddigit,whilethe3rddigitis3lessthanthe2nddigit.The1st
digitisthricethelastdigit.Thereare3pairswhosesumis11.
Findthenumber.
Answer
65292
Aspergivenconditions,therearethreepossiblecombinationsfor2nd,3rd
and4thdigits.Theyare(3,0,7)or(4,1,8)or(5,2,9)
Itisgiventhatthereare3pairswhosesumis11.Allpossiblepairsare(2,
9),(3,8),(4,7),(5,6).Nowrequirednumberis5digitnumberandit
contains3pairsof11.Soitmustnotbehaving0and1init.Hence,theonly
possiblecombinationfor2nd,3rdand4thdigitsis(5,2,9)
Also,1stdigitisthricethelastdigit.Thepossiblecombinationsare(3,1),
(6,2)and(9,3),outofwhichonly(6,2)with(5,2,9)gives3pairsof11.
Myfriendcollectsantiquestamps.Shepurchasedtwo,butfoundthatshe
neededtoraisemoneyurgently.SoshesoldthemforRs.8000each.Onone
shemade20%andontheothershelost20%.
Howmuchdidshegainorloseintheentiretransaction?
Answer
ShelostRs666.67
Considerthefirststamp.Shemades20%onitaftersellingitforRs8000.
Sotheoriginalpriceoffirststampis
=(8000*100)/80
=Rs6666.67
Similarly,considersecondstamp.Shelost20%onitaftersellingitforRs
8000
Sotheoriginalpriceofsecondstampis
=(8000*100)/80
=Rs10000
Totalbuyingpriceoftwostamps
=Rs6666.67+Rs10000
=Rs16666.67
Totalsellingpriceoftwostamps
=Rs8000+Rs8000
=Rs16000
Hence,shelostRs666.67
Assumeforamomentthattheearthisaperfectlyuniformsphereofradius
6400km.Supposeathreadequaltothelengthofthecircumferenceofthe
earthwasplacedalongtheequator,anddrawntoatightfit.
Nowsupposethatthelengthofthethreadisincreasedby12cm,andthatit
ispulledawayuniformlyinalldirections.
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
Thisthreadwillmakeoneconcentriccirclewiththeearthwhichisslightly
awayfromtheearth.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
Scientistdecidedtodoastudyonthepopulationgrowthofrabbits.Insidea
controlledenvironment,1000rabbitswereplaced.
Sixmonthslater,therewere1000Zrabbits.Atthebeginningofthe3rdyear,
therewereroughly2828Zrabbits,whichwas4timeswhatthescientists
placedinthereatthebeginningofthe1styear.
IfZisapositivevariable,howmanyrabbitswouldbethereatthebeginning
ofthe11thyear?
Submi
Answer
Atthebeginningofthe11thyear,therewouldbe1,024,000rabbits.
Atthebeginning,therewere1000rabbits.Also,therewere4000rabbitsat
thebeginningofthirdyearwhichisequalto2828Z.Thus,Z=4000/2828
i.e.1.414(thesquarerootof2)
Notethat2828Zcanberepresentedas2000*Z*Z(Z=1.414),whichcanbe
furthersimplifiedas1000*Z*Z*Z*Z
Also,itisgiventhatattheendof6months,therewere1000Zrabbits.
Itisclearthatthepopulationgrowthis1.414timeseverysixmonthsi.e.2
timeseveryyear.AfterNyears,thepopulationwouldbe1000*(Z^(2N))i.e.
1000*(2^N)
Thus,atthebeginningofthe11thyear(i.e.after10years),therewouldbe
1000*(2^10)i.e.1,024,000rabbits.
tted
Aclassof100students.24ofthemaregirlsand32arenot.WhichbaseamI
using?
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
Amanisstrandedonadesertisland.Allhehastodrinkisa20ozbottleof
sprite.
Toconservehisdrinkhedecidesthatonthefirstdayhewilldrinkoneoz
andtherefillthebottlebackupwithwater.Onthe2nddayhewilldrink2oz
andrefillthebottle.Onthe3rddayhewilldrink3ozandsoon...
Bythetimeallthespriteisgone,howmuchwaterhashedrunk?
Submitt
Answer
Themandrunk190ozofwater.
Itisgiventhatthemanhas20ozbottleofsprite.Also,hewilldrink1ozon
thefirstdayandrefillthebottlewithwater,willdrink2ozonthesecondday
andrefillthebottle,willdrink3ozonthethirddayandrefillthebottle,and
soontill20thday.Thusattheendof20days,hemusthavedrunk(1+2+3
+4+.....+18+19+20)=210ozofliquid.
Outofthat210oz,20ozisthespritewhichhehadinitially.Hence,hemust
havedrunk190ozofwater.
ed
Youhavefour9'sandyoumayuseanyofthe(+,,/,*)asmanytimesas
youlike.Iwanttoseeamathematicalexpressionwhichusesthefour9'sto
=100
Howmanysuchexpressionscanyoumake?
Submitted
Answer
Thereare5suchexpressions.
99+(9/9)=100
(99/.99)=100
(9/.9)*(9/.9)=100
((9*9)+9)/.9=100
(999)/.9=100
Twoplanestakeoffatthesameexactmoment.Theyareflyingacrossthe
Atlantic.OneleavesNewYorkandisflyingtoParisat500milesperhour.
TheotherleavesParisandisflyingtoNewYorkatonly450milesperhour
(becauseofastrongheadwind).
WhichonewillbeclosertoPariswhentheymeet?
TheywillbothbethesamedistancefromPariswhentheymeet!!!
12memberswerepresentataboardmeeting.Eachmembershookhands
withalloftheothermembersbefore&afterthemeeting.

Howmanyhandshakeswerethere?
Answer
132
Thinkofitthisway:thefirstpersonshakeshandswith11people,thesecond
personalsoshakeshandswith11people,butyouonlycount10,becausethe
handshakewiththefirstpersonwasalreadycounted.Thenadd9forthe
thirdperson,8forthefourth,&soon.
66handshakestookplacebefore&66afterthemeeting,foratotalof132.
Arrangefiveplanetssuchthat4ofthemaddupto5thplanetnumerically.
Eachofthelettersoftheplanetshouldrepresentauniquenumberfromthe
range09.Youhavetousealltendigits.
Thereisanamazingmathematicalrelationshipexistsamongthenamesof
theplanet.
Answer
Thetoughtprocessisinitiallytofindplanetssuchthatthetotalnumberof
alphabetsinthemis10.
TheonlypossiblecombinationofplanetsisSaturn,Uranus,Venus,Mars
andNeptunebecauseforothercombinationstherewillbemorethan10
alphabets.Amongthesefive,Neptuneisthelenghtiest,soitmustbethesum
oftheotherfour.
SATURN
URANUS
VENUS
+MARS
NEPTUNE
NowtheonlypossiblevalueforNis1.ByfindingthevalueforS,wecan
reachtheresult:
358691
695163
20163
+4593
1078610
Youhave14apples.YourFriendMargetakesaway3andgivesyou2.You
drop7butpickup4.Brettakes4andgives5.YoutakeonefromMargeand
giveittoBretinexchangefor3more.Yougivethose3toMargeandshe
givesyouanappleandanorange.FrankcomesandtakestheappleMarge
gaveyouandgivesyouapear.YougivethepeartoBretinexchangeforan
apple.FrankthentakesanapplefromMarge,givesittoBretforanorange,
givesyoutheorangeforanapple.
Howmanypearsdoyouhave?
Submitted
Answer
None
FrankgaveyouapearinexchangeoftheapplewhichMargegaveyou.And
yougavethatpeartoBretinexchangeforanapple.Alltheothersexchanges
involvedapplesand/ororganges.
Fourcouplesaregoingtothemovie.Eachrowholdseightseats.Bettyand
Jimdon'twanttositnexttoAliceandTom.AliceandTomdon'twanttosit
nexttoGertrudeandBill.Ontheotherhand,SallyandBobdon'twanttosit
nexttoBettyandJim.
Howcanthecouplesarrangethemselvesinarowsothattheyallsitwhere
theywouldlike?
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
cornerseatsasbothofthemcanhaveonlyoneneighbour.Therefore,
(Gertrude&Bill)willseatnextto(Betty&Jim)
(Sally&Bob)willseatnextto(Gertrude&Bill)
(Alice&Tom)willseatnextto(Sally&Bob)
Thus,therearetwopossiblearrangementsamirrorimagesofeachother.
1.(Betty&Jim)(Gertrude&Bill)(Sally&Bob)(Alice&Tom)
2.(Alice&Tom)(Sally&Bob)(Gertrude&Bill)(Betty&Jim)
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingadditionproblemtrue.
WHOSE
TEETH
ARE
+AS
SWORDS
letterH,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherHinthepuzzlemustbe3.
Answer
ItisobviousthatS=1andT=9.
Also,(H+E)shouldbegreaterthan10andhence,(E+H+E)must20.
Thus,thereare3possiblevaluesfor(E,H)pair:(6,8)or(7,6)or(8,4).Use
trialnerrorandeverythingwillfitin.
WHOSE28516
TEETH96698
ARE476
+AS+41
SWORDS125731
WhenSocrateswasimprisonedforbeingadisturbinginfluence,hewasheld
inhighesteembyhisguards.Allfourofthemhopedthatsomethingwould
occurthatwouldfacilitatehisescape.Oneevening,theguardwhowason
dutyintentionallyleftthecelldooropensothatSocratescouldleavefor
distantparts.
Socratesdidnotattempttoescape,asitwashisphilosophythatifyouaccept
society'srules,youmustalsoacceptit'spunishments.However,theopen
doorwasconsideredbytheauthoritiestobeaseriousmatter.Itwasnotclear
whichguardwasonthatevening.Thefourguardsmakethefollowing
statementsintheirdefense:
Aaron:
A)Ididnotleavethedooropen.
B)Clementwastheonewhodidit.
Bob:
A)Iwasnottheonewhowasondutythatevening.
B)Aaronwasonduty.
Clement:
A)Bobwastheoneondutythatevening.
B)IhopedSocrateswouldescape.
David:
A)Ididnotleavethedooropen.
B)IwasnotsurprisedthatSocratesdidnotattempttoescape.
Consideringthat,intotal,threestatementsaretrue,andfivestatementsare
false,whichguardisguilty
Answer
Davidistheguilty.
Notethat"Allfourofthemhopedthatsomethingwouldoccurthatwould
facilitatehisescape".ItmakesClement'sstatementBTrueandDavid's
statementBFalse.
Nowconsidereachofthemasaguilty,oneatatime.
Aaro
Clem
True
Bob
David
n
ent
Stmts
IfAaron
isguilty
False False True
True
False True True
False
True True
False
False False True True
False
False False True False False
IfBobis
True
guilty
False False False True
If
Clement
isguilty
True
True
IfDavid
isguilty
True
False True
True
Sinceintotal,threestatementsaretrueandfivestatementsarefalse.Itis
clearfromtheabovetablethatDavidis?
BrainTeaserNo:00474
Givenanywholenumbertakethesumofthedigits,andtheproductofthe
digits,andmultiplythesetogethertogetanewwholenumber.
Forexample,startingwith6712,thesumofthedigitsis(6+7+1+2)=16,
andtheproductofthedigitsis(6*7*1*2)=84.Theanswerinthiscaseis
then84x16=1344.
Ifwedothisagainstartingfrom1344,weget(1+3+4+4)*(1*3*4*4)=
576
Andyetagain(5+7+6)*(5*7*6)=3780
Atthisstageweknowwhatthenextanswerwillbe(withoutworkingit
out)because,asonedigitis0,theproductofthedigitswillbe0,and
hencetheanswerwillalsobe0.
Canyoufindanynumberstowhichwhenweapplytheabovementioned
rulerepeatedly,weneverendupat0?
BrainTeaserNo:00474
Givenanywholenumbertakethesumofthedigits,andtheproductofthe
digits,andmultiplythesetogethertogetanewwholenumber.
Forexample,startingwith6712,thesumofthedigitsis(6+7+1+2)=16,
andtheproductofthedigitsis(6*7*1*2)=84.Theanswerinthiscaseis
then84x16=1344.
Ifwedothisagainstartingfrom1344,weget(1+3+4+4)*(1*3*4*4)=
576
Andyetagain(5+7+6)*(5*7*6)=3780
Atthisstageweknowwhatthenextanswerwillbe(withoutworkingit
out)because,asonedigitis0,theproductofthedigitswillbe0,and
hencetheanswerwillalsobe0.
Canyoufindanynumberstowhichwhenweapplytheabovementioned
rulerepeatedly,weneverendupat0?

TherewereNstationsonarailroad.AfteraddingXstations46additional
ticketshavetobeprinted.
FindNandX.
Answer
LetbeforeaddingXstations,totalnumberoftickets
t=N(N1)
AfteraddingXstationstotalnumberofticketsare
t+46=(N+X)(N+X1)
Subtracting1stfrom2nd
46=(N+X)(N+X1)N(N1)
2
2
2
46=N
+NXN+NX+X
XN
+N
2
46=2NX+X
X
2
46=(2N1)X+X
2
X
+(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.
Anemergencyvehicletravels10milesataspeedof50milesperhour.
Howfastmustthevehicletravelonthereturntripiftheroundtriptravel
timeistobe20minutes?
Answer
75milesperhour
Whilegoingtothedestination,thevehicletravels10milsatthespeedof50
milesperhour.Sothetimetakentotravel10milesis
=(60*10)/50
=12minutes
Nowit'sgiventhatroundtriptraveltimeis20minutes.Sothevehicle
shouldcompleteitsreturntripof10milesin8minutes.Sothespeedofthe
vehiclemust
=(60*10)/8
=75milesperhour
Allofthestudentsatacollegearemajoringinpsychology,business,or
both.73%ofthestudentsarepsychologymajors,&62%arebusiness
majors.
Ifthereare200students,howmanyofthemaremajoringinboth
psychology&business?
Answer
70studentsaremajoringinboth,psychology&business
If73%ofthestudentsarepsychologymajors,weknowthat27%arenot
psychologymajors.Bythesamereasoning,38%arenotbusinessmajors,
because62%ofthestudentsdomajorinbusiness.So:27+38=65
65%ofthestudentsarenotmajoringinbothpsychology&business,so35%
aredoublemajors,atotalof70students.
Twotrainsstartingatsametime,onefromBangaloretoMysoreandotherin
oppositedirectionarriveattheirdestination1hrand4hrsrespectivelyafter
passingeachother.
Answer
ThespeedofBangaloreMysoretrainisTWICEthespeedof
MysoreBangaloretrain.
LetthedistancebetweenBangaloreandMysoreisDkms.
Also,letspeedofthetrainfromBangaloretoMysoreisXkm/hrandspeed
ofthetainfromMysoretoBangaloreisYkm/hr.
Now,assumethatboththetrainsmeteachotheratTkmsfromthe
Bangalore(pointPinfigure)
TimetakenbyBangaloreMysoretraintoreachP=Timetakenby
MysoreBangaloretraintoreachP
(T/X)=(DT)/Yequ(I)
Also,BangaloreMysoretrainandMysoreBangaloretrainarrivedestination
1hrand4hrsrespectivelyafterpassingeachother.Itmeansthat
BangaloreMysoretraintravels(DT)kmsin1hratXkm/hrand
MysoreBangaloretraintravelsTkmsin4hrsatYkm/hr.Hence,
(DT)=Xand
T=4*Y
SubstitutingthesevaluesinequationI,weget
(4*Y)/X=X/Y
4*Y*Y=X*X
2*Y=X
Hence,thespeedofBangaloreMysoretrainisTWICEthespeedof
MysoreBangaloretrain.
Howmuchfasterisonetrainfromother?
Answer
49times
Let'sassumethateveryoneclinkedtheirmugwithfriendtohisleftonly.It
meansthattherearetotal49clinks.Nowtherightclinkofeachpersonisleft
clinkofthepersononrightwhichisalreadyhappened.Hence,thereareonly
49clinks.
Mrs.Watsherfacehadagaragesale.AcustmernamedGinaboughtanold
lampandarug.Shepaidatotalof$5.25foreverything.Therugcost25
centsmorethanthelamp.
Howmuchdideachcost?
Submittedby:Kimi
Answer
Thelampcost$2.50andtherugcost$2.75
Asimpleone.
Assumethatthelampcost$L.
Hencetherugmusthavecost$(L+0.25)
Also,totalcostis$5.25,Hencetheequation:
L+L+0.25=5.25
2*L=5
L=2.50
Hence,thelampcost$2.50andtherugcost$2.75
BrainTeaserNo:00518
Write1111......(243times)i.e.a243digitnumberwithall1s.
Provethatitisdivisibleby243.
Submitt
Answer
Proveitusingthemathematicalinduction.
Firsthereareacoupleofthingstonote:
[1]Anumberwhosedigitsadduptoamultipleofthreeisdivisableby3.
e.g.369:3+6+9=18:1+8=9whichisamultipleof3hence369isdivisable
by3.
[2]Wheneveranumber(X)ismultipliedwithanothernumber(Y)thenthe
product(X*Y)willhaveallthefactorsofXaswellasallthefactorsofYin
itssetoffactors.
e.g.ifXhasfactorsof(1,P,Q,X)andYhasfactorsof(1,Q,R,Y)thenX*Y
hasfactorsof(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(D1)0s,
followedbyanother1,followedby(D1)0s,followedbyanother1.(e.g.if
N=369thenD=3andPwouldbe1001001)NotethatPwillalwaysbe
divisibleby3.
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)
Theresultingnumber111111111mustbedivisibleby9asNandPbothare
divisibleby3.
Now,let'sstartwithN=111111111.ItisclearthatNisdivisibleby9.
Also,D=9andP=1000000001000000001
N*P=111111111...(27times)
Theresultingnumber1111111...(27times)mustbedivisibleby27asNis
divisibleby9andPisdivisibleby3.
RepeatthesameprocedureforN=1111111...(27times)Theresulting
number1111111...(81times)mustbedivisibleby81asNisdivisibleby27
andPisdivisibleby3.
Similarly,forN=1111111...(81times)Theresultingnumber1111111...
(243times)mustbedivisibleby243asNisdivisibleby81andPis
divisibleby3.
Thus,1111111...(243times)isdivisibleby243.
ThankstoRyanHutchersonforsolution!!!
ed
Karanboughtalittleboxofmidgetmatches,eachoneinchinlength.He
foundthathecouldarrangethemallintheformofatrianglewhoseareawas
justasmanysquareinchesastherewerematches.
Hethenusedupsixofthematches,andfoundthatwiththeremainderhe
couldagainconstructanothertrianglewhoseareawasjustasmanysquare
inchesastherewerematches.
Andusinganothersixmatcheshecouldagaindopreciselythesame.
Howmanymatcheswerethereintheboxoriginally?
Notethatthematchboxcanholdmaximumof50matches.
Answer
Initially,therewere42or36matchesinthematchbox.
Thereare42matchesintheboxwithwhichhecouldformatriangle20,15,
7,withanareaof42squareinches.After6matcheshadbeenused,the
remaining36matcheswouldformatriangle17,10,9,withanareaof36
squareinches.Afterusinganother6matches,theremaining30matches
wouldformatriangle13,12,5,withanareaof30squareinches.Afterusing
another6,the24remainingwouldformatriangle10,8,6,withanareaof
24squareinches.
Thus,therearetwopossibleanswers.Therewereeither42or36matchesin
thematchbox.
Alsoitisinterestingtoknowthattherearejust5suchtrianglesforwhichthe
perimeterandtheareaisthesame(assumingallsidesareintegers)andthey
are:
1. 24
(10,8,6)
2. 30
(13,12,5)
3. 36
(17,10,9)
4.
5.
42
(20,15,7)
60
(29,25,6)
Findthevaluesofeachofthealphabets.
NOON
SOON
+MOON
JUNE
Answer
Usingtrialanderror.Thereare2solutionstoitandmaybemore.
2442
1442
+5442
9326
4114
5114
+0114
9342

Wehavetofillnumberfrom1to12attheintersectionpointoftwoormore
lines.Wehavetoconstructastarusingtwotriangle.Thesumofallnumber
lyinginstraightlinesshouldbesame.Thiscanbeeasiltyunderstoodbythe
fig.andhencesolved.
Submittedby:VaibhavGupta
Submit
Answer
Users
Answer(3)
BrainVista
Answer
PuzzleA
Friend
Addto
Favourite
Wehaveoneanswerwheresumofallthenumberslyinginstraightlinesis
26.
Ifyouhaveothers,dosubmitthem.
BrainTeaserNo:00355
Montu,Bantu,ChantuandPintuhavepets.
Montusays,"IfPintuandIeachhaveadog,thenexactlyoneofBantu
andChantuhasadog."
Bantusays,"IfChantuandIeachhaveacat,thenexactlyoneofMontu
andPintuhasadog."
Chantusays,"IfMontuandIeachhaveadog,thenexactlyoneofBantu
andPintuhasacat."
Pintusays,"IfBantuandIeachhaveacat,thenexactlyoneofBantuand
Ihasadog."
Onlyoneofthefouristellingthetruth.Whoistellingthetruth?
Answer
Bantuistellingthetruth.
ForaIFTHENstatementtobefalse,IFparthastobetrueandTHEN
parthastobefalse.
Sinceonlyonestatementistrueandremainingthreearefalse,IFpartof
threestatementsaretrue&THENpartofonestatementistrue.Let'sputthe
giveninformationintable.ThepetnameinthenormaltextrepresentstheIF
partandthepetnameinroundbracketsrepresentstheTHENpart.
Montu Bantu Chantu Pintu
Montusays
Dog
(Dog)
(Dog)
Dog
Bantusays
(Dog)
Cat
Cat
(Dog)
Chantusays
Dog
(Cat)
Dog
(Cat)
Cat
(Dog)
Cat
(Dog)
Pintusays
ItisclearthattheIFpartofthestatementsmadebyMontu,Chantuand
Pintuaretrueastheydonotcontradicteachother.AndtheIFpartofthe
statementmadebyBantuisfalse.
Thus,Bantuistellingthetruth.
MontuhaveaDogandmayormaynothaveaCat.
BantuhaveaCat.
ChantuhaveaDog.
PintuhaveaDogandaCat.
BrainTeaserNo:00520
Somebodymarkedthesixfacesofadiewiththenumbers1,2and3
eachnumbertwice.Thediewasputonatable.FourpeopleAbu,Babu,
CaluandDabusataroundthetablesothateachonewasabletoseeonly
threesidesofthedieataglance.
Abuseesthenumber1andtwoevennumbers.
BabuandCalucanseethreedifferentnumberseach.
Dabuseesnumber2twiceandhecan'trememberthethirdnumber.
Whatnumberisfacedownonthetable?
Answer
Number3isfacedownonthetable.
IfAbucanseetwoevennumbersi.e.number2twice,andifDabucansee
number2twice,thennumber2mustbefacingup.
Noweverythingelseissimple.(seethefollowingdiagram)
DabuAbu
322
CaluBabu
Thus,thenumberhiddenfromtheviewisnumber3andhencetheanswer.
TwoidenticalpackofcardsAandBareshuffledthroughly.Onecardis
pickedfromAandshuffledwithB.ThetopcardfrompackAisturnedup.
IfthisistheQueenofHearts,whatarethechancesthatthetopcardinBwill
betheKingofHearts?
Answer
52/2703
Therearetwocasestobeconsidered.
CASE1:
KingofHeartsisdrawnfromPackAandshuffledwithPackB
ProbabilityofdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=1/51(asQueenof
CASE2:
KingofHeartsisnotdrawnfromPackA
ProbabilityofnotdrawingKingofHeartsfromPackA=50/51(asQueenof
Nowaddingboththeprobability,therequiredprobabilityis
=2/(51*53)+50/(51*53)
=52/(51*53)
=52/2703
=0.0192378
Howmanypossiblecombinationsarethereina3x3x3rubicscube?
Inotherwords,ifyouwantedtosolvetherubicscubebytryingdifferent
combinations,howmanymightittakeyou(worstcasesenerio)?
Howmanyfora4x4x4cube?
Submitted
Answer
Thereare4.3252*10^19possiblecombinationsfor3x3x3Rubicsand
7.4012*10^45possiblecombinationsfor4x4x4Rubics.
Let'sconsider3x3x3Rubicsfirst.
Thereare8cornercubes,whichcanbearrangedin8!ways.
Eachofthese8cubescanbeturnedin3differentdirections,sothereare3^8
orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneofthecornercubeinto
chosenpositionsandorientations,onlyoneof3orientationsofthefinal
cornercubeispossible.Thus,totalwayscornercubescanbeplaced=(8!)*
(3^8)/8=(8!)*(3^7)
Similarly,12edgecubescanbearrangedin12!ways.
Eachofthese12cubescanbeturnedin2differentdirections,sothereare
2^12orientationsaltogether.Butifyougetallbutoneoftheedgecubeinto
chosenpositionsandorientations,onlyoneof2orientationsofthefinaledge
cubeispossible.Thus,totalwaysedgecubescanbeplaced=(12!)*
(2^12)/2=(12!)*(2^11)
Here,wehaveessentiallypulledthecubesapartandstuckcubesbackin
placewhereverweplease.Inreality,wecanonlymovecubesaroundby
turningthefacesofthecubes.Itturnsoutthatyoucan'tturnthefacesin
suchawayastoswitchthepositionsoftwocubeswhilereturningallthe
otherstotheiroriginalpositions.Thusifyougetallbuttwocubesinplace,
thereisonlyoneattainablechoiceforthem(not2!).Hence,wemustdivide
by2.
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,whichyoucannotturnin2orientations
(henceno2^24/2).Also,thereare4centercubesperfacei.e.(24!)/(4!^6).
Youcanswitch2cubeswithoutaffectingtherestofthecombinationas
4*4*4hasevendimensions(hencenodivisionby2).Butpatternononeside
isrotatedin4directionsover6faces,hencedivideby24.
BrainTeaserNo:00528
NEVER
LEAVE
+ME
ALONE
Notethattheleftmostlettercan'tbezeroinanyword.Also,theremustbe
aonetoonemappingbetweendigitsandletters.e.g.ifyousubstitute3
fortheletterM,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherMinthepuzzlemust
be3.
Answer
Atoughone!!!
SinceR+E+E=10+E,itisclearthatR+E=10andneitherRnorEis
equalto0or5.Thisistheonlyentrypointto
solveit.Nowusetrialnerrormethod.
NEVER21419
LEAVE31541
+ME+61
ALONE53021
Thereare20peopleinyourapplicantpool,including5pairsofidentical
twins.
Ifyouhire5peoplerandomly,whatarethechancesyouwillhireatleast1
pairofidenticaltwins?(Needlesstosay,thiscouldcausetrouble))
Subm
Answer
Theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleast1pairofidenticaltwinsis
25.28%
5peoplefromthe20peoplecanbehiredin20C5=15504ways.
Now,divide20peopleintotwogroupsof10peopleeach:
G1withalltwins
G2withallpeopleotherthantwins
Let'sfindoutallpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepairof
indenticaltwins.
People
People
NoofwaystohireG1
Noof
Total
fromG1 fromG2
withoutasinglepairof
waysto
ways
indenticaltwins
hireG2
0
10C0
10C5
252
10C1
10C4
2100
10C2*8/9
10C3
4800
10C3*8/9*6/8
10C2
3600
10C4*8/9*6/8*4/7
10C1
800
10C5*8/9*6/8*4/7*2/6 10C0
32
Total
11584
Thus,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithoutasinglepairofindentical
twins=11584ways
So,totalpossiblewaystohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins=1550411584=3920ways
Hence,theprobabilitytohire5peoplewithatleastasinglepairof
indenticaltwins
=3920/15504
=245/969
=0.2528
=25.28%
itted
VeerusaystoJay,"CanyoufigureouthowmanyEggsIhaveinmy
bucket?"Hegives3cluestoJay:IfthenumberofEggsIhave
1. isamultipleof5,itisanumberbetween1and19
2. isnotamultipleof8,itisanumberbetween20and29
3. isnotamultipleof10,itisanumberbetween30and39
HowmanyEggsdoesVeeruhaveinhisbucket?
Answer
32eggs
Let'sapplyall3conditionseparatelyandputallpossiblenumbers
together.
Firstconditionsaysthatifmultipleof5,thenthenumberisbetween1and
19.Hence,thepossiblenumbersare(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.Thatmeansthatonlynumber
32satisfiesallthreeconditions.Hence,Veeruhave32eggsinhisbucket.
Submit
Answer
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Answer(14)
BrainV
Mr.Black,Mr.WhiteandMr.GreywerechattingintheYahooconference.
Theywerewearingablacksuit,awhitesuitandagreysuit,notnecessarily
inthesameorder.
Mr.Greysentmessage,"Weallarewearingsuitthatareofthesamecoloras
ournamesbutnoneofusiswearingasuitthatisthesamecolorashis
name."
Onthatapersonwearingthewhitesuitreplied,"Whatdifferencedoesthat
make?"
Canyoutellwhatcolorsuiteachofthethreepersonshadon?
Answer
Mr.GreyiswearingBlacksuit.
Mr.WhiteiswearingGreysuit.
Mr.BlackiswearingWhitesuit.
Mr.Greymustnotbewearinggreysuitasthatisthesamecolourashis
name.Also,hewasnotwearingwhitesuitasthepersonwearingwhitesuit
respondedtohiscomment.SoMrGreymustbewearingablacksuit.
Similarly,Mr.Whitemustbewearingeitherblacksuitorgreysuit.ButMr.
Greyiswearingablacksuit.Hence,Mr.Whitemustbewearingagreysuit.
And,Mr.Blackmustbewearingwhitesuit.
Substitutenumbersfortheletterssothatthefollowingmathematical
expressionsarecorrect.
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.Thepossible
valuesofIEare19,28,37,46,55,64,73,82and91outofwhichonly64,
73and82satisfiesthecondition.(asallalphabetshouldrepresentdifferent
digits)
Now,considerDEF=6*IE.Outofthreeshortlistedvalues,only73
satisfiestheequation.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:00374
A,B,CandDarerelatedtoeachother.
Oneofthefouristheoppositesexfromeachoftheotherthree.
DisA'sbrotheroronlydaughter.
AorBisC'sonlyson.
BorCisD'ssister.
Answer
A,B&DaremalesCisfemale.BisC'sonlyson.A&DareC's
brothers.
A(male)C(female)D(male)

B(male)
Workoutwhichrelationcanholdanddiscardthecontradictoryoptions.
From(2)and(4),Dcannotbeaonlydaughterandhaveasister(BorC).
Hence,DisA'sbrotheri.e.DisaMale.
From(4),let'ssaythatBisD'ssisteri.e.BisFemale.
From(3),AisC'sonlysoni.e.AisMale.
ButDisA'sbrotherwhichmeansthatAisnotC'sonlyson.Hence,our
assumptionwaswrong.
Thus,CisD'ssisteri.e.CisFemale.AndBmustbeC'sonlyson.
NowitisclearthatD&BareMalesandCisFemale.AmustbeaMaleas
onlyoneofthemisofoppositesexfromeachoftheotherthree.AndheisC
&D'sbrother.Howaretheyrelatedtoeachother?
Dr.DoLittlealwaysgoeswalkingtotheclinicandtakesthesametimewhile
goingandwhilecomingback.Onedayhenoticedsomething.
Whenheleftthehome,thehourhandandtheminutehandwereexactly
oppositetoeachotherandwhenhereachedtheclinic,theyweretogether.
Similarly,whenhelefttheclinic,thehourhandandtheminutehandwere
togetherandwhenhereachedthehome,theywereexactlyoppositetoeach
other.
HowmuchtimedoesDr.DoLittletaketoreachhomefromtheclinic?Give
theminimalpossibleanswer.
Answer
32minutes43.6seconds
Intwelvehours,theminutehandandthehourhandaretogetherfor11
times.Itmeansthatafterevery12/11hours,boththehandsaretogether.
Similarlyintwelvehours,theminutehandandthehourhandareexactly
oppositetoeachotherfor11times.Itmeansthatafterevery12/11hours,
boththehandsareopposite.
Now,let'stakeanexample.Weknowthatat12boththehandsaretogether
andat6boththehandsareexactlyoppositetoeachother.
After6,boththehandsareinoppositionat[6+(12/11)]hours,[6+2*(12/11)]
hours,[6+3*(12/11)]hoursandsoon.Thesixthsuchtimeis[6+6*(12/11)]
hourswhichisthefirsttimeafter12.Thusafter12,boththehandsare
oppositetoeachotherat12:32:43.6
Hence,Dr.DoLittletakes32minutesand43.6secondstoreachhomefrom
theclinic.
SlowRunExpressrunsbetweenBangaloreandMumbai,Fortheupaswell
asthedownjourney,thetrainleavesthestartingstationat10:00PM
everydayandreachesthedestinationat11:30PMafterthreedays.
Mr.HaanioncetravelledbySlowRunExpressfromMumbaitoBangalore.
HowmanySlowRunExpressdidhecrossduringhisjourney?
Answer
Mr.Haanicrossed7SlowRunExpressesduringhisjourney.
Let'ssaythatMr.HaanitravelledbySlowRunExpressonWednesday
10:00PMfromMumbai.Thefirsttrainhewouldhavecrossedistheone
scheduledtoarriveatMumbaiat11:30PMthesamedayi.e.theonethatleft
Bangaloreat10:00PMonlastSunday.
Also,hewouldhavecrossedthelasttrainjustbeforereachingBangaloreon
Saturday.
Thus,Mr.Haanimusthavecrossed7SlowRunExpressesduringhis
journey.
Sixcabinsnumbered16consecutively,arearrangedinarowandare
separatedbythindividers.Thesecabinsmustbeassignedtosixstaff
membersbasedonfollowingfacts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
MissShalaka'sworkrequireshertospeakonthephonefrequently
throughouttheday.
MissShudhapreferscabinnumber5as5isherluckynumber.
Mr.ShaanandMr.Sharmaoftentalktoeachotherduringtheirwork
andpreferstohaveadjacentcabins.
Mr.Sinha,Mr.ShaanandMr.Solankiallsmoke.MissShudhais
allergictosmokeandmusthavenonsmokersadjacenttoher.
Mr.Solankineedssilenceduringwork.
Canyoutellthecabinnumbersofeachofthem?
Answer
Thecabinsfromlefttoright(16)areofMr.Solanki,Mr.Sinha,Mr.
Shaan,Mr.Sharma,MissShudhaandMissShalaka.
From(2),cabinnumber5isassignedtoMissShudha.
AsMissShudhaisallergictosmokeandMr.Sinha,Mr.Shaan&Mr.
Solankiallsmoke,theymustbeincabinnumbers1,2and3notnecessarily
inthesameorder.Also,MissShalakaandMr.Sharmamustbeincabin4
and6.
From(3),Mr.Shaanmustbeincabin3andMr.Sharmamustbeincabin4.
Thus,MissShalakaisincabin6.
AsMr.SolankineedssilenceduringworkandMr.Shaanisincabin3who
oftentalkstoMr.Sharmaduringwork,Mr.Solankimustbeincabin1.
Hence,Mr.Sinhaisincabin2.
Thus,thecabinsnumbersare
1#Mr.Solanki,
2#Mr.Sinha,
3#Mr.Shaan,
4#Mr.Sharma,
5#MissShudha,
6#MissShalaka
SkyFicityisservedby6subwaylinesA,E,I,O,UandZ.
Whenitsnows,morningserviceonlineEisdelayed.
Whenitrainsorsnows,serviceonthelinesA,UandZisdelayed
bothmorningandafternoon.
Whenthetemperaturedropsbelow20C,afternoonserviceis
cancelledoneitherlineAorlineO,butnotboth.
Whenthetemperaturerisesabove40C,afternoonserviceiscancelled
oneitherlineIorlineZ,butnotboth.
WhenserviceonlineAisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineIis
alsodelayed.
WhenserviceonlineZisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineEis
alsodelayed.
OnFebruary10,itsnowsalldaywiththetemperatureat18C.Onhowmany
linesservicewillbedelayedorcancelled,includingbothmorningand
afternoon?
SkyFicityisservedby6subwaylinesA,E,I,O,UandZ.
Whenitsnows,morningserviceonlineEisdelayed.
Whenitrainsorsnows,serviceonthelinesA,UandZisdelayed
bothmorningandafternoon.
Whenthetemperaturedropsbelow20C,afternoonserviceis
cancelledoneitherlineAorlineO,butnotboth.
Whenthetemperaturerisesabove40C,afternoonserviceiscancelled
oneitherlineIorlineZ,butnotboth.
WhenserviceonlineAisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineIis
alsodelayed.
WhenserviceonlineZisdelayedorcancelled,serviceonlineEis
alsodelayed.
OnFebruary10,itsnowsalldaywiththetemperatureat18C.Onhowmany
linesservicewillbedelayedorcancelled,includingbothmorningand
afternoon?
Inacertaingame,if2wixsomesareworth3changs,and4changsareworth
1plut,then6plutesareworthhowmanywixsomes?
Answer
Itisgiventhat
2wixsomes=3changs
8wixsomes=12changs(I)
Also,giventhat
4changs=1plut
12changs=3plutes
8wixsomes=3plutesFrom(I)
Therefore,
6plutes=16wixsomes
Inacertainyear,thenumberofgirlswhograduatedfromCityHighSchool
wastwicethenumberofboys.If3/4ofthegirlsand5/6oftheboyswentto
collegeimmediatelyaftergraduation,whatfractionofthegraduatesthat
yearwenttocollegeimmediatelyaftergraduation?
Answer
AssumethatnumberofboysgraduatedfromCityHighSchool=B
Therefore,numberofgirlsgraduatedfromCityHighSchool=2*B
Itisgiventhat3/4ofthegirlsand5/6oftheboyswenttocollege
immediatelyaftergraduation.
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
Amuleandadonkeywerecarryingfullsacksontheirbacks.
Themulestartedcomplainingthathisloadwastooheavy.Thedonkeysaid
tohim"Whyareyoucomplaining?IfyougavemeoneofyoursacksI'd
havedoublewhatyouhaveandifIgiveyouoneofmysackswe'dhavean
evenamount."
Howmanysackswereeachofthemcarrying?Givetheminimalpossible
answer.
Submitt
Answer
Themulewascarrying5sacksandthedonkeywascarrying7sacks.
Let'sassumethatthemulewascarryingMsacksandthedonkeywas
carryingDsacks.
Asthedonkeytoldthemule,"IfyougavemeoneofyoursacksI'dhave
doublewhatyouhave."
D+1=2*(M1)
D+1=2M2
D=2M3
Thedonkeyalsosaid,"IfIgiveyouoneofmysackswe'dhaveaneven
amount."
D1=M+1
D=M+2
Comparingboththeequations,
2M3=M+2
M=5
SubstitutingM=5inanyofaboveequation,wegetD=7
Hence,themulewascarrying5sacksandthedonkeywascarrying7sacks.
ed
Twopeopleenteraraceinwhickyouruntoapointandback.PersonA
runs20mphtoandfromthepoint.PersonBrunstothepointgoing10mph
and30mphgoingback.
Whocameinfirst?
Submitted
Answer
PersonAcameinfirst.
Let'sassumethatthedistancebetweenstartandthepointisDmiles.
TotaltimetakenbyPersonAtofinish
=(D/20)+(D/20)
=D/10
=0.1D
TotaltimetakenbyPersonBtofinish
=(D/10)+(D/30)
=2D/15
=0.1333D
Thus,PersonAistheWinner.
Alternatively(ifyoudon'tlikemathematics)),analysethesituationas
follow:
NotethatinitiallyspeedofPersonA(20mph)wastwicethespeedofPerson
B(10mph).Hence,whenPersonA(20mphforward)reachedthepoint,
PersonB(10mphforward)washalfway.WhenPersonA(20mphback)
finished,PersonB(still10mphforward)reachedthepoint.
Thus,PersonAwinstheraceandbythattimePersonBcoversonlyhalfthe
distance,nomatterhowfarthepointis!!!
MarkatehalfofapizzaonMonday.HeatehalfofwhatwasleftonTuesday
andsoon.Hefollowedthispatternforoneweek.
Howmuchofthepizzawouldhehaveeatenduringtheweek?
Submitted
Answer
Markwouldhaveate127/128(99.22%)ofthepizzaduringtheweek.
MarkatehalfthepizzaonMonday.OnTuesday,hewouldhaveatehalfof
theremainingpizzai.e.1/4oftheoriginalpizza.Similarly,hewouldhave
ate1/8oftheoriginalpizzaonWednesdayandsoonforthesevendays.
TotalpizzaMarkateduringtheweekis
=1/2+1/4+1/8+1/16+1/32+1/64+1/128
=127/128
=99.22%oftheoriginalpizza
IntheGeneralmeetingof"FriendsClub",Sameersaid,"Therepairstothe
ClubwillcometoatotalofRs3120andIproposethatthisamountshould
bemetbythemembers,eachpayinganequalamount."
Theproposalwasimmediatelyagreed.However,fourmembersoftheClub
chosetoresign,leavingtheremainingmemberstopayanextraRs26each.
HowmanymembersdidtheCluboriginallyhave?
Answer
TheCluboriginallyhad24members.
AssumethattherewereinitiallyNmembers.
As4membersresignedandremainingmemberspaidRs26each,itmeans
thattotalamountof4membersisequaltoRs26eachfromremaining(N4)
members.Thus,
4*(3120/N)=26*(N4)
2
12480=26N
104N
2
26N
104N12480=0
SolvingthequadraticequationwegetN=24.
Hence,theCluboriginallyhad24members.
BrainTeaserNo:00206
AtankcanbefilledbypipeAin30minutesandbypipeBin24minutes.
OutletpipeCcanemptythefulltankinonehourandtwentyminutes.
IfthetankisemptyinitiallyandifallthethreepipesA,BandCare
openedsimultaneously,inhowmuchtimewillthetankbefull?
Answer
Thetankwillbefullin16minutes.
Inoneminute,
pipeAcanfill1/30partofthetank.
pipeBcanfill1/24partofthetank.
pipeCcanempty1/80partofthetank.
Thus,thenetwaterlevelinoneminuteis
=1/30+1/241/80
=15/240partofthetank
Hence,thetankwillbefullin240/15i.e.16minutes.
AricholdArabhasthreesons.Whenhedied,hewilledhis17camelstothe
sons,tobedividedasfollows:
FirstSontoget1/2ofthecamelsSecondSontoget1/3rdofthecamels
ThirdSontoget1/9thofthecamels.
Thesonsaresittingtheretryingtofigureouthowthiscanpossiblybedone,
whenaveryoldwisemangoesridingby.Theystophimandaskhimtohelp
themsolvetheirproblem.Withouthesitationhedividesthecamelsproperly
andcontinuesridingonhisway.
Howdidhedoit?
Answer
Theoldmantemporarilyaddedhiscameltothe17,makingatotalof18
camels.
Firstsongot1/2ofit=9
Secondsongot1/3ofit=6
Thirdsongot1/9ofit=2
Foratotalof17.Hethentakeshiscamelbackandridesaway......
Thereweretwomenstandingonastreet.Theonesaystotheother,"Ihave
3daughters,theproductoftheiragesis36.WhatistheageoftheOLDEST
daughter?"

Thesecondguysays,"Ineedmoreinformation."So,thefirstguysays,"The
sumoftheiragesisequaltotheaddressofthehouseacrossthestreet."
Thesecondguylooksattheaddressandsays,"Istillneedmore
information."So,thefirstguysays,"Myoldestdaughterwearsareddress."
Answer
Theansweris9years.
Firstyouneedtofindallthepossiblesetsofthreenumbersthatwhen
multipliedequals36:
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
moreinformationthatmeansthatatleasttwoofthesetsofnumbershas
thesamesum.Twoofthemdo,166and229.
WhenthefirstguysaidthathisOLDESTdaugherwearsareddressthat
meantthattherehadtobetheoldest.So166can'tpossiblybethe
answer.Sothepossiblepossiblityis229andtheOLDESTdaughteris9
yearsold.
Therefore,theansweris9.
Submit
User
Answer
Thereare3coloredboxesRed,GreenandBlue.Eachboxcontains2
envelopes.EachenvelopecontainsmoneytwoofthemcontainRs.25000
each,twoofthemcontainRs.15000eachandremainingtwocontainRs.
10000each.
Thereisonestatementwrittenonthecoverofeachbox.
*RedBox:Both,aredboxandablueboxcontainRs.10000each.
*GreenBox:Both,agreenboxandaredboxcontainRs.25000each.
*BlueBox:Both,ablueboxandagreenboxcontainRs.15000each.
Onlyoneoftheabove3statementsistrueandthecorrespondingbox
containsthemaximumamount.
Canyoutellwhichboxcontainsthemaximumamountandhowmuch?
Answer
BlueboxcontainsthemaximumamountRs.40000
Asitisgiventhatonlyoneofthegiven3statementsistrueassumeinturn,
eachstatementtobetrue&theother2falseandcheckwhetherthe
correspondingboxcontainsthemaximumamount.
Let'sassumethatthestatementontheBlueboxistrue.Thus,thegiven3
statementscanbeinterpretedas
*Atmostone,aredboxorablueboxcontainsRs.10000.
*Atmostone,agreenboxoraredboxcontainsRs.25000.
*Both,ablueboxandagreenboxcontainRs.15000each.
Goingthroughallpossiblecombinations,wecanconcludethat
RedBox:Rs.10000+Rs.25000=Rs.35000
GreenBox:Rs.10000+Rs.15000=Rs.25000
BlueBox:Rs.15000+Rs.25000=Rs.40000
Youcantestoutforothertwostatementsi.e.assumingRedboxstatement
trueandthenGreenboxstatementtrue.Inboththecases,otherstatements
willcontradictthetruestatement.
Sachin,DravidandGangulyplayedinaCricketmatchbetweenIndiaand
England.
Noneofthemscoredmorethan99runs.
IfyouaddthedigitsoftherunsscoredbySachintohisownscore,
youwillgettherunsscoredbyDravid.
IfyoureversethedigitsoftherunsscoredbyDravid,youwillgetthe
runsscoredbyGanguly.
Thetotalrunsscoredbythemis240.
Canyoufigureouttheirindividualscores?
Answer
Sachin,DravidandGangulyscored75,87and78respectively.
Sachin'sscoremustbelessthan86,otherwiseDravid'sscorewouldbemore
than99.Also,hemusthavescoredatleast42incaseDravidandGanguly
scored99each.
Also,asnoneofthemscoredmorethan99andthetotalrunsscoredbythem
is240theirindividualscoresmustbearound80.
Now,usetrialnerrormethodtosolvetheteaser.
Threemen,includingGianniandthreewoman,includingSachiareinlineat
theBrentWoodpostoffice.Eachhastwodifferentpiecesofbusinessto
conduct.
1. Thefirstpersonisawoman.
2. Carloswantstosendanovernightpackage.
3. LauisjustaheadofPimentelliwhoisthesamesexasLau.
4. Gianniistwoplacesaheadofthepersonwhowantstobuystamps.
5. KnutsonwhoistheoppositesexthanRendlerisn'tthepersonwho
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
wantedtocomplainaboutamailcarrier.
Thesixpeople,notnecessarilyinthesameorderareAnthony,
Donna,thepersonwhowantstofilloutachangeofaddressform,the
onewhowantstobuyamoneyorder,theonewhowantstosend
AirmailtoTibetandthesecondpersonintheline.
Thefourtasksofthelasttwopeopleinline,notnecessarilyinthe
sameorderaresendingbooksfourthclass,buyingamoneyorder,
pickingupapackageandcomplainingaboutamailcarrier.
Thepersonwhowantstosendbooksfourthclassisjustbehinda
personofthesamesex.
Maryisjustbehindapersonwhowantstosendaninsuredpackage.
ThepersonwhowantstosendAirmailtoTibetiseithertwoplaces
aheadofortwoplacesbehindtheonewhowantstoaddpostagetohis
orhermeter.
Anthonyisn'ttwoplacesbehindthewhowantstopickuparegistered
letter.
Torisezaistwoplacesaheadofthepersonwhowantstopickupa
package.
Knutsonisn'tjustaheadofthepersonwhowantstosendanitem
parcelpost.
Canyoufigureoutwhereeachcustomerisintheline,hisorherfullname
(onesurnameisLoti)andthetwothingsheorshewantstoaccomplish?
ProvideyouranswerisPOSITIONFIRSTNAMELASTNAME
BUSINESSformat.
Submit
Answer
Users
Answer(8)
Answer
AveryTOUGHpuzzle!!!
POS
FIRST
NAME
LAST
NAME
BUSINESS
Sachi
Loti
FillOutaChangeofAddressForm
AddPostagetoMeter
Gianni
Lau
PickUpaRegisteredLetter
SendanItemParcelPost
3
Carlos
Pimentelli
OvernightPackage
SendAirmailtoTibet
Donna
Toriseza
BuyStamps
SendanInsuredPackage
Mary
Knutson
BuyaMoneyOrder
SendBooksfourthClass
Anthony
Rendler
ComplainAboutaMailCarrier
PickUpaPackage
BrainTeaserNo:00164
WORLD
+TRADE
CENTER
fortheletterW,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherWinthepuzzle
mustbe3.
Answer
Atoughone.
ItisobviousthatC=1.Also,themaximumpossiblevalueofEis7.Now,
startputtingpossiblevaluesofD,EandRastheyoccurefrequentlyanduse
trialnerror.
WORLD53684
+TRADE+76042
CENTER129726
BrainTeaserNo:00107
Ifyoulookataclockandthetimeis3:15.
Whatistheanglebetweenthehourandtheminutehands?(Theanswer
tothisisnotzero!)
Answer
7.5degrees
At3:15minutehandwillbeperfactlyhorizontalpointingtowards3.
Whereashourhandwillbetowards4.Also,hourhandmusthavecovered
1/4ofanglebetween3and4.
Theanglebetweentwoadjacentdigitsis360/12=30degrees.
Hence1/4ofitis7.5degrees.
Anapplevendorhas1000applesand10emptyboxes.Heaskshissonto
placeallthe1000applesinallthe10boxesinsuchamannerthatifheasks
foranynumberofapplesfrom1to1000,hissonshouldbeabletopickthem
intermsofboxes.
Howdidthesonplacealltheapplesamongthe10boxes,giventhatany
numberofapplescanbeputinonebox.
Answer
1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,489
Let'sstartfromscratch.
Theapplevandorcanaskforonly1apple,sooneboxmustcontain1
apple.
Hecanaskfor2apples,sooneboxmustcontain2apples.
Hecanaskfor3apples,inthatcaseboxoneandboxtwowilladdup
to3.
Hecanaskfor4apples,sooneboxi.e.thirdboxmustcontain4
apples.
Nowusingboxnumberone,twoandthreecontaining1,2and4
applesrespectively,hissoncangiveupto7apples.Hence,forthbox
mustcontain8apples.
Similarly,usingfirstfourboxescontaining1,2,4and8apples,his
soncangiveupto15apples.Hencefifthboxmustcontain16apples.
Youmusthavenoticedonethingtillnowthateachboxtillnow
containspowerof2apples.Hencetheansweris1,2,4,8,16,32,64,
128,256,489.Thisistrueforanynumberofapples,hereinourcase
onlyupto1000.
BrainTeaserNo:00261
ThelettersP,Q,R,S,T,UandV,notnecessarilyinthatorderrepresents
sevenconsecutiveintegersfrom22to33.
UisasmuchlessthanQasRisgreaterthanS.
VisgreaterthanU.
Qisthemiddleterm.
Pis3greaterthanS.
Canyoufindthesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothehighest
value?
Answer
Thesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothehighestvalueis
TUSQRPV.
From(3),Qisthemiddleterm.
__________Q__________
From(4),theremustbeexactly2numbersbetweenPandSwhichgivestwo
possiblepositions.
[1]____S_____Q__P_______
[2]_______S__Q_____P____
From(1),thenumberoflettersbetweenUandQmustbesameasthe
numberoflettersbetweenSandR.Also,thenumberoflettersbetweenthem
canbe1,2or3.
Usingtrialanderror,itcanbefoundthattheremustbe2lettersbetween
them.Also,itispossibleonlyinoption[2]above.
[2]____U__S__Q__R__P____
From(2)VmustbethehighestandtheremainingTmustbethelowest
number.
_T__U__S__Q__R__P__V_
Thus,thesequenceoflettersfromthelowestvaluetothehighestvalueis
TUSQRPV.
Acontractorhademployed100labourersforaflyoverconstructiontask.He
didnotallowanywomantoworkwithoutherhusband.Also,atleasthalfthe
menworkingcamewiththeirwives.
Hepaidfiverupeesperdaytoeachman,fourruppestoeachwomanand
onerupeetoeachchild.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
workingcamewiththeirwivesthevalueofYliesbetweenXandX/2.
Substitutingtheselimitingvaluesinequations,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.
Becausecigarscannotbeentirelysmoked,aBobowhocollectscigarbutts
canmakeacigartosmokeoutofevery3buttsthathefinds.
Today,hehascollected27cigarbutts.Howmanycigarswillhebeableto
smoke?
Answer
13
not12
Hemakes9originalsfromthe27buttshefound,andafterhesmokesthem
hehas9buttsleftforanother3cigars.Andthenhehas3buttsforanother
cigar.
So9+3+1=13
Inasmalltown,therearethreetemplesinarowandawellinfrontofeach
temple.Apilgrimcametothetownwithcertainnumberofflowers.
Beforeenteringthefirsttemple,hewashedalltheflowershehadwiththe
waterofwell.Tohissurprise,flowersdoubled.Heofferedfewflowersto
theGodinthefirsttempleandmovedtothesecondtemple.Herealso,
beforeenteringthetemplehewashedtheremainingflowerswiththewater
ofwell.Andagainhisflowersdoubled.HeofferedfewflowerstotheGod
insecondtempleandmovedtothethirdtemple.Herealso,hisflowers
doubledafterwashingthemwithwater.HeofferedfewflowerstotheGod
inthirdtemple.
Therewerenoflowersleftwhenpilgrimcameoutofthirdtempleandhe
offeredsamenumberofflowerstotheGodinallthreetemples.
Whatistheminimumnumberofflowersthepilgrimhadinitially?How
manyflowerdidheoffertoeachGod?
Answer
Thepilgrimhad7flowers,initiallyandheoffered8flowerstoeach
God.
AssumethatthepilgrimhadXflowersinitiallyandheofferedYflowersto
eachGod.
Fromtheabovefigure,thereare(8X7Y)flowerswhenthepilgrimcame
outofthethirdtemple.Butitisgiventhattherewerenoflowersleftwhen
hecameoutofthirdtemple.Itmeansthat
(8X7Y)=0
8X=7Y
TheminimumvaluesofXandYare7and8respectivelytosatisfyabove
equation.Hence,thepilgrimhad7flowersandheoffered8flowerstoeach
God.
Ingeneral,thepilgrimhad7Nflowersinitiallyandheoffered8Nflowersto
eachGod,whereN=1,2,3,4,.....
BrainTeaserNo:00432
Tanyawantstogoonadateandprefersherdatetobetall,darkand
handsome.
1. Ofthepreferredtraitstall,darkandhandsomenotwoofAdam,
Bond,CruzandDumbohavethesamenumber.
2. OnlyAdamorDumboistallandfair.
3. OnlyBondorCruzisshortandhandsome.
4. AdamandCruzareeitherbothtallorbothshort.
5. BondandDumboareeitherbothdarkorbothfair.
WhoisTanya'sdate?
Answer
CruzisTanya'sdate.
Asnotwoofthemhavethesamenumberofpreferredtraitsfrom(1),
exactlyoneofthemhasnoneofthepreferredtraitsandexactlyoneofthem
hasallthepreferredtraits.
From(4)and(5),thereareonlytwopossibilities:
*Adam&CruzbotharetallandBond&Dumbobotharefair.
*Adam&CruzbothareshortandBond&Dumbobotharedark.
Butfrom(2),secondpossibilityisimpossible.Sothefirstoneisthecorrect
possibilityi.e.Adam&CruzbotharetallandBond&Dumbobotharefair.
Thenfrom(3),Bondisshortandhandsome.
Also,from(1)and(2),Adamistallandfair.Also,Dumboistheperson
withoutanypreferredtraits.CruzisDark.AdamandCruzarehandsome.
Thus,followingaretheindividualpreferredtraits:
CruzTall,DarkandHandsome
AdamTallandHandsome
BondHandsome
DumboNone:(
Hence,CruzisTanya'sdate.
ConsideragameofTowerofHanoi(liketheonethatyoucanplayon
BrainVista).
Ifthetowerhas2discs,theleastpossiblemoveswithwhichyoucanmove
theentiretowertoanotherpegis3.
Ifthetowerhas3discs,theleastpossiblemoveswithwhichyoucanmove
theentiretowertoanotherpegis7.
Whatistheleastpossiblemoveswithwhichyoucanmovetheentiretower
toanotherpegifthetowerhasNdiscs?
Submitted
Answer
Therearenumberofwaystofindtheanswer.
Tomovethelargestdisc(atlevelN)fromonetowertotheother,itrequires
(N1)
2
moves.Thus,tomoveNdiscsfromonetowertotheother,thenumber
ofmovesrequiredis
(N1)
(N2)
(N3)
2
1
0
=2
+2
+2
+.....+2
+2
+2
N
=2
1
ForNdiscs,thenumberofmovesisonemorethantwotimesthenumberof
movesforN1discs.Thus,therecursivefunctionis
F(1)=1
F(N)=2*[F(N1)]+1
whereNisthetotalnumberofdiscs
Also,onecanarriveattheanswerbyfindingthenumberofmovesfor
smallernumberofdiscsandthenderivethepattern.
For1disc,numberofmoves=1
For2discs,numberofmoves=3
N
Thus,thepatternis2
1
Aboyfoundthathehada48inchstripofpaper.Hecouldcutaninchoff
everysecond.
Howlongwouldittakeforhimtocut48pieces?Hecannotfoldthestrip
andalso,cannotstacktwoormorestripsandcutthemtogether.
Submi
Answer
47seconds.
Toget48pieces,theboyhavetoputonly47cuts.i.e.hecancut46pieces
in46seconds.Aftergetting46pieces,hewillhavea2incheslongpiece.He
cancutitintotwowithjustaonecutin1second.Hence,totalof47
seconds.
ttedby:Kimi
ThecricketmatchbetweenIndiaandPakistanwasover.
HarbhajanscoredmorerunsthanGanguly.
SachinscoredmorerunsthanLaxmanbutlessthanDravid
BadaniscoredasmuchrunsasAgarkarbutlessthanDravidandmore
thanSachin.
GangulyscoredmorerunsthaneitherAgarkarorDravid.
Eachbatsmanscored10runsmorethanhisimmediatebatsman.Thelowest
scorewas10runs.Howmuchdideachoneofthemscore
Answer
Asimpleone.Usethegivenfactsandputdownalltheplayersinorder.The
orderisasfollowwithHarbhajan,thehighestscorerandLaxman,thelowest
scorer.
1. Harbhajan
2. Ganguly
3. Dravid
4. Badani,Agarkar
5. Sachin
6. Laxman
Also,asthelowestscorewas10runs.Laxmanmusthavescored10,Sachin
20,Badani&Agarkar30andsoon.
1. Harbhajan60runs
2. Ganguly50runs
3. Dravid40runs
4. Badani,Agarkar30runseach
5. Sachin20runs
6. Laxman10runs
Thereare10statementswrittenonapieceofpaper:
1. Atleastoneofstatements9and10istrue.
2. Thiseitheristhefirsttrueorthefirstfalsestatement.
3. Therearethreeconsecutivestatements,whicharefalse.
4. Thedifferencebetweenthenumbersofthelasttrueandthefirsttrue
statementdividesthenumber,thatistobefound.
5. Thesumofthenumbersofthetruestatementsisthenumber,thatisto
befound.
6. Thisisnotthelasttruestatement.
7. Thenumberofeachtruestatementdividesthenumber,thatistobe
found.
8. Thenumberthatistobefoundisthepercentageoftruestatements.
9. Thenumberofdivisorsofthenumber,thatistobefound,(apartfrom
1anditself)isgreaterthanthesumofthenumbersofthetrue
statements.
10. Therearenothreeconsecutivetruestatements.
Findtheminimalpossiblenumber?
Submitted
Answer
Thenumebris420.
Ifstatement6isfalse,itcreatesaparadox.Hence,
Statement6mustbe
true
.
ConsiderStatement2:
Ifitistrue,itmustbethefirsttruestatement.Otherwise,itcreatesa
paradox.
Ifitisfalse,itmustbethesecondfalsestatement.Otherwise,it
createsaparadox.
Inboththecases,
Statement1isfalse
.
AsStatement1isfalse,
Statement9andStatement10botharefalse
i.e.
therearethreeconsecutivetruestatements.
1
2 3 4 5
7 8
10
False True False False
Let\'sassumethatStatement3isfalsei.e.therearenothreeconsecutive
falsestatements.ItmeansthatStatement2andStatement8mustbetrue,
elsetherewillbethreeconsecutivefalsestatements.
1
4 5
10
False True False True True False False
Also,atleasttwoofStatements4,5and7mustbetrueastherearethree
consecutivetruestatements.
AccordingtoStatement8,thenumberthatistobefoundisthepercentageof
truestatements.Hence,numberiseither50or60.NowifStatement7is
true,thenthenumberofeachtruestatementdividesthenumber,thatistobe
found.But7and8donotdivideeither50or60.Hence,Statement7isfalse
whichmeansthatStatement4and5aretrue.ButStatement5contradictsthe
Statement8.Hence,ourassumptionthatStatement3isfalseiswrongand
Statement3istrue
i.e.thereare3consecutivefalsestatementswhich
meansthat
Statement8isfalse
asthereisnootherpossibilitiesof3
consecutivefalsestatements.
Also,
Statement7istrue
asStatement6isnotthelasttruestatement.
4 5
10
False True True True False False False
AccordingtoStatement7,thenumberofeachtruestatementdividesthe
number,thatistobefound.AndaccordingtoStatement5,thesumofthe
numbersofthetruestatementsisthenumber,thatistobefound.Forall
possiblecombinations
Statement5isfalse
.
There3consecutivetruestatements.Hence,
Statement2andStatement4
aretrue
.
1
10
False True True True False True True False False False
Now,theconditionsforthenumbertobefoundare:
1. Thenumebrisdivisibleby5(Statement4)
2. Thenumebrisdivisibleby2,3,4,6,7(Statement7)
3. Thenumberofdivisorsofthenumber,thatistobefound,(apartfrom
1anditself)isnotgreaterthanthesumofthenumbersofthetrue
statements.(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,thesumofthenumbersofthetruestatementsis22
(2+3+4+6+7=22),whichsatisfiesthethirdcondition.
AnkitandTejasdividedabagofApplesbetweenthem.
Tejassaid,"It'snotfair!Youhave3timesasmanyApplesIhave."Ankit
said,"OK,IwillgiveyouoneAppleforeachyearofyourage."Tejas
replied,"Stillnotfair.Now,youhavetwiceasmanyApplesasIhave."
"Dear,that'sfairenoughasIamtwiceolderthanyou.",saidAnkit.
AnkitwenttoKitchentodrinkwater.WhileAnkitwasinKitchen,Tejas
tookapplesfromAnkit'spileequaltoAnkit'sage.
Whohavemoreapplesnow?
Answer
Attheend,AnkitandTejas,bothhavethesamenumberofapples.
Let'sassumethatinitiallyTejasgotNapplesandhisageisTyears.Hence,
initiallyAnkitgot3Napplesandhisageis2Tyears.
Operation
Ankit'sApples
Tejas'sApples
Initially
3N
AnkitgaveTapplestoTejas
(equalsageofTejas)
3NT
N+T
Tejastook2TapplesfromAnkit'spile
(equalsageofAnkit)
3N3T
N+3T
ItisgiventhatafterAnkitgaveTapplestoTejas,Ankithadtwiceasmany
applesasTejashad.
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.
OneveySundayAmar,AkbarandAnthonylunchtogetherat
PreetamDaDhabawheretheyorderlassibasedonfollowingfacts.
1. UnlessneitherAmarnorAkbarhavelassi,Anthonymusthaveit.
2. IfAmardoesnothavelassi,eitherAkbarorAnthonyorbothhaveit.
3. AnthonyhaslassionlyifeitherAmarorAkbarorbothhaveit.
4. AkbarandAnthonyneverhavelassitogether.
Whoorder(s)lassi?
Answer

AmarandAnthonybothhavelassiwhereasAkbarneverdoes.
Fact(2)canbealternativelystatedthat"eitherAmarorAkbarorAnthony
musthavelassi".
FromFact(3),itcanbeinferedthateitherAmarorAkbarmusthavelassi.
Now,fromFact(1),itisapparentthatAnthonytoomusthavelassi.But
accordingtoFact(4),AkbarcannothavelassiwhenAnthonydoes.
BrainTeaserNo:00191
Decipherthissentence.
BRWQHLFKWHJKQIBWK
QICEDWZBGWKKMIKE
ZBGQHSKZBGJKZKW
BUUZBGJDBHFW.
Answer
StartwithZBGandZBGJ.Itshouldbeeither"the/then"or"you/your"
combinationastheyappearmore.
BRWQHLFKWHJKQIBWK
obstaclesarethose
QICEDWZBGWKKMIKE
thingsyouseewhen
ZBGQHSKZBGJKZKW
youtakeyoureyes
BUUZBGJDBHFW.
offyourgoals.
BrainTeaserNo:00001
AtwhattimeimmediatelypriortoSixO'clockthehandsoftheclockare
exactlyoppositetoeachother.Givetheexacttimeinhours,minutesand
seconds.
Answer
Itisobviousthatbetween5O'clockand6O'clockthehandswillnotbe
exactlyoppositetoeachother.Itisalsoobviousthatthehandswillbe
oppositetoeachotherjustbefore5O'clock.Nowtofindexacttime:
Thehourhandmoves1degreeforevery12degreesthattheminutehand
moves.LetthehourhandbeXdegreeawayfrom5O'clock.Thereforethe
minutehandis12Xdegreeawayfrom12O'clock.
ThereforesolvingforX
Anglebetweenminutehandand12O'clock+Anglebetween12O'clockand
4O'clock+Anglebetween4O'clockandhourhand=180
12X+120+(30X)=180
11X=30
HenceX=30/11degrees
(hourhandisXdegreeawayfrom5O'clock)
Noweachdegreethehourhandmovesis2minutes.
Thereforeminutesare
=2*30/11
=60/11
=5.45(means5minutes27.16seconds)
Thereforetheexacttimeatwhichthehandsareoppositetoeachotheris
=4hrs.54min.32.74seconds
AliBabahadfoursons,towhomhebequeathedhis39camels,withthe
provisothatthelegacybedividedinthefollowingway:
Theoldestsonwastoreceiveonehalftheproperty,thenextaquarter,the
thirdaneighthandtheyoungestonetenth.Thefourbrotherswereataloss
ashowtodividetheinheritanceamongthemselveswithoutcuttingupa
camel,untilastrangerappeareduponthescene.
Dismountingfromhiscamel,heaskedifhemighthelp,forheknewjust
whattodo.Thebrothersgratefullyacceptedhisoffer.
AddinghisowncameltoAliBaba's39,hedividedthe40asperthewill.
Theoldestsonreceived20,thenext10,thethird5andtheyoungest4.One
camelremained:thiswashis,whichhemountedandrodeaway.
Scratchingtheirheadsinamazement,theystartedcalculating.Theoldest
thought:isnot20greaterthanthehalfof39?Someonemusthavereceived
lessthanhispropershare!Buteachbrotherdiscoveredthathehadreceived
morethanhisdue.Howisitpossible?
Answer
Theytooktheirpercentagesfrom40andnotfrom39,sotheygotmorethan
theirshare.
Theoldestsongot1/2of40=20whichis0.5more
Thesecondsongot1/4of40=10whichis0.25more
Thethirdsongot1/8of40=5whichis0.125more
Theyoungestsongot1/10of40=4whichis0.1more
Andthestrangergot1/40of40=1whichis0.025more(Asheisnot
supposedtogetanything)
Allthesefractionsaddto=0.5+0.25+0.125+0.1+0.025=1which
strangertookaway.
Thereisafamilypartyconsistingoftwofathers,twomothers,twosons,one
fatherinlaw,onemotherinlaw,onedaughterinlaw,onegrandfather,one
grandmotherandonegrandson.
Whatistheminimumnumberofpersonsrequiredsothatthisispossible?
Answer
Therearetotal2couplesandason.GrandfatherandGrandmother,theirson
andhiswifeandagaintheirson.Sototal5people.
Grandfather,Grandmother
|
|
Son,wife
|
|
Son
AmanwentintoafastfoodrestaurantandateamealcostingRs.105,giving
theaccountantaRs.500note.Hekeptthechange,camebackafewminutes
laterandhadsomefoodpackedforhisgirlfriend.Hegavetheaccountanta
Rs.100noteandreceivedRs.20inchange.Laterthebanktoldthe
accountantthatboththeRs.500andtheRs.100noteswerecounterfeit.
Howmuchmoneydidtherestaurantlose?Ignoretheprofitofthefood
restaurant.
Answer
HelostRs.600

FirsttimerestauranthasgivenfoodworthRs.105andRs.395change.
Similarlysecondtime,foodworthRs.80andRs.20change.Here,wearenot
consideringfoodrestaurantprofits.
SLIDE
DEAN
3651
Eachofsevendigitsfrom09arerepresentedbyadifferentletterabovesuch
thatthesubtractionistrue.
Whatwordrepresents3651?
Answer
3651representsLENS.
Let'sassignpossiblevaluestoeachletterandthenusetrialnerror.
Smustbe1.
ThenD(underL)mustbegreaterthan5.IfDis6,thenLis0.ButthenA
mustbe0or1whichisimpossible.Hence,thepossiblevaluesofDare7,8
or9.
NmustbeE+1.Also,DmustbeA+5asthepossiblevaluesofDare7,8
or9,Dcannotbe(10+A)+5.
Nowusingtrialnerror,wegetS=1,I=2,L=3,A=4,N=5,E=6andD=9
SLIDE13296
DEAN9645
3651LENS
Hence,3651representsLENS.
Adam,Burzin,ClarkandEdmundeachliveinanapartment.Their
apartmentsarearrangedinarownumbered1to4fromlefttoright.Also,
oneofthemisthelandlord.
1. IfClark'sapartmentisnotnexttoBurzin'sapartment,thenthe
landlordisAdamandlivesinapartment1.
2. IfAdam'sapartmentisrightofClark'sapartment,thenthelandlordis
Edmundandlivesinapartment4.
3. IfBurzin'sapartmentisnotnexttoEdmund'sapartment,thenthe
landlordisClarkandlivesinapartment3.
4. IfEdmund'sapartmentisrightofAdam'sapartment,thenthelandlord
isBurzinandlivesinapartment2.
Whoisthelandlord?
Answer
Clarkisthelandlord.
Assumeeachstatementtrue,oneatatimeandseethatnootherstatementis
contradicted.
Let'sassumethatStatement(1)istrue.Then,Adamisthelandlordandlives
inapartment1.Also,otherthree'sapartmentswillbeontherightofhis
apartmentwhichcontradictsStatement(4)i.e.IfEdmund'sapartmentis
rightofAdam'sapartment,thenthelandlordisBurzin.Thus,Adamisnot
thelandlord.
Let'sassumethatStatement(2)istrue.Then,Edmundisthelandlordand
livesinapartment4.Also,otherthree'sapartmentswillbeontheleftofhis
apartmentwhichagaincontradictsStatement(4)i.e.IfEdmund'sapartment
isrightofAdam'sapartment,thenthelandlordisBurzin.Thus,Edmundis
notthelandlordeither.
Let'sassumethatStatement(3)istrue.Then,Clarkisthelandlordandlives
inapartment3.Itsatisfiesallthestatementsfor
(1)Adam(2)Edmund(3)Clark(4)Burzin
Hence,Clarkisthelandlord.
Similarly,youcanassumeStatement(4)trueandfindoutthatitalso
contradicts.
BrainTeaserNo:00456
B,JandParerelatedtoeachother.
1. AmongthethreeareB'slegalspouse,J'ssiblingandP's
sisterinlaw.
2. B'slegalspouseandJ'ssiblingareofthesamesex.
Whoisthemarriedman?
Answer
Jisthemarriedman.
Notethataperson'ssisterinlawmaybethewifeofthatperson'sbrotheror
thesisterofthatperson'sspouse.
Thereare2cases:
1. IfB'slegalspouseisJ,thenJ'ssiblingmustbePandP'ssisterinlaw
mustbeB.
2. IfB'slegalspouseisP,thenP'ssisterinlawmustbeJandJ'ssibling
mustbeB.
ItisgiventhatB'slegalspouseandJ'ssiblingareofthesamesex.Also,itis
obviousthatP'ssisterinlawisfemale.Then,B'slegalspouseandJ'ssibling
bothmustbemales.
B'sspouseJ'ssiblingP'ssisterinlaw
(male)(male)(female)
CaseIJPB
CaseIIPBJ

CaseIIisnotpossibleasB&Paremarriedtoeachotherandbotharemale.
Hence,Jisthemarriedman.
BrainTeaserNo:00041
Apolygonhas1325diagonals.Howmanyverticesdoesithave?
Answer
Theformulatofindnumberofdiagonals(D)giventotalnumberofvertices
orsides(N)is
N*(N3)
D=
Usingtheformula,weget
1325*2=N*(N3)
2
N
3N2650=0
Solvingthequadraticequation,wegetN=53or50
Itisobviousthatansweris
53
asnumberofverticescannotbenegative.
Alternatively,youcanderivetheformulaastriangehas0diagonals,
quadrangelhas2,pentagonhas5,hexagonhas9andsoon......
Hencetheseriesis0,0,0,2,5,9,14,........(asdiagramwith1,2or3
verticeswillhave0diagonals).
Usingtheseriesonecanarrivetotheformulagivenabove.
BrainTeaserNo:00076
Acubeismadeofawhitematerial,buttheexteriorispaintedblack.
Ifthecubeiscutinto125smallercubesofexactlythesamesize,how
manyofthecubeswillhaveatleast2oftheirsidespaintedblack?
Answer
44
36ofthecubeshaveEXACTLY2oftheirsidespaintedblack,butbecausea
cubewith3ofitssidespaintedblackhas2ofitssidespaintedblack,you
mustalsoincludethecornercubes.Thiswasatrickquestion,buthopefully
thetitleofthepuzzletippedyouofftothis.
BrainTeaserNo:00238
Imagineatriangleofcoinsonatablesothatthefirstrowhasonecoinin
itandthesecondrowhastwocoinsinitandsoon.Ifyoucanonlymove
onecoinatatime,howmanymovesdoesittaketomakethetriangle
pointtheotherway?
Foratrianglewithtworowitisone,foratrianglewiththreerowsitis
two,foratrianglewithfourrowsitisthree.
Foratrainglewithfiverowsisitfour?
Submitted
Answer
Ittakes5movestomakethetrianglewith5rowspointtheotherway.
0=acointhathasnotbeenmoved.
X=theoldpositionofthemovedcoin
8=thenewpositionofthemovedcoin.
________X
_______XX
____80008
_____0000
____X000X
_______88
________8
Fortraingleofanynumberofrows,theoptimalnumberofmovescanbe
achievedbymovingtheverticallysymmetricalcoinsi.e.bymovingsame
numberofcoinsfrombottomleftandright,andremainingcoinsfromthe
top.
Foratrianglewithanoddnumberofrows,thetotalmovesrequireare:
2
(N
/4)(N4)WhereN=4,6,8,10,...
Foratrianglewithevennumberofrows,thetotalmovesrequireare:
2
((N
1)/4)(N4)WhereN=5,7,9,11,...
ThankstoAlexCrosseforsubmittingaboveformulas.
BrainTeaserNo:00053
AmanisgoingtoanAntiqueCarauction.Allpurchasesmustbepaidfor
incash.Hegoestothebankanddrawsout$25,000.
Sincethemandoesnotwanttobeseencarryingthatmuchmoney,he
placesitin15evelopesnumbered1through15.Eachenvelopecontains
theleastnumberofbillspossibleofanyavailableUScurrency(i.e.no
twotensinplaceofatwenty).
Attheauctionhemakesasuccessfulbidof$8322foracar.Hehandsthe
auctioneerenvelopesnumber(s)2,8,and14.Afteropeningtheenvelopes
theauctioneerfindsexactlytherightamount.
Howmanyonesdidtheauctioneerfindintheenvelopes?
Answer
Eachenvelopecontainsthemoneyequaltothe2raisedtotheenvelope
numberminus1.Thesentence"Eachenvelopecontainstheleastnumberof
billspossibleofanyavailableUScurrency"isonlytomisguideyou.Thisis
alwayspossibleforanyamount!!!
Onemorethingtonoticehereisthatthemanmusthaveplacedmoneyin
envelopesinsuchawaythatifhebidsforanyamountlessthan$25000,he
shouldbeabletopickthemintermsofenvelopes.
0
Firstenvelopecontains,2
=$1
1
Secondenvelopecontains,2
=$2
2
Thirdenvelopecontains,2
=$4
3
Fourthenvelopecontains,2
=$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$2bill
andone$1bill
EnvelopeNo14conrainseightyone$100bill,one$50bill,four$10bill
andone$2bill
Hencetheauctioneerwillfindone$1billintheenvelopes.
BrainTeaserNo:00090
Theminuteandthehourhandofawatchmeetevery65minutes.
Howmuchdoesthewatchloseorgaintimeandbyhowmuch?
Answer
Theminuteandthehourhandmeet11timesin12hoursinnormalwatchi.e.
theymeetafterevery
=(12*60)/11minutes
=65.45minutes
=65minutes27.16seconds

Butinourcasetheymeetafterevery65minutesmeansthewatchisgaining
27.16seconds.
BrainTeaserNo:00093
Thereisanumberthatis5timesthesumofitsdigits.Whatisthis
number?Answerisnot0.
Answer
Thenumberis45,simplybecause
45=5*(4+5)
Howdoesonefindthisnumber?
LetTbethedigitinthetensplaceandUbethedigitintheunitsplace.
Then,thenumberis10*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.
Therearesixboxescontaining5,7,14,16,18,29ballsofeitherredorblue
incolour.Someboxescontainonlyredballsandotherscontainonlyblue.
Onesalesmansoldoneboxoutofthemandthenhesays,"Ihavethesame
numberofredballsleftoutasthatofblue."
Whichboxistheonehesoldsout?
Answer
Totalnoofballs=5+7+14+16+18+29=89
Totalnumberofballsareodd.Also,samenumberofredballsandblueballs
areleftoutaftersellingonebox.Soitisobviousthattheboxwithodd
numberofballsinitissoldouti.e.5,7or29.
Nowusingtrialanderrormethod,
(8929)/2=60/2=30and
14+16=5+7+18=30
Soboxwith29ballsissoldout.
BrainTeaserNo:00218
EktagotchocolatestogiveherfriendsonherBirthday.Ifshegives3
chocolatestoeachfriend,onefriendwillgetonly2chocolates.Also,if
shegives2chocolatestoeachfriends,shewillleftwith15chocolates.
HowmanychocolatesEktagotonherBirthday?andhowmanyfriends
arethere?
Answer
47Chocolatesand16Friends
Let'sassumethattherearetotalCchocolatesandFfriends.
Accordingtofirstcase,ifshegives3chocolatestoeachfriend,onefriend
willgetonly2chocolates.
3*(F1)+2=C
Similarly,ifshegives2chocolatestoeachfriends,shewillleftwith15
chocolates.
2*F+15=C
Solvingabove2equations,F=16andC=47.Hence,Ektagot47
chocolatesand16friends
PoojaandEshameteachotherafterlongtime.Inthecourseoftheir
conversation,PoojaaskedEshaherage.Eshareplied,"Ifyoureversemy
age,youwillgetmyhusbund'sage.Heisofcourseolderthanme.Also,the
differencebetweenourageis1/11thofthesumofourage."
CanyouhelpoutPoojainfindingEsha'sage?
Answer
Esha'sageis45years.
AssumethatEsha'sageis10X+Yyears.Hence,herhunsbandsageis(10Y
+X)years.
Itisgiventhatdifferencebetweentheirageis1/11thofthesumoftheirage.
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.
Afishhadatailaslongasitsheadplusaquarterthelenghtofitsbody.Its
bodywasthreequartersofitstotallength.Itsheadwas4incheslong.
Whatwasthelengthofthefish?
Submitted
Thefishis128incheslong.
Itisobviousthatthelenghtofthefishisthesummationoflenghtsofthe
head,thebodyandthetail.Hence,
Fish(F)=Head(H)+Body(B)+Tail(T)
Butitisgiventhatthelenghtoftheheadis4inchesi.e.H=4.Thebodyis
threequartersofitstotallengthi.e.B=(3/4)*F.Andthetailisitsheadplus
aquarterthelenghtofitsbodyi.e.T=H+B/4.Thus,theequationis
F=H+B+T
F=4+(3/4)*F+H+B/4
F=4+(3/4)*F+4+(1/4)*(3/4)*F
F=8+(15/16)*F
(1/16)*F=8
F=128inches
Thus,thefishis128incheslong.
Assumethatyouhavejustheardofascandalandyouarethefirstoneto
know.Youpassitontofourpersoninamatterof30minutes.Eachofthese
fourinturnpassesittofourotherpersonsinthenext30minutesandsoon.
HowlongitwilltakeforeverybodyintheWorldtogettoknowthescandal?
AssumethatnobodyhearsitmorethanonceandthepopulationoftheWorld
isapproximately5.6billions.
Answer
EverybodyintheWorldwillgettoknowthescandalin8hours.
Youcametoknowofascandalandyoupasseditonto4personsin30
minutes.Sototal(1+4)5personswouldknowaboutitin30minutes.
Bytheendofonehour,16morepersonswouldknowaboutit.Sototalof
(1+4+16)21personswouldknowaboutitinonehour.
Similarly,theother(1+4+16+64)personswouldhaveknowaboutitinone
andahalfhours.(1+4+16+64+256)personswouldhaveknowaboutitin
twohoursandsoon...
Itcanbededucedthatthetermsoftheaboveseriesarethepowerof4i.e.
4^0,4^1,4^2,4^3andsoonupto(2N+1)terms.Also,thelasttermwould
be4^2NwhereNisthenumberofhours.
Sumoftheabovementionedseries=[4^(2N+1)1]/3
Thesumoftheseriesmustbe5.6billions.Hence,equatingthesumofthe
serieswith5.6billions,wegetN=8hours.
ScandalstravelFAST!!!
ABC
EFG
I
Eachofthedigitsfrom1to9isrepresentedbyadifferentletterabove.Also,
A+B+C=C+D+E=E+F+G=G+H+I=13
WhichdigitdoesErepresent?
Answer
Erepresents4.
Findoutallpossiblegroupsofthreedifferentnumbersthataddupto13and
arrangethemaccordingtogivencondition.
Ifonenumberis9,itmustgowith1and3.
Ifonenumberis8,itmustgowitheither1and4or2and3.
Itisclearthat9mustgowith1and3.Also,nodigitmaybeusedinmore
thantwosums.Hence,thereare2cases:
CaseI
:If8goeswith1and4,then7goeswith2and4,then6goeswith2
and5.
CaseII
:If8goeswith2and3,then7goeswith2and4,then6goeswith3
and4.
ButincaseII,3isusedinthreesums.Hence,CaseIiscorrect.Andthe
possiblearrangementsare:
931562
87
472481
63
59
Thus,Emustbe4.
A,BandCarethreepointsonastraightline,notnecessarilyequidistant
withBbeingbetweenAandC.Threesemicirclesaredrawnonthesame
sideofthelinewithAB,BCandACasthediameters.BDisperpendicular
tothelineABC,andDliesonthesemicircleAC.
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.
Submit
Answer
Users
Answer(33)
BrainVista
Answer
BrainTeaserNo:00660
Gomzihas3timepiecesinhishouseawallclock,analarmclockanda
wristwatch.Thewristwatchisalwaysaccurate,whereasthewallclock
gains2minuteseverydayandthealarmclockloses2minuteseveryday.
Atexactlymidnightlastnight,allthreewatcheswereshowingthesame
time.
Iftodayis25July2003,thenonwhichdateallthreeclockswillshowthe
sametimeagain?
Answer
Allthreeclockswillshowthesametimeagainonmidnightbetween19
July2004and20July2004.
Aclockfinishesonroundin12*60i.e.720minutes.
Ifaclockgains2minuteseveryday,thenitwouldbe720minutesahead
after360days.Thus,after360days,itwillshowthesametimeagain.
Similary,ifaclockloses2minuteseveryday,thenitwouldbe720minutes
behindafter360days.Thus,after360days,itwillshowthesametime
again.
Thus,after360daysallthreeclockswillshowthesametimeagaini.e.
midnightbetween19July2004and20July2004.
Youhave9marbles.8marblesweigh1ounceeach,&onemarbleweighs
1.5ounces.Youareunabletodeterminewhichistheheaviermarbleby
lookingatthem.Youhaveaweighingscalethatconsistsof2pans,butthe
scaleisonlygoodfor2totalweighings.
Howcanyoudeterminewhichmarbleistheheaviestoneusingthescale&
in2weighings?
Answer
Divide9marblesinto3groupsof3marbleseach.
Takeany2groupsandplacethemoneachpan.Iftheybalance,removethe
marblesfromthepans,&placeany2ofthemarblesfromtheremaining
unweighedgrouponthepans,1oneachpan.
Ifoneisheavier,itistheheaviermarble,butiftheybalance,theremaining
unweighedmarbleistheheavierone.
Ifyourfirstweighingdoesnotbalance,removethemarblesfromthelighter
pan,&place1marbleoneachpanfromtheheavierpan.Theheavier1isthe
1.5ouncemarble,butiftheybalance,thenthemarblefromtheheavypan
fromthefirstweighingthatwasnotweighedinthesecondweighingisthe
heavy1.
Onceaweekawagondriverleaveshishutanddriveshiswagontotheriver
docktopickupsuppliesforhistown.At4:05PM,onefifthofthewayto
thedock,hepassestheTemple.At4:15PM,onethirdoftheway,hepasses
thePreetamDaDhabaa.
Atwhattimedoeshereachedthedock?
Answer
5:05PM
At4:05PM,thewagondriverpassesthetemple,onefifthofthewaytothe
dock.Also,at4:15PM,hepassesthePreetamDaDhabaa,onethirdofthe
way.Thus,hetravels2/15(1/31/5)ofthedistancein10minutes.
At4:15PM,hehasalreadytravelled1/3ofthedistance.Thus2/3oftheway
isremaining,whichcanbetravelledin
=((2/3)*10)/(2/15)
=50minutes
At4:15,hewasatPreetamDaDhabaa.andremainingwaywilltake50more
minutes.Hence,thedriverwillreachat5:05PMtothedock.
BrainTeaserNo:00115
Fourprisonersescapefromaprison.
Theprisoners,Mr.East,Mr.West,Mr.South,Mr.Northheadtowards
differentdirectionsafterescaping.
Thefollowinginformationoftheirescapewassupplied:
TheescaperouteswereNorthRoad,SouthRoad,EastRoadand
WestRoad
Noneoftheprisonerstooktheroadwhichwastheirnamesake
Mr.EastdidnottaketheSouthRoad
Mr.WestdidnottheSouthRoad
TheWestRoadwasnottakenbyMr.East
Whatroaddideachoftheprisonerstaketomaketheirescape
Answer
Putallthegiveninformationintothetablestructureasfollow:
NorthRoad
SouthRoad
EastRoad
WestRoad
Mr.North
No
Mr.South
No
Mr.East
No
No
No
Mr.West
No
No
Nowfromtable,twothingsareobviousandtheyare:
Mr.NorthtooktheSouthRoad
Mr.EasttooktheNorthRoad
Putthisinformationintothetable,Alsokeepinmindthattheprisonershead
towardsdifferentdirectionsafterescaping.
NorthRoad
SouthRoad
EastRoad
WestRoad
Mr.North
No
YES
No
No
Mr.South
No
No
Mr.East
YES
No
No
No
Mr.West
No
No
No
Nowfromthetable:
Mr.WesttooktheEastRoad
Mr.SouthtooktheWestRoad
Sotheansweris:
Mr.NorthtooktheSouthRoad
Mr.SouthtooktheWestRoad
Mr.EasttooktheNorthRoad
Mr.WesttooktheEastRoad
Shahrukhspeakstruthonlyinthemorningandliesintheafternoon,whereas
Salmanspeakstruthonlyintheafternoonandliesinthemorning.
AsaysthatBisShahrukh.
IsitmorningorafternoonandwhoisAShahrukhorSalman?
Answer
ItisAfternoonandAcanbeSalmanorShahrukh.IfAisSalman,heis
speakingtruth.IfAisShahrukh,heislying.

Wanttoconfirmit?Considerfollowing4possibleanswersandcheckforits
truthnessindividually.
1. ItisMorningandAisShahrukh
2. ItisMorningandAisSalman
3. ItisAfternoonandAisShahrukh
4. ItisAfternoonandAisSalman
Arichmandied.Inhiswill,hehasdividedhisgoldcoinsamonghis5sons,
5daughtersandamanager.
Accordingtohiswill:Firstgiveonecointomanager.1/5thoftheremaining
totheelderson.Nowgiveonecointothemanagerand1/5thofthe
remainingtosecondsonandsoon.....Aftergivingcoinsto5thson,divided
theremainingcoinsamongfivedaughtersequally.
Allshouldgetfullcoins.Findtheminimumnumberofcoinshehas?
Answer
Wetriedtofindoutsomesimplemathematicalmethodandfinallywewrote
smallCprogramtofindouttheanswer.Theansweris3121coins.
Hereisthebreakup:
Firstson=624coins
Secondson=499coins
Thirdson=399coins
Forthson=319coins
Fifthson=255coins
Daughters=204each
Manager=5coins
Thereisagridof20squaresby10squares.Howmanydifferentrectangles
arepossible?
Notethatsquareisarectangle.
Answer
11550
TheGenericsolutiontothisis:
Totalnumberofrectangles=(Summationofrownumbers)*(Summationof
columnnumbers)
Herethereare20rowsand10columnsorviceversa.Hence,totalpossible
rectangles
=(20+19+18+17+16+....+3+2+1)*(10+9+8+7+....+3+2
+1)
=(210)*(55)
=11550
Hence,total11,550differentrectanglesarepossible.
Ifyoudon'tbelieveit,tryformulaonsomesmallergridslike4x2,3x2,3x3
etc...
IfA+B=C,DC=AandEB=C,thenwhatdoesD+Fstandsfor?Provide
youranswerinlettertermsaswellasinnumberterms.
Submittedby:David
Answer
Jor10
Asimpleone.
Assumethateachcharacterrepresentsthenumberequivalenttotheposition
inthealphabeti.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
Awomantookacertainnumberofeggstothemarketandsoldsomeof
them.
Thenextday,throughtheindustryofherhens,thenumberleftoverhad
beendoubled,andshesoldthesamenumberasthepreviousday.
Onthethirddaythenewremainderwastripled,andshesoldthesame
numberasbefore.
Onthefourthdaytheremainderwasquadrupled,andhersalesthesameas
before.
Onthefifthdaywhathadbeenleftoverwerequintupled,yetshesold
exactlythesameasonallthepreviousoccasionsandsodisposedofher
entirestock.
Whatisthesmallestnumberofeggsshecouldhavetakentomarketthefirst
day,andhowmanydidsheselldaily?Notethattheanswerisnotzero.
Submitted
Answer
Shetook103eggstomarketonthefirstdayandsold60eggseveryday.
Let'sassumethatshehadNeggsonthefirstdayandshesoldXeggs
everyday.Puttingdownthegiveninformationinthetableasfollow.
Days
Eggsatthestartoftheday
EggsSold
EggsRemaining
Day1
NX
Day2
2N2X
2N3X
Day3
6N9X
6N10X
Day4
24N40X
24N41X
Day5
120N205X
120N206X
Itisgiventhatshedisposedofherentirestockonthefifthday.Butfromthe
tableabove,thenumberofeggsremainingare(120N206X).Hence,
120N206X=0
120N=206X
60N=103X
ThesmallestvalueofNandXmustbe103and60respectively.Hence,she
took103eggstomarketonthefirstdayandsold60eggseveryday.
Johnlivesin"FriendsSociety"whereallthehousesareinarowandare
numberedsequentiallystartingfrom1.Hishousenumberis109.
Jessylivesinthesamesociety.Allthehousenumbersontheleftsideof
Jessy'shouseaddupexactlythesameasallthehousenumbersontheright
sideofherhouse.
WhatisthenumberofJessy'shouse?Findtheminimalpossibleanswer.
Answer
Thereare288housesandJessy'shousenumberis204.
Let'sassumethatinthe"FriendsSociety"therearetotalNhousesnumbered
from1toNandJessy'shousenumberisX.
NowitisgiventhatallthehousenumbersontheleftsideofJessy'shouse
addupexactlythesameasallthehousenumbersontherightsideofher
house.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)
2
2
2
X
X=N
+NX+NNXX
X
2
2
2
X
=N
+NX
2
2
2X
=N
+N
2
2
X
=(N
+N)/2
2
X
=N(N+1)/2
Now,usingTrialandErrormethodtofindvaluesofNandXsuchthat
aboveequationissatisfied,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.Itmeansthatthereareatleast109houses.Hence,firsttwo
arenotpossible.Andtheansweris:thereare288housesandJessy'shouse
numberis204.
Makaylahad$1.19inchange.Noneofthecoinswasadollar.
Nicoleaskherforchangeforadollar,butMakaylacouldnotmakechange.
Whatcoinsdidshehave?
Submitted
Answer
AsitisgiventhatMakaylahad$1.19,itmeansshewouldhavefourpennies.
Now,theremaining$1.15incoinsmustnotaddupforexactlyadollar.
Thereforeshewouldnothave4quartersor2quartersand5dimes.Butshe
wouldhaveeither1quarteror3quarters.Hence,thereare2solutions.
SolutionI
1Quarter,9Dimes,4Pennies(0.25+0.90+0.04=$1.19)
SolutionII
3Quarters,4Dimes,4Pennies(0.75+0.40+0.04=$1.19)
Agroupoffriendswentonaholidaytoahillstation.Itrainedfor13days.
Butwhenitrainedinthemorning,theafternoonwaslovely.Andwhenit
rainedintheafternoon,thedaywasprecededbyclearmorning.
Altogethertherewere11verynicemorningsand12veryniceafternoons.
Howmanydaysdidtheirholidaylast?
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
BrainTeaserNo:00299
YFY
AY|NELLY
|NLY
PPL
PNH
NLY
NLY
000
fortheletterN,nootherlettercanbe3andallotherNinthepuzzlemust
be3.
Submittedby:Calon
Answer

SeethepatternoftheY.AY*Y=NLYi.e.YismultipliedbyYandthe
lastdigitoftheanswerisalsoY.Thus,thevalueofYwouldbe5or6.
Also,
H=0asLH=L
P=2NasPN=N
LY=P=2N
EL=p
Let'sfindouttheminimumpossiblevalues.IfN=1,thenP=2,Y=5,L=7and
E=9.NotethatthevalueofYcannotbe6asitmakesL=8andE=10which
isnotpossible.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:00566
HereisthefamilytreeofMr.RAHUL
RAHUL
||||
RATISHYASHOMTRILOK
||?
|||||
AMARAMITRAMHARSHASHOK
||
|||||
HowmanychildrendoesMr.TRILOKhave?
Answer
TRILOKhave5children.
Nameofthepersonandnumberofhischildrenarerelatedbysomepattern.
Assigneachvowelfollowingvalues.
A=0E=1I=2O=3U=4
Thenumberofchildrentoanypersonisthesumofthevaluesrepresented
byvowelsinhisname.
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.
MajorJasbirisformingfivepersonSpecialTaskGroup.Thegroupmust
containoneleader,twobombexpertsandtwosoldiers.
P,QandRarepossiblebombexperts.R,SandTarepossibleleaders.U,V
andWarepossiblesoldiers.Also,PandRpreferstoworkwitheachotherin
thesameteam.TpreferstoworkonlyifVworks.
HowmanydifferentpossibleGroups,MajorJasbircanmake?
Answer
MajorJasbircanmake8differentpossiblegroups.
As2bombexpertstobeselectedfromthegiven3andalsoP&Rprefersto
worktogether,PRmustbethereinallthepossibleGroups.Also,Tprefers
toworkonlyifVworks.Itdoesn'tmeanthatVwon'tworkwithoutT.
Hence,possiblegroupsare:
PRSUV
PRSVW
PRSWU
PRTUV
PRTVW
PQRUV
PQRVW
PQRWU

Hence,there8differentgroupsarepossible.
ThesecretagentXemailedsomecodetohisheadoffice.Theyare
"RADAR,LEVEL,ROTOR,REDIVIDER,MOTOR".Butfourofthese
fivewordshavesomethingincommonandoneisfake.
Canyoutellwhichoneisfake?Ignorethefactthatfourofthecodewords
areofthesamelength.
Answer
ThefakecodewordisMOTOR.
AllthecodewordsexceptMOTORarePalindromes.
BrainTeaserNo:00287
InthevillagecalledTALAJA,onlythreeTVchannelsareavailable
MoonPlus,MonyandMeeTV.
Outof4000TVviewersinthevillage,1500watchMoonTV,2000watch
Monyand2500watchMeeTV.
Amongstthese,500viewerswatchMoonPlusandMony,800watch
MoonPlusandMeeTV,and1000watchMonyandMeeTV.
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.
Amanwaslookingataportrait.Someoneaskedhim,"Whosepictureare
youlookingat?"
Hereplied,pointingattheportrait:"BrothersandsistershaveInone,butthis
man'ssonismyfather'sson."
Nowwhosepictureisthemanlookingat?
Answer
ThemanislookingathisFATHER'sportrait.
"myfather'sson"isthemanhimselfashedonothaveanybrothersand
sisters.Sothestatementreducesto"thisman'ssonismyself."Nowitis
clearthattheportraitisofhisfather.
Giventhefollowingfacts:
1. DineshisyoungerthanFarukhandolderthanGurmit.
2. JatinisyoungerthanChanduandolderthanEshrat.
3. AmitisyoungerthanIrfanandolderthanChandu.
4. FarukhisyoungerthanBhavinandolderthanHemant.
5. IrfanisyoungerthanGurmitandolderthanJatin.
6.
HemantisolderthanGurmit.
WhoistheYoungest?
Answer
Eshratistheyoungest.
Discardwhoeverareolderthansomeone.
From(1)GurmitisyoungerthanDineshandFarukh.
From(5)JatinisyoungerthanIrfanandGurmit.
From(2)EshratisyoungerthanJatinandChandu.
Fromabove3deductions,EshratisyoungerthanDinesh,Farukh,Irfan,
Gurmit,JatinandChandu.
Also,
From(3)ChanduisyoungerthanAmitandIrfan.
From(4)HemantisyoungerthanFarukhandBhavin.
From(6)GurmitisyoungerthanHemant.
Fromabove3deductions,GurmitisyoungerthanFarukh,Bhavinand
Hemant.Also,ChanduisyoungerthanAmitandIrfan.Butasseenearlier,
EshratisyoungerthanGurmitandChandu.
Hence,Eshratistheyoungest.
LastSaturdayMilanwentforthelatenightshowandcamelate.Inthe
morningfamilymembersaskedhimwhichmoviedidhesee.Hegave
differentanswerstoeveryone.
HetoldtohisfatherthathehadgonetoseeMONEY.
Accordingtohismom,hesaweitherJOHNYorBABLU.
HiselderbrothercametoknowthathesawBHABI.
Tohissister,hetoldROBOT.
AndhisgrandpaheardthathesawBUNNY.
Thus,Milangavesixmovienames,allfiveletterwords.Buthesawsome
othermoviewithfiveletterword.Moreover,eachofthesixmovienames
mentionedabovehasexactlytwoletterscommonwiththemoviehesaw.
(withthesamepositions)
CanyoutellwhichmoviedidMilansee?
Answer
MilansawBOBBY.
ThesixmovienamesareMONEY,JOHNY,BABLU,BHABI,ROBOT
andBUNNY.
CompareMONEYandJOHNY.TheyhaveOcommonatthesecondplace
andYcommonatthefifthplace.Also,theycan'thavetwodifferentletters
each,commonwiththerequiredmovieasthelettersinremainingthree
placesarealldifferent.Thus,therequiredmoviemusthaveeitherOatthe
secondplaceorYatthefifthplaceorboth.
Similarly,comparingJOHNYandBUNNYtherequiredmoviemusthave
eitherNatthefourthplaceorYatthefifthplaceorboth.Also,comparing
MONEYandBUNNYtherequiredmoviemusthaveeitherNatthethird
placeorYatthefifthplaceorboth.
Fromtheabove3deduction,eitherYisatfifthplaceorOisatthesecond
placeandNisatthethird&fourthplace.Thelatercombinationisnot
possibleasBABLU,BHABI&ROBOTwillneedatleast3otherletters
whichmakestherequiredmovie6letterlong.Hence,therequiredmovie
musthaveYatthefifthplace.
NowYisnotthereinBABLUandBHABIatthefifthplaceandtheyhave
onlyBcommonatthefirstplace.Hence,Bmustbethefirstletter.
AsBisatthefirstplaceandYisatthefifthplaceandeverymoviehas
exactly2letterscommonwiththerequiredmovie.FromBUNNY,the
requiredmoviedonothaveUatthesecondplaceandNatthethirdand
fourthplace.NowlookingatJOHNYandMONEY,theymusthaveO
commonatthesecondplace.
UsingthesamekindofargumentsforBABLU,BHABIandROBOT,we
canconcludethatMilansawBOBBY.
Jimliesalot.Hetellsthetruthononlyonedayinaweek.
Onedayhesaid:"IlieonMondaysandTuesdays."
Thenextdayhesaid:"TodayiseitherSunday,SaturdayorThursday."
Thenextdayhesaid:"IlieonFridaysandWednesdays."
OnwhichdayoftheweekdoesJimtellthetruth?
Answer
JimtellsthetruthonTuesday.
AsJimtellstruthonlyononedayinaweek,hisstatementonday1andday
3bothcannotbefalse.Otherwisehetellstruthonmorethanonedaysina
week.Also,allthreestatementsaremadonthreeconsecutivedays,
statementmadeonday1andday3bothcannotbetrue.Thus,eitherthe
statementmadeonday1orday3istrueandotherisfalse.Also,the
statementmadeonday2mustbefalsei.e.day1isnotSaturday,Fridayor
Wednesday.
Let'sassumethatthestatement1istrue.Thenfromthestatement3,day1
mustbeeitherFridayorWednesday.Butitisalreadydeducedthatday1is
notSaturday,FridayorWednesday.
Hence,thestatementmadeonday1isfalseandthelaststatementistrue.
thenfromthestatement1,day3mustbeeitherMondayorTuesday.Butitis
alreadydeducedthatday1cannotbeSaturdayi.e.day3can'tbeMonday.
Hence,JimtellsthetruthonTuesday.
4mencandig4holesin4days.
Howmanyhoursdoesittakefor1mantodighalfahole?
Submitted
Answer
Thereisnothinglike"HALFHOLE".
ConsiderachessboardwithasingleRook.ARookcanmoveanynumberof
squaresideways/forward,butnotdiagonally.
WhatistheminimumnumberofmovestheRookneedstomake,inorderto
passoverallthesquaresonthechessboardandreturntotheoriginal
position?
Answer
16moves
AsaRookcanmoveanynumberofsquaresideways/forward,butnot
diagonallyandthereare8rowsand8columnsonthechessboardtheRook
needsminimum16movestopassoverallthesquaresandreturntothe
originalposition.
Afarmerneeds8gallonsofwater.Hehasonlythreeunmaredbuckets,two
6gallonandone11gallonbucket.
Howcanhecollect8gallonsofwaterusingthreeunmarkedbuckets?
Providesolutionwithminimalwaterwastage.
Answer
Hereisthesolutionwith10gallonwaterwastage.
OPERATIONS
6 6 11
Fill6gallonbucketwithwater
6 0 0
Empty6gallonbucketinto11gallonbucket
0 0 6
Fill6gallonbucketwithwater
6 0 6
Fill11gallonbuckettofullusingfilled6gallonbucket.Thiswill
1 0 11
leave1gallonwaterin6gallonbucket
Empty11gallonbucketintosecond6gallonbucket.
1 6 5
Empty11gallonbucketwastageof5gallonwater
1 6 0
Emptysecond6gallonbucketinto11gallonbucket
1 0 6
Fillseccond6gallonbucketwithwater
1 6 6
Fill11gallonbuckettofullusingfilledsecond6gallonbucket.
Thiswillleave1gallonwaterinsecond6gallonbucket
1 1 11
Fillfirst6gallonbucketwith1gallonwaterwhichisinsecond6
gallonbucket
2 0 11
Empty11gallonbucketintosecond6gallonbucket.
2 6 5
Empty11gallonbucketwastageof5gallonwater
2 6 0
Fill11gallonbucketwithwaterinboththe6gallonbuckets
0 0 11
Iboughtacarwithapeculiar5digitnumberedlicenceplatewhichon
reversingcouldstillberead.Onreversingvalueisincreasedby78633.
Whatstheoriginalnumberifalldigitsaredifferent?
Answer
Only0168and9canbereadupsidedown.Soonrearrangingthesedigits
wegettheansweras10968.
JackandJillareplayingcardsforastakeof$1agame.Attheendofthe
evening,Jackhaswon3gamesandJillhaswon$3.Howmanygamesdid
theyplay?
Submittedby:NathalieDrouin
Answer
Theyplayedtotalof9games.Jackwon3gamesandJillwon6games.
IfJackhaswonthreegamesandJillhaswon$3,shelostadollarforeach
loss,thereforeshehaswon6andlost3tomake$3andhewontheother3
thatshelost!
SamandMalahaveaconversation.
SamsaysIamcertainlynotover40
MalasaysIam38andyouareatleast5yearsolderthanme
NowSamsaysyouareatleast39
Allthestatementsbythetwoarefalse.Howoldaretheyreally?
Answer
Samis41andMalais37.
Let'sinverttheteaserandreaditlikethis:
SamsaysIamcertainlyover40
MalasaysIamnot38andyouareatmost4yearsolderthanme
NowSamsaysyouareatmost38
FromfirststatementitisclearthatSamisover40.Also,fromnext2
statementsitisclearthatMalaislessthen38.Hencethepossibilitiesare:
Sam=41,42,43,44,45,......
Mala=37,36,35,34,33,......
Italsosaysthatthedifferencebetweentheirageismaximum4years.
Hence,thereisonlyonepossiblepairi.e.41and37,allothercombination
havedifferencesmorethen4.
HencetheanswerSamis41andMalais37.
Apersontravelsonacyclefromhometochurchonastraightroadwith
windagainsthim.Hetook4hourstoreachthere.
Onthewaybacktothehome,hetook3hourstoreachaswindwasinthe
samedirection.
Ifthereisnowind,howmuchtimedoeshetaketotravelfromhometo
church?
Answer
LetdistancebetweenhomeandchurchisD.
Apersontook4hourstoreachchurch.Sospeedwhiletravellingtowards
churchisD/4.
Similarly,hetook3hourstoreachhome.Sospeedwhilecomingbackis
D/3.
Thereisaspeeddifferenceof7*D/12,whichisthewindhelpingpersonin1
direction,&slowinghimintheotherdirection.Averagethe2speeds,&you
havethespeedthatpersoncantravelinnowind,whichis7*D/24.
Hence,personwilltakeD/(7*D/24)hourstotraveldistanceDwhichis
24/7hours.
Answeris3hours25minutes42seconds
ThereareNsecretagentseachknowadifferentpieceofsecretinformation.
Theycantelephoneeachotherandexchangealltheinformationtheyknow.
Afterthetelephonecall,theybothknowanythingthateitherofthemknew
beforethecall.
Whataretheminimumnumberoftelephonecallsneededsothatallofthe
themknoweverything?
Answer
(2N3)telephonecalls,forN=2,3
(2N4)telephonecalls,forN>3
DividetheNsecretagentsintotwogroups.IfNisodd,onegroupwill
containoneextraagent.
Considerfirstgroup:agent1willcallupagent2,agent2willcallupagent3
andsoon.Similarlyinsecondgroup,agent1willcallupagent2,agent2
willcallupagent3andsoon.After(N2)calls,twoagentsineachthe
groupwillknowanythingthatanyoneknewinhisgroup,saytheyareY1&
Y2fromgroup1andZ1&Z2fromgroup2.
Now,Y1willcallupZ1andY2willcallupZ2.Hence,innexttwocalls
totalof4agentswillknoweverything.
Now(N4)telephonecallsarereqiuredforremaining(N4)secretagents.
Totaltelephonecallsrequireare
=(N2)+2+(N4)
=2N4
Let\'stakeanexample.Saythereare4secretagentsW,X,Y&Z.Divide
themintotwogroupsof2eachi.e.(W,X)and(Y,Z).Here,4telephone
callsarerequired.
1. WwillcallupX.
2. YwillcallupZ.
3. W,whoknowsWXwillcallupY,whoknowsYZ.
4. X,whoknowsWXwillcallupZ,whoknowsYZ.
Takeananotherexample.Saythereare5secretagentsJ,K,L,M&N.
Dividethemintotwogroupsi.e.(J,K)and(L,M,N).Here,6telephone
callsarerequired.
1. JwillcallupK.
2. LwillcallupM.
3. MwillcallupN.NowMandNknowLMN.
4. J,whoknowsJKwillcallupM,whoknowsLMN.
5. K,whoknowsJKwillcallupN,whoknowsLMN.
6. Lwillcalluptoanyoneoffour.
Mrs.FhasinvitedseveralwivesofdelegatestotheUnitedNationsforan
informalluncheon.Sheplanstoseather9guestsinarowsuchthateachlady
willbeabletoconversewiththepersondirectlytoherleftandright.Shehas
preparedthefollowinglist.
Mrs.FspeaksEnglishonly.
Mrs.GspeaksEnglishandFrench.
Mrs.HspeaksEnglishandRussian.
Mrs.JspeaksRussianonly.
Mrs.KspeaksEnglishonly.
Mrs.LspeaksFrenchonly.
Mrs.MspeaksFrenchandGerman.
Mrs.NspeaksEnglishandGerman.
Mrs.OspeaksEnglishonly.
Howmanydistinctseatingarrangementsarepossible?Giveallpossible
seatingarrangements.
NotethatABCDandDCBAarethesame.
Answer
126distinctseatingarrangementsarepossible.
Mrs.JandMrs.HmustbetogetherandMrs.JmustbeattheendasMrs.J
speaksonlyRussianandMrs.HistheonlyotherRussianspeaker.
Mrs.LspeaksonlyFrenchandtherearetwoothersMrs.GandMrs.M
whospeakFrench.Herethereare2cases.
CASEA:
Mrs.Lisattheotherend
IfMrs.Lisattheotherend,eitherMrs.GorMrs.Mmustseatnextto
her.
CASEAA:
Mrs.GseatsnexttoMrs.L
Then,Mrs.MmustseatnexttoMrs.GandMrs.Nmustseat
nexttoMrs.M.ThisisbecauseMrs.MspeaksFrenchand
German,andMrs.NistheonlyotherGermanspeaker.Thus,
thepossibleseatingarrangementis
JHxxxNMGL
,wherexis
theEnglishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.KandMrs.Ocanbe
arrangedinremaining3positionsin3!differentwaysi.e.6
ways.
CASEAB:
Mrs.MseatsnexttoMrs.L
Ifso,theneitherMrs.NorMrs.GmustseatnexttoMrs.M
CASEABA:
Mrs.NseatsnexttoMrs.M
Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementis
JHxxxxNML
,
wherexistheEnglishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.G,Mrs.K
andMrs.Ocanbearrangedinremaining4positionsin
4!differentwaysi.e.24ways.
CASEABB:
Mrs.GseatsnexttoMrs.M
JHxxxxGML
,
wherexistheEnglishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.K,Mrs.N
CASEB:
Mrs.Ldoesnotseatattheend
ItmeansthatMrs.G,Mrs.LandMrs.Mmustseattogether.Also,
Mrs.LmustseatbetweenMrs.GandMrs.M.
CASEBA:
Mrs.GseatsleftandMrs.MseatsrighttoMrs.
Li.e.GLM
CASEBAA:
GLMisattheotherend
JHxxxxGLM
,
wherexistheEnglishspeakers.Mrs.F,Mrs.K,Mrs.N
CASEBAB:
GLMisnotattheotherend
ThenMrs.NmustseatnexttoMrs.M.Now,wehavea
groupoffourGLMNwhereMrs.GandMrs.Nspeak
English.Thus,thepossibleseatingarrangementis
JHxxxX
,wherexistheindividualEnglishspeakersand
XisthegroupoffourfemaleswithEnglishspeakersat
thebothends.Thus,thereare4!differentwaysi.e.24
ways.
CASEBB:
Mrs.MseatsleftandMrs.GseatsrighttoMrs.
Li.e.MLG
Then,Mrs.NmustseatnexttoMrs.M.Now,wehaveagroup
offourNMLGwhereMrs.GandMrs.NspeakEnglish.Thus,
thepossibleseatingarrangementis
JHxxxX
,wherexisthe
individualEnglishspeakersandXisthegroupoffourfemales
withEnglishspeakersatthebothends.Thus,thereare4!
differentwaysi.e.24ways.
Thus,totaldifferentpossibleseatingarrangementsare:
=6(caseAA)+24(caseABA)+24(caseABB)+24(caseBAA)+24
(caseBAB)+24(caseBB)
=126seatingarrangements
Thus,126distinctseatingarrangementsarepoosible.
Whatisthesmallestnumberwhichwhendividedby10leavesaremainder
of9,whendividedby9leavesaremainderof8,whendividedby8leavesa
remainderof7,whendividedby7leavesaremainderof6andsoonuntil
whendividedby2leavesaremainderof1?
Answer
Thesmallestsuchnumberis2519.
TheeasiestwayistofindtheLeastCommonMultiple(LCM)of2,3,4,5,
6,7,8and9.Andsubtract1fromit.
TheLCMof2,3,4,5,6,7,8and9isgivenby2520.Hence,therequired
numberis2519
Threefriendsdividedsomebulletsequally.Afterallofthemshot4bullets
thetotalnumberofbulletsremainingisequaltothebulletseachhadafter
division.Findtheoriginalnumberdivided.
Answer
18
Assumethatinitialtherewere3*Xbullets.
SotheygotXbulletseachafterdivision.
Allofthemshot4bullets.Sonowtheyhave(X4)bulletseach.

Butitisgiventhat,aftertheyshot4bulletseach,totalnumberofbullets
remainingisequaltothebulletseachhadafterdivisioni.e.X
Therefore,theequationis
3*(X4)=X
3*X12=X
2*X=12
X=6
Thereforethetotalbulletsbeforedivisionis=3*X=18
BrainTeaserNo:00114
Everydayinhisbusinessamerchanthadtoweighamountsfrom1kgto
121kgs,tothenearestkg.Whataretheminimumnumberofdifferent
weightsrequiredandhowheavyshouldtheybe?
Theminimumnumberis5andtheyshouldweigh1,3,9,27and81kgs
Replaceeachletterbyadigit.Eachlettermustberepresentedbythesame
digitandnobeginningletterofawordcanbe0.
ONE
ONE
ONE
+ONE
TEN
Answer
Usetrialanderror.0=1,N=8,E=2,T=7
182

182
182
+182
728
AmanisonasearchforAtlantisandcomesuponanislandwhereallthe
inhabitantsknowwhetherAtlantisisstillaroundornot.
However,alloftheinhabitantsareeitherFairiesorTrollsandtheyallusea
spelltoappearhumanoidsoyoucannottellwhichiswhich.AndtheFaries
alwaystellthetruthandtheTrollsalwayslie,butthereisaslight
complication,someoftheFairieshavegoneinsaneandalwayslieandsome
oftheTrollshavealsogoneinsaneandalwaystellthetruth.
Sohereisyourtask:youmustaskthefirstinhabitantthatyoucometoONE
questionandfromthatONEquestionyoumustdeterminewetherAtlantisis
stillaroundornot.
Whatisthequestionthatyoumustask?
Answer
Thereare2answerstoit:
AnswerI
"Isthestatementthatyouarereliableequivalenttothestatement
thatAtlantisisstillaround?"
AnswerII
"DoyoubelievethattheStatementthatyouareaFairyis
equivalenttothestatementthatAtlantisisstillaround?"
BrainTeaserNo:00276
Afrogstartsclimbing15feetwall.Eachhourheclimbs3feetandrests
for30minutes.Duringrest,heslipsback2feet.
Howmanyhoursdoesthefrogtaketoreachthetop?
Answer
19hours
Afrogclimbs1footper11/2hoursasduring30minutesrestheslipsback
2feet.Thiswayhewillclimb12feetin18hours.Innexthourhewillclimb
3morefeeti.e.hewillcomplete15feetin19hoursandwillreachthetopof
thewall.
Ifabeareats65poundsinfisheverydayEXCEPTevery6thdaywhichit
onlyeats45poundsoffish.
Ifthebearcontinuesthis,howmanypoundsoffishwilliteatin200days?
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
Youhave3pointslabelledA,BandC.Youthenhaveanother3points
labelled1,2and3.TheaimofthepuzzleistoconnectpointAwithpoint1,
2and3.PointBwithpoint1,2and3andpointCwithpoint1,2and3.
Nowwhileconnectingthepointsyouhavetofollowonerulethelines
cannotcrossovereachother.
ABC
123
PS:YoucanarrangethepointsinorderaslongasthelinesDONOTcross
overeachother.
Answer
Thereisnosolutiontoit,ifyouconsider2dimensions.Itisimpossibleto
joineachofpointsA,BandCwithpoints1,2and3withoutlinescrossing
eachother.
Thereissolution,ifyouconsider3dimensions.Consideracircularbaseand
alineperpendiculartoitpassingfromthecenter.Nowtakeany3points
alongtheperimeterofthecircularbaseaspoints1,2and3.Similarlytake
any3pointsalongtheperpendicularlineaspointsA,BandC.Nowitis
quitesimpletojoineachofpointsA,BandCwithpoints1,2and3without
anyofthelinescrossingeachother.
Theotherpossible3DstructureisPyramid.Takepoints1,2and3asa
verticesofthetriangularbaseandpointsA,BandCalongtheheightofthe
Pyramidwhichisperpendiculartothetriangularbaseandpassingthrough
theapex.
BrainTeaserNo:00477
Supposefivebalesofhayareweighedtwoatatimeinallpossibleways.
Theweightsinpoundsare110,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,120,
and121.
Howmuchdoeseachbaleweigh?
Submittedby:TravisLara
Answer
Theyweigh54,56,58,59,62pounds.
Let'sassumethattheweightoffivebalesareB1,B2,B3,B4andB5pounds
respectively.Also,B1<=B2<=B3<=B4<=B5
Itisgiventhatfivebalesofhayareweighedtwoatatimeinallpossible
ways.Itmeansthateachofthebaleisweightedfourtimes.
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,itisobviousthatB1andB3willaddto112thenextpossiblehigher
value.Similarly,B3andB5willaddto120thenextpossiblelowervalue.
B1+B3=112
B3+B5=120
SubstitutingB3=58,wegetB1=54andB5=62
From2&3equations,wegetB2=56andB4=59
Hence,theweightoffivebalesare54,56,58,59and62pounds.
Pintosays,"ThehorseisnotBlack."
Sandysays,"ThehorseiseitherBrownorGrey."
Andysays,"ThehorseisBrown."
Atleastoneistellingtruthandatleastoneislying.
Canyoutellthecolorofthehorse?
Answer
ThecolorofthehorsecanbeanycolorotherthanBlackandBrown.
IfthecolorofthehorseisBlackallarelying.
IfthecolorofthehorseisBrownallaretellingtruth.
Thus,
thehorseisneitherBlacknorBrown.
IfthecolorofthehorseisGreyPintoandSandyaretellingtruthwhereas
Andyislying.
IfthecolorofthehorseisotherthanBlack,BrownandGreyPintois
tellingtruthwhereasSandyandAndyarelying.
Youmusthavenoticedthatforthegivenconditions,Pintoisalwaystelling
truthwhereasAndyisalwayslying
BrainTeaserNo:00258
Threeconvictsarebroughtintothewarden'soffice.Hesayshecan
paroleoneofthemandtodecidewhichonehewillparolehetakesout5
hats(3redand2white).Hestandsbehindthemandplacesahatoneach
oneoftheirheadsandputstheothertworemaininghatsinadrawer.
Hetellstheprisionerstheycanlookattheothershatsandiftheycantell
whichhattheyhaveontheywillbetheonewhoisparoled.
Thefirstmanlooksattheothertwoandsays,"Idon'tknow."
Thesecondmanlooksattheothershatsandsays,"Idon'tknow."
Thethirdmanwhoisblindsays,"EventhoughIhavenotthegiftof
sightIcantellbywhattheothershavesaidthatthecolorofmyhatis..."
Whatcoloristheblindmanshatandhowdoesheknow?
Submitted
Answer
Thecolorofblindman'shatisRed.
ItissurethatthefirstmansaweitherbothRedhatsoroneWhitehatand
Hello
sajeesh
myAnswe
myFavou
ModifyPe
Info
oneRedhat.Thereare6suchpossibilities:
1)RRR
2)RRW
3)RWR
4)WRR
5)WRW
6)WWR
Inallabovepossibilities,thefirstmanwon'tbesureofthecolorofhis
hat.
Now,thesecondmanknowsthatthefirstmansaweitherbothRedhats
oroneWhitehatandoneRedhat.And,healsoknowsthatitsoneofthe
above6possibilities.(likeweknow))Buthesays,"Idon'tknow".That
meansthat(2)and(5)arenotthepossibilitiesasineithercasehewould
besureofthecolorofhishat(Red)byjustlookingatthethirdman's
colorofhat(White).
Now,theblindmanknowsthattherearejust4possibilities(1),(3),(4),
(6)andinall,thecolorofhishatisRed.
Submit
Answer
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TopofF
Bottomof
JigsawPu
JointheD
MarblesG
BallsGam
Towersof
ThinkNu
FindAD
To
p
of
Fo
rm
BrainTe
Bottom
ThreeGold(G)coins,threeSilver(S)coinsandthreeCopper(C)coinsare
arrangedinasinglerowasfollow:
GSCGSCGSC
Only2
adjacentunlikecoins
canbemovedatanyonetime.
Themovedcoinsmustbeincontactwithatleastoneothercoinin
line.i.e.nopairofcoinsistobemovedandplacedawayfromthe
remainingones.
Nocoinpairscanbereversedi.e.aSCcombinationmustremainin
thatorderinitsnewpositionwhenitismoved.
Whatistheminimumnumberofmovesrequiredtogetallthecoinsin
followingorder?
CCCSSSGGG
Showallmoves.
Answer
Minimumnumberofmovesare8.
O
r
d
e
r
Move
of
C
oi
n
s
G S G S C G S C
G S C G S C G S C
C
S C G S C
G S C
G S C C S G S C
G S C C
G S C C C S S
C C C S S
G G S G
C C C S S S G G G
G S C
C S G
C S G
S C S G
G
G
Aflyisflyingbetweentwotrains,eachtravellingtowardseachotheronthe
sametrackat60km/h.Theflyreachesoneengine,reversesitself
immediately,andfliesbacktotheotherengine,repeatingtheprocesseach
time.
Theflyisflyingat90km/h.Iftheflyflies180kmbeforethetrainsmeet,
howfarapartwerethetrainsinitially?
Answer
Initially,thetrainswere240kmapart.
Theflyisflyingatthespeedof90km/handcovers180km.Hence,thefly
fliesfor2hoursaftertrainsstarted.
It'sobviousthattrainsmet2hoursaftertheystartedtravellingtowardseach
other.Also,trainsweretravellingatthespeedof60km/h.So,eachtrain
traveled120kmbeforetheymet.
Hence,thetrainswere240kmapartinitially.
Whatistheminimumnumberofnumbersneededtoformeverynumber
from1to7,000?
Example:Toform4884,youwouldneed24s&28s.4822requiresa4,a8,
&22s,butyouwouldnotcountthenumbersagainthatyouhadalready
countedfrommaking4884.
Answer

36
Youwillneed3ofnumbers0,7,8&9,&4ofnumbers16.
AdrinksmachineoffersthreeselectionsTea,CoffeeorRandom(Eithertea
orCoffee)butthemachinehasbeenwiredupwronglysothateachbutton
doesnotgivewhatitclaims.
Ifeachdrinkcosts50p,howmuchminimummoneydoyouhavetoputinto
themachinetoworkoutwhichbuttongiveswhichselection?
Submitted
Answer
Youhavetoputjust50p.
Put50pandpushthebuttonforRandom.Thereareonly2possibilities.It
willgiveeitherTeaorCoffee.
IfitgivesTea,thenthebuttonnamedRandomisforTea.Thebutton
namedCoffeeisforRandomselection.AndthebuttonnamedTeais
forCoffee.
IfitgivesCoffee,thenthebuttonnamedRandomisforCoffee.The
buttonnamedTeaisforRandomselection.Andthebuttonnamed
CoffeeisforTea.
Thus,youcanmakeoutwhichbuttonisforwhatbyputtingjust50pand
pressingRandomselectionfirst.
Youhave13ballswhichalllookidentical.Alltheballsarethesameweight
exceptforone.Usingonlyabalancescale,canfindtheoddoneoutwith
only3weighings?
Isitpossibletoalwaystelliftheoddoneoutisheavierorlighterthanthe
otherballs?
Submittedby:BrettHurrell
Answer
Itisalwayspossibletofindoddballin3weighingsandinmostofthecases
itispossibletotellwhethertheoddballisheavierorlighter.Onlyinone
case,itisnotpossibletotelltheoddballiswhetherheavierorlighter.
1. Take8ballsandweigh4against4.
2.
Oneofthese8ballsistheoddone.Nametheballsonheaviersideof
thescaleasH1,H2,H3andH4.Similarly,nametheballsonthe
X)whereXisoneballfromtheremaining5ballsinintialweighing.
L3.
Ifbothareequal,L4istheoddballandislighter.
IfL2islight,L2istheoddballandislighter.
IfL3islight,L3istheoddballandislighter.
3.
IfH1isheavy,H1istheoddballandisheavier.
Ifbothareequal,L1istheoddballandislighter.
Oneoftheremaining5ballsistheoddone.NametheballsasC1,C2,
C3,C4,C5.Weight(C1,C2,C3)against(X1,X2,X3)whereX1,X2,
X3areanythreeballsfromthefirstweighingof8balls.
Ifbothareequal,oneofremaining2ballsistheoddi.e.either
C4orC5.WeighC4withX1
Ifbothareequal,C5istheoddball.Butyoucannottell
whetheritisheavierorlighter.
IfC4isheavy,C4istheoddballandisheavier.
IfC4islight,C4istheoddballandislighter.
If(C1,C2,C3)isheavierside,oneofC1,C2,C3istheoddball
andisheavier.WeighC1andC2.
Ifbothareequal,C3istheoddballandisheavier.
If(C1,C2,C3)islighterside,oneofC1,C2,C3istheoddball
andislighter.WeighC1andC2.
Ifbothareequal,C3istheoddballandisheavier.
Howmanysquaresarethereina5inchby5inchsquaregrid?Notethatthe
gridismadeupofoneinchbyoneinchsquares.
Submittedby:KristinMonroe
Answer
Thereare55squaresina5by5grid.
Thereare25squaresofonegrid.
Thereare16squaresoffourgridsi.e.2by2
Thereare9squaresofninegridsi.e.3by3
Thereare4squaresofsixteengridsi.e.4by4
Thereis1squareoftwentyfivegirdsi.e.5by5
Hence,therearetotal25+16+9+4+1=55squares.
Youmusthavenoticedonethingthattotalnumbersquarespossibleofeach
sizeisalwaysaperfactsquarei.e.25,16,9,4,1
ForagridofNbyN,thepossiblenumberofsquaresare
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
=N
+(N1)
+(N2)
+(N3)
+.........+3
+2
+1
2
For1by1grid,totalsquares=1
=1
2
2
+1
=5
2
2
2
+2
+1
=14
2
2
2
2
+3
+2
+1
=30
2
2
2
2
2
+4
+3
+2
+1
=55
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
Ifyouaddedtogetherthenumberof2'sineachofthefollowingsetsof
numbers,whichsetwouldcontainthemost2's:1333,334666,or667999?
Answer
1333
Thereasonwhyisbecause200299eachbeginswitha2!
Ifonepersonsendstheemailtotwofriends,askingeachofthemtocopy
themailandsendittotwooftheirfriends,thoseinturnsendittotwoof
theirfriendsandsoon.
Howmanyemailswouldhavebeensentbythetimeitdid30sets?
Answer
2147483646
Firstpersonsentthemailto2persons.Those2sentthemailto2persons
each,total4persons.Now,those4personsentmailtototal8persons,then8
to16persons,16to32personsandsoon....Hence,itaseriesof2,4,8,16,
32upto30numbers
ItisaGeometricserieswithcommonratio2andfirstnumberisalso2.
n
SummationofsuchseriesisgivenbyA*(R
1)/(R1)where
A=Firstterm
R=CommonRatio
n=totalnumbers
Sototalnumberoftimesmailsentbythetimeitdid30sets
30
=2*(2
1)/(21)
=2*(10737418241)
=2*1073741823
=2147483646
BrainTeaserNo:00347
Attheentrancetoamembersclubstandsastrangerseekingadmission.A
friendtoldhimthatit'seasytogetin.Youjusthavetoansweraquestion
corrcetly!Answeringwrong,however,willresultinbeingshot!
Tolivealittlelonger,themanwaitsinabackalleyneartheentrancefor
peopletogoin.Afterawhileamancomestotheentrance.Thedoor
wardenaskshim:"Twelve?"towhichhereplies"Six!"andgoesin.
"That'seasy."ourfriendthinks,buthewaitsalittlelonger.
Anothermancomestothedoor."Six?"thedoorwardenasks,towhichhe
replies"Three!"andgoesin.
"That'stoogoodtobetrue"ourfriendthinks,andhewasright.Because,
whenasked"Four?",heanswered"Two!"andwasfounddeadinthe
alley.

Whatwasthecorrectanswer?
Submittedby:MilindGadagkar
Answer
Thecorrectanswerwas"Four".
Theansweristhenumberoflettersinthewordspokenbythedoorwarden.
"Twelve"contains"Six"lettersi.e.T,W,E,L,V,E
"Six"contains"Three"lettersi.e.S,I,X
Similarly,"Four"contains"Four"lettersi.e.F,O,U,R
Thereisaperfectsphereofdiameter40cms.restingupagainstaperfectly
straightwallandaperfectlystraightfloori.e.thewallandthefloormakea
perfectrightangle.
Canaperfectsphereofdiameter7cms.passthroughthespacebetweenthe
bigsphere,thewallandthefloor?Supportyouranswerwithvalid
arguments.Don'tsubmitjust"Yes"or"No".
Submit
Answer
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BrainVista
Answer
PuzzleA
Friend
Addto
Favourite
Forthesakeofsimplicity,considertwodimensioni.eviewsphereasa
twodimensionalcirclewithdiameter40cms.

FromFigureI
,(40cmsdiametersphere)
2
2
2
OC
=OD
+CD
2
2
2
OC
=20
+20
OC=28.28427cms
Also,XistheclosestpointtooriginOonthesphere.
CX=20cms(radius)
OX=OCCX
OX=28.2842720
OX=8.28427cms
FromFigureII
,(7cmsdiametersphere)
2
2
2
OP
=OQ
+PQ
2
2
2
OP
=(3.5)
+(3.5)
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,smallersphereof7cmsdiametercannotpassthrough
thespacebetweenthebigsphere,thewallandthefloor.
Thepuzzlecanbesolvedbyanothermethod.
DrawalinetangenttothebigsphereatthepointXsuchthatXisthe
closestpointtotheoriginOonsphere.ThetangetwillcutXandYaxes
atAandBrespectivelysuchthatOA=OB.[SeeFigIII]Fromabove,
OX=8.28427cms.
FromtherightangletriangleOAB,wecandeductthat
OA=OB=11.71572cms
AB=16.56854cms
Now,thediameteroftheinscribedcircleofrightangletriangleisgiven
byd=a+bcwherea<=b<c
Themaximumpossiblediameterofthecirclewhichcanpassthroughthe
spacebetweenthebigsphere,thewallandtheflooris
=OA+OBAB
=11.71572+11.7157216.56854
=6.86291cms
Hence,thespherewith7cmsdiametercannotpassthroughthespace
betweenthebigsphere,thewallandthefloor.
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Answer(23)
Answer
Friend
Sarikamultiplied414bycertainnumberandobtained69958astheanswer.
Butshefoundthatthereissomeerrorintheanswerboththe9sinthe
answerarewrongandalltheotherdigitsarecorrect.
Canyoufindthecorrectanswer?
Answer
Thecorrectansweris60858.
Ifyoudivide69958by414,youwillget168.98.Hence,assumesomethree
digitnumberandmultiplyitby414anduse6**58astheanswer.
Assumethreedigitnumbersuchthat
***
414
***
***0
***00
6**58
Itisobviousthatthelastdigitoftheassumednumbermustbe7.
**7
414
**8
**70
**800
6**58
Now,thesecondlastdigitoftheassumednumbermustbe4or9.Also,the
firstdigitoftheassumednumbermustbe1asthefirstdigitoftheansweris
6.Usingtrialanderrorforabovetwoconditions,theansweris
147
414
588
1470
58800
60858
Findtheleastnumberwhichwhendividedby35,leavesremainder25when
dividedby45,leavesremainder35andwhendividedby55,leaves
remainder45.
Answer
3455
TheanswerisLCMof(35,45,55)minus10.
LCMof(35,45,55)is3465.
TheratioofBoystoGirlsis6:4.60%oftheboysand40%ofthegirlstake
lunchinthecanteen.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%
Inthefollowingmultiplication,certaindigitshavebeenreplacedwith
asterisks(*).Replacealltheasteriskssuchthattheproblemholdstheresult.
**7
X3**
*0*3
*1*
*5*
*7**3
Answer
Asimpleone.
117
X319
1053
117
351
37323
Howlongwouldittakeyoutocount1billionorallyifyoucouldcount200
everyminuteandweregivenadayoffeveryfouryears?
Assumethatyoustartcountingon1January2001.
Submitte
Answer
9Years,187Days,5Hours,20minutes
Asyoucancount200perminute,tocount1billionyourequire
=1,000,000,000/200minutes
=5,000,000minutes
=83,333.3333hours
=3,472.2222days
=9.512937years
=9Years,187Days,5Hours,20minutes
NotethatadayoffeveryfouryearwillbeaLeapday.Hence,noneedto
considerleapyear.
d
FivestudentsAkash,Chintan,Jignesh,MukundandVenkyappearedfor
anexam.Thereweretotalfivequestionstwomultiplechoice(a,borc)and
threetrue/falsequestions.Theyansweredfivequestionseachandanswered
asfollow.
IIIIIIIVV
ChintancbTrueTrueFalse
AkashccTrueTrueTrue
JigneshacFalseTrueTrue
MukundbaTrueTrueFalse
VenkybbTrueFalseTrue
Also,notwostudentsgotthesamenumberofcorrectanswers.
Canyoutellwhicharethecorrectanswers?Whataretheirindividualscore?
Answer
Thecorrectanswersareb,a,True,FalseandFalse.Also,thescoresare
Jignesh(0),Akash(1),Chintan(2),Venky(3)andMukund(4).
Asnotwostudentsgotthesamenumberofcorrectanswers,thetotal
numberofcorrectanswersmustbeeither15(1+2+3+4+5)or10
(0+1+2+3+4).
Let'sfindoutthemaximumnumberofcorrectanswerspossiblefromthe
answersgivenbythem.
ForQuestionI=2(borc)
ForQuestionII=2(borc)
ForQuestionIII=4(True)
ForQuestionIV=4(True)
ForQuestionV=3(True)
Thus,themaximumnumberofcorrectanswerspossibleare15(2+2+4+4+3)
whichmeansthatAkashwouldhavegivenallcorrectanswersasonlyhe
answeredTrueforquestionsIII,IVandV.ButthenChintanandJignesh
wouldhaveexactly3correctanswers.Andalso,MukundandVenkywould
have2correctanswers.So
noonegotallfivecorrect
.Onecanalsoarrive
atthisconclusionbytrialanderror,butthatwouldbebitlengthy.
Now,itisclearthattotalnumberofcorrectanswersare10(0+1+2+3+4).
QuestionsIIIandIVbothcannotbeFalse.Ifso,totalnumberofcorrect
answerswouldnotbe10.Sothestudentwhogotallwrongcannotbe
Chintan,AkashandMukund.
IfVenkygotallwrong,thenChintan,JigneshandMukundeachwouldhave
atleast2correctanswers.ItmeansthatAkashwouldhavetobethestudent
withonlyonecorrectanswerandthecorrectanswersforquestionsIandII
wouldbeaandarespectively.Butthenthetotalnumberofcorrectanswers
wouldbe1(a)+1(a)+1(False)+4(True)+2(Flase)=9.
Thus,Jigneshisthestudentwithallwronganswers.Thecorrectanswersare
b,a,True,FalseandFalse.Also,thescoresareJignesh(0),Akash(1),
Chintan(2),Venky(3)andMukund(4).
Elevenboysandgirlswaittotaketheirseatsinthesamerowinamovie
theater.Thereareexactly11seatsintherow.
Theydecidedthatafterthefirstpersonsitsdown,thenextpersonhastosit
nexttothefirst.Thethirdsitsnexttooneofthefirsttwoandsoonuntilall
elevenareseated.Inotherwords,nopersoncantakeaseatthatseparates
him/herfromatleastoneotherperson.
Howmanydifferentwayscanthisbeaccomplished?Notethatthefirst
personcanchooseanyofthe11seats.
Answer
Thereare1024differentways.
ThisisthetypeofBrainTeaserthatcanbesolvedusingthemethodof
induction.
Ifthereisjustaonepersonandoneseat,thatpersonhasonlyoneoption.
Iftherearetwopersonsandtwoseats,itcanbeaccomplishedin2different
ways.
Iftherearethreepersonsandthreeseats,itcanbeaccomplishedin4
differentways.Rememberthatnopersoncantakeaseatthatseparates
him/herfromatleastoneotherperson.
Similarly,fourpersonsandfourseatsproduce8differentways.Andfive
personswithfiveseatsproduce16differentways.
Itcanbeseenthatwitheachadditionalpersonandseat,thedifferentways
increasebythepoweroftwo.Forsixpersonswithsixseats,thereare32
differentways.
(N1)
ForanynumberN,thedifferentpossiblewaysare2
10
Thus,for11personsand11seats,totaldifferentwaysare2
i.e.1024
ThesecretagentXemailedacodewordtohisheadoffice.Theyare"AIM
DUEOATTIEMOD".Butfourofthesefivewordsarefakeandonlyone
containstheinformation.
TheagentXalsomailedasentenceasaclueifItellyouanyonecharacter
ofthecodeword,youwouldbeabletotellthenumberofvowelsinthecode
word.
Canyoutellwhichisthecodeword?
Answer
ThecodewordisTIE.
IfyouweretoldanyonecharacterofMOD,thenyouwouldnotbeableto
determinewhetherthenumberofvowelsareoneortwo.e.g.ifyouwere
toldM,therearetwowordswithMAIMwith2vowelsandMODwith1
vowel.Soyouwouldnotbeabletosaythenumberofvowels.Same
argumentscanbegivenforcharactersOandD.
Hence,thewordwithanyoneofM,OorDisnotacodewordi.e.AIM,
DUE,OATandMODarenotthecodeword.Thus,TIEisthecodeword.
T:twowordsTIEandOAT,bothwith2vowels
I:twowordsTIEandAIM,bothwith2vowels
E:twowordsTIEandDUE,bothwith2vowels.
BrainTeaserNo:00361
FourmenAbraham,Bobby,ClintonandDenialarestandingina
straightline.
1. Onemanisfair,handsomeandunscarred.
2. Twomenwhoarenotfair,areeachstandingnexttoAbraham.
3. Bobbyistheonlymanstandingnexttoexactlyonehandsomeman.
4. Clintonistheonlymannotstandingnexttoexactlyonescarred
man.
Whoisfair,handsomeandunscarred?
Answer
Clintonisfair,handsomeandunscarred.
From(2),boththemenstandingnexttoAbrahamarenotfair.Also,exactly
onemanisfair,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"stabdsforNo.Abraham(Y,Y,N)meansAbrahamisFair,
HandsomeandUnscarred.
ItisclearthateitherAbrahamorthemanattheextremerightisfair,
handsomeandunscarred.
From(4),itisdeducedthatClintonisstandingnexttounscarredmanand
eachoftheothermenstandingnexttoexactlyonescarredman.

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,Case1isnotpossibleandCase2isthecorrectone.
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,Abrahammaybeeither
fairornotfair.
AnorangecoloredglasshasOrangejuiceandwhitecoloredglasshasApple
juicebothofequalvolumes.50mloftheorangejuiceistakenandpoured
intothewhiteglass.Afterthatsimilarly,50mlfromthewhiteglassispoured
intotheorangeglass.
Ofthetwoquantities,theamountofapplejuiceintheorangeglassandthe
amountoforangejuiceinthewhiteglass,whichoneisgreaterandbyhow
much?
Answer
Thetwoquantitiesareequal.
Solveitbytakingexample.Let'sassumethatbothglassescontain450mlof
juiceeach.
Now,50mloftheorangejuiceistakenandpouredintotheWhiteglass.
Hence,orangecoloredglasscontains400mlofOrangejuiceandwhiteglass
contains450mlofApplejuiceand50mlofOrangejuicei.e.totalof500ml
fromwhiteglasscontains450mlofApplejuiceand50mlofOrangejuice.
Itmeansthat
every50mlfromwhiteglasscontains45mlofApplejuice
and5mlofOrangejuice.
Similary,50mlofjuicefromwhiteglassispouredintoorangeglass.Now
this50mlisnotapureapplejuice.Itcontains45mlofApplejuiceand5ml
ofOrangejuice.
Hence,Orangeglasscontains405mlofOrangejuiceand45mlofApple
juice.Similary,whiteglasscontains405mlofApplejuiceand45mlof
Orangejuice.
Orange
Glass
Orange
Juice
Initially
White
Glass
Apple
Juice
Orange
Juice
Apple
Juice
450ml
0ml
0ml
450ml
50mlfromOrangeGlassis
400ml
pouredintoWhiteGlass
0ml
50ml
450ml
50mlfromWhiteGlassis
pouredintoOrangeGlass
45ml
45ml
405ml
405ml
Nowitisclearthattheamountofapplejuiceintheorangeglassandthe
amountoforangejuiceinthewhiteglassarethesame.
P.S.Hereweassumed450mlasinitialquantityinboththeglassesjustfor
simplicity.Youcantrythesamebyassuminganyothernumber.Butthe
answeristhesame.
BrainTeaserNo:00433
Annie,Bunnie,CandyandDinavisitedEdyon14thFebruary.
1. Thetimeofeachvisitwasasfollows:
Annieat8:00
Bunnieat9:00
Candyat10:00
Dinaat11:00
EachtimementionedabovemaybeeitherAMorPM.
2.
3.
4.
CandydidnotvisitEdybetweenBunnieandDina.
AtleastonefemalevisitedEdybetweenAnnieandBunnie.
AnniedidnotvisitEdybeforebothCandyandDina.
CanyoutellatwhattimedidtheyindividuallyvisitEdy?
Answer
Bunnie(9:00AM)Dina(11:00AM)Annie(8:00PM)Candy
(10:00PM)
Fromthegivendata,itisclearthatatleastonefemalevisitedEdyinthe
morningandatleastonefemalevisitedEdyintheevening.Also,from(4),
AnniedidnotvisitEdyfirst.ItmeansthatAnnievisitedEdyat8:00PM
From(3),BunniemusthavevisitedEdyat9:00AM.Also,eitherCandyor
DinaorbothvisitedEdyinthemorning.
Butfrom(2),onlyDinamusthavevisitedEdyinthemorningat11:00AM
andhence,CandyvisitedEdyat10:00PM.
Theorderofvisitsmustbe:
Bunnie(9:00AM)Dina(11:00AM)Annie(8:00PM)Candy(10:00PM)
Intrainingforacompetition,youfindthatswimmingdownstream(withthe
current)inariver,youcanswim2milesin40minutes,&upstream(against
thecurrent),youcanswim2milesin60minutes.
Howlongwouldittakeyoutoswimamileinstillwater?
Answer
Youareabletoswimdownstreamat3milesanhour,&upstreamat2miles
anhour.Thereisadifferenceof1mileanhour,whichistheriverhelping
youin1direction,&slowingyouintheotherdirection.
Averagethe2rates,&youhavetheratethatyoucanswiminstillwater,
whichis2.5milesanhour.
Youcanthusswimamileinstillwaterin24minutes.
Father'sageisthreeyearsmorethanthreetimestheson'sage.Afterthree
years,father'sagewillbetenyearsmorethantwicetheson'sage.
Whatisthefather'spresentage?
Answer
Letson'spresentageisXyears.
Hence,father'spresentageis(3X+3)years.
After3years,son'sagewillbe(X+3)years.
andfather'sagewillbe(3X+6)years.
Butgiventhatafter3yearsfather'sagewillbetenyearsmorethantwice
theson'sage.
(3X+6)=2*(X+3)+10
3X+6=2X+16
X=10
Therefore,father'spresentageis33years.
Sub
mit
Ans
wer
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Brain
Teaser
No:
00570
A
is
th
e
Brai
fat
he
r
of
tw
o
ch
ild
re
n
B
an
d
D
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ho
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e
of
dif
fer
en
t
se
xe
s.
C
is
B'
s
sp
ou
se.
E
is
th
e
sa
m
e
se
x
as
D.
B
an
d
C
ha
ve
th
e
tw
o
ch
ild
re
n
F
w
ho
is
th
e
sa
m
e
se
x
as
B
an
d
G
w
ho
is
th
e
sa
m
e
se
x
as
C.
E'
s
m
ot
he
r,
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is
m
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ie
d
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is
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e
sis
ter
of
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s
m
ot
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r,
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E
an
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s
sp
ou
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ha
ve
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ch
ild
re
n
J
an
d
K
w
ho
ar
e
th
e
sa
m
e
se
x
as
I.
Notethat
no
persons
have
married
more
than
once.
Also,
thereare
more
number
of
females
than
males.
Canyou
tellhow
many
females
are
there?
Answer
Thereare7femalesand6males.
Assumethattherearefoursexesmale,female,XandY.Preparethe
followingtreebasedonthedatagiven:
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,4Xsand
5Ys.
Itisgiventhattherearemorenumberoffemalesthanmale.Hence,allY
mustrepresentfemale.Thus,thereare7femalesand6males.
Apositiveintegerthat,whenaddedto1000givesasumwhichisgreater
thanwhenmultipliedby1000.
Findthepositiveinteger.
Answer
Thepositiveintegeris1.
Sumof1and1000=1+1000=1001
Multiplicationof1and1000=1*1000=1000
Thus,sumof1and1000isgreaterthanthemultiplicationof1and1000.
Mr.D'souzahasboughtfourcarsMerc,Honda,Ford,Zenaspresentsfor
hissons'birthdays,allofwhicharenextweek.Giventhefollowing
information,whatwilleachsonget?
AlanwillnotgettheHondaunlessBarrygetstheMercandDenzilgetsthe
Ford.BarrywillnotgettheFordunlessCarlgetstheZenandAlangetsthe
Merc.DenzilwillnotgettheZenunlessAlangetstheHondaandBarrygets
theMerc.AlanwillnotgettheMercunlessCarlgetstheZenandDenzil
getstheFord.BarrywillnotgettheMercunlessAlangetstheZenand
DenzilgetstheFord.AlanwillnotgettheZenunlessBarrygetstheHonda
andCarlgetstheMerc.CarlwillnotgettheZenunlessBarrygetsthe
HondaandAlangetstheFord.AlanwillnotgettheFordunlessBarrygets
theZenandDenzilgetstheHonda.CarlwillnotgettheMercunlessDenzil
getstheHonda.
Answer
Let'sputgiven9informationinatable.Thepersonin
BoldFont
willnotget
thecorrespondingcarunlessthepersonsinNormalFontgetthe
correspondingcars.Also,thepersonwill
Italics
willgettheremainingcar.
Merc Honda
Ford
Zen
1 Barry
Alan
Denzil
Carl
Denzil Barry
Carl
Alan
3 Barry
Alan
Carl
Denzil
4 Alan
Barry
Denzil
Carl
5 Barry
Carl
Denzil
Alan
Barry
Denzil
Alan
7 Denzil
Barry
Alan
Carl
Carl
Denzil
Alan
Barry
Carl
Denzil
Carl
Now,let'sassumethatAlangetstheMerc.Thenfrom(4),Barrygetsthe
Honda,DenzilgetstheFordandCarlgetstheZen.Butfrom(7),Carlwill
notgettheZenunlessBarrygetstheHondaandAlangetstheFord.Thus,it
contradictstheoriginalassumption.Hence,AlanwillnotgettheMerc.
Let'sassumethatAlangetstheHonda.Thenfrom(1),BarrygetstheMerc,
DenzilgetstheFordandCarlgetstheZen.Butfrom(5)orfrom(7),it
contradictstheoriginalassumption.Hence,AlanwillnotgettheHonda.
Let'sassumethatAlangetstheFord.Thenfrom(8),CarlgetstheMerc,
DenzilgetstheFordandBarrygetstheZenwhichdoesnotcontradictany
ofthestatement.
Similaly,youcanassumethatAlangetstheZen.(whichiscontradictoryto
(9))
Hence,AlangetstheFord,BarrygetstheZen,CarlgetstheMercand
DenzilgetstheHonda.
Yesterdayinaparty,IaskedMr.Shahhisbirthday.Withamischievous
glintinhiseyeshereplied."ThedaybeforeyesterdayIwas83yearsoldand
nextyearIwillbe86."
CanyoufigureoutwhatistheDateofBirthofMr.Shah?Assumethatthe
currentyearis2000.
Answer
Mr.Shah'sdateofbirthis31December,1915
Todayis1January,2000.Thedaybeforeyesterdaywas30December,1999
andMr.Shahwas83onthatday.Todayi.e.1January,2000heis84.On
31December2000,hewillbe85andnextyeari.e.31December,2001he
willbe86.Hence,thedateofbirthis31December,1915.
ManypeopledothinkofLeapyearanddateofbirthas29thFebruaryas
2000istheLeapyearandthereisdifferenceof3yearsinMr.Shah'sage.
Butthatisnottheanswer.
BrainTeaserNo:00800
Thereare4mathematiciansBrahma,Sachin,PrashantandNakul
havinglunchinahotel.Suddenly,Brahmathinksof2integernumbers
greaterthan1andsays,"Thesumofthenumbersis..."andhewhispers
thesumtoSachin.Thenhesays,"Theproductofthenumbersis..."and
hewhisperstheproducttoPrashant.Afterthatfollowingconversation
takesplace:
Sachin:Prashant,Idon'tthinkthatweknowthenumbers.
Prashant:Aha!,nowIknowthenumbers.
Sachin:Oh,nowIalsoknowthenumbers.
Nakul:Now,Ialsoknowthenumbers.
Whatarethenumbers?Explainyouranswer.
Submitted
Answer
Thenumbersare4and13.
AsSachinisinitiallyconfidentthatthey(i.e.heandPrashant)don'tknow
thenumbers,wecanconcludethat
1)Thesummustnotbeexpressibleassumoftwoprimes,otherwiseSachin
couldnothavebeensureinadvancethatPrashantdidnotknowthe
numbers.
2)Theproductcannotbelessthan12,otherwisetherewouldonlybeone
choiceandPrashantwouldhavefiguredthatoutalso.
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,Sachinwillthinkthatthenumberswould
be(2,9),(3,8),(4,7)or(5,6).
Sachin:"As11isnotexpressibleassumoftwoprimes,Prashantcan'tknow
thenumbers."
Here,theproductwouldbe18(2*9),24(3*8),28(4*7)or30(5*6).Inallthe
casesexceptforproduct30,Prashantwouldknowthenumbers.
ifproductoftwonumbersis18:
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis18,thesumcouldbeeither11(2,9)or9(3,6).
Butifthesumwas9,SachinwouldhavededucedthatImightknowthe
numbersas(2,7)isthepossibleprimenumberspair.Hence,thenumbers
mustbe2and9."(ORinotherwords,9isnotinthePossibleSumList)
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis24,thesumcouldbeeither14(2,12),11(3,8)
or10(4,6).But14and10arenotinthePossibleSumList.Hence,the
numbersmustbe3and8."
Prashant:"Sincetheproductis28,thesumcouldbeeither16(2,14)or
11(4,7).But16isnotinthePossibleSumList.Hence,thenumbersmustbe
4and7."

Prashant:"Sincetheproductis30,thesumcouldbeeither17(2,15),
13(3,10)or11(5,6).But13isnotinthePossibleSumList.Hence,the
numbersmustbeeither(2,15)or(5,6)."Here,Prashantwon'tbesureofthe
numbers.
Hence,Prashantwillbesureofthenumbersifproductiseither18,24or28.
Sachin:"SincePrashantknowsthenumbers,theymustbeeither(3,8),(4,7)
or(5,6)."Buthewon'tbesure.Hence,thesumisnot11.
Summerisingdataforsum11:
PossibleSum PRODUCT PossibleSum
2+9
18
2+9=11(possible)
3+6=9
3+8
24
2+12=14
3+8=11(possible)
4+6=10
4+7
28
2+12=14
3+8=11(possible)
4+6=10
5+6
30
2+15=17(possible)
3+10=13
5+6=11(possible)
Followingthesameprocedurefor17:
PossibleSum PRODUCT PossibleSum
2+15
30
2+15=17(possible)
3+10=13
5+6=11(possible)
3+14
42
2+21=23(possible)
3+14=17(possible)
6+7=13
4+13
52
2+26=28
4+13=17(possible)
5+12
60
2+30=32
3+20=23(possible)
4+15=19
5+12=17(possible)
6+10=16
6+11
66
2+33=35(possible)
3+22=25
6+11=17(possible)
7+10
70
2+35=37(possible)
5+14=19
7+10=17(possible)
8+9
72
2+36=38
3+24=27(possible)
4+18=22
6+12=18
8+9=17(possible)
Here,Prashantwillbesureofthenumbersiftheproductis52.
Sachin:"SincePrashantknowsthenumbers,theymustbe(4,13)."
ForallothernumbersinthePossibleSumList,Prashantmightbesureofthe
numbersbutSachinwon't.
Hereisthestepbystepexplaination:
Sachin:"Asthesumis17,twonumberscanbeeither(2,15),(3,14),(4,13),
(5,12),(6,11),(7,10)or(8,9).Also,asnoneofthemisaprimenumberspair,
Prashantwon'tbeknowingnumberseither."
Prashant:"SinceSachinissurethatbothofusdon'tknowthenumbers,the
summustbeoneofthePossibleSumList.Further,astheproductis52,two
numberscanbeeither(2,26)or(4,13).Butiftheywere(2,26),Sachinwould
nothavebeensureinadvancethatIdon'tknowthenumbersas28(2+26)is
notinthePossibleSumList.Hence,twonumbersare4and13."
Sachin:"AsPrashantnowknowsboththenumbers,outofallpossible
products30(2,15),42(3,14),52(4,13),60(5,12),66(6,11),70(7,10),72(8,9)
thereisoneproductforwhichlistofallpossiblesumcontainsONLYONE
sumfromthePossibleSumList.Andalso,nosuchtwolistsexist.[seetable
abovefor17]Hence,twonumbersare4and13."
Nakulfiguredoutboththenumbersjustaswedidbyobservingthe
conversationbetweenSachinandPrashant.
Itisinterestingtonotethattherearenoothersuchtwonumbers.We
checkedallthepossiblesumstill500!!!
Substitutedigitsfortheletterstomakethefollowingsubtractionproblem
true.
SANTA
CLAUS
XMAS
Answer
Oneofthesimplestbrainteaserastherearetotal26possibleanswers.
ItisobviousthatS=C+1.SinceAS=S,itisclearthatA=2*Sor2*s10.
Also,LandXareinterchangeable.
SANTA CLAUS = XMAS
24034
16492
= 7542
24034
17492
= 6542
24074
15432
= 8642
24074
18432
= 5642
24534
16492
= 8042
24534
18492
= 6042
24794
16452
= 8342
24794
18452
= 6342
24804
15462
= 9342
24804
19462
= 5342
24974
16432
= 8542
24974
18432
= 6542
36806
27643
= 9163
36806
29643
= 7163
36156
27693
= 8463
36156
28693
= 7463
62132
54206
= 7926
62132
57206
= 4926
62172
53246
= 8926
62172
58246
= 3926
62402
53276
= 9126
62402
59276
= 3126
62712
53286
= 9426
62712
59286
= 3426
62932
58206
= 4726
62932
54206
= 8726

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400 Puzzles

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