Puzzles
I am putting some puzzles here. Please try to solve them before you check the solutions. Do not forget to check the main interview page for more questions and answers. I will be adding more puzzles every week. If you have one, do not hesitate to share it A census taker approaches a house and asks the woman who answers the door "How many children do you have, and what are their ages?"
Woman: "I have three children; the product of their ages is 36, the sum of their ages is equal to the address of the house next door."
The census taker walks next door, comes back and says "I need more information."
The woman replies "I have to go; my oldest child is sleeping upstairs."
Census taker: "Thank you, I now have everything I need."
What are the ages of each of the three children?
Solution
A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river.
He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one other thing.
If the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will eat the chicken.
If the chicken and the corn are left together, the chicken will eat the corn.
How does the man do it?
You have 12 balls identical in size and appearance but one is an odd weight (it could be either light or heavy).
You have a set of scales which will give three possible readings: Left = Right, Left > Right or Left < Right (I.E Left and
Right have equal weight, Left is Heavier, or Left is Lighter).
You have only three chances to weigh the balls in any combination using the scales. Determine which ball is the odd one and if it's heavier or lighter than the rest. How do you do it?
You are in the dark, and on the floor there are six shoes of three colors, and a heap of twenty-four socks, black and brown. How many socks and shoes must you take into the light to be certain that you have a matching pair of socks and a matching pair of shoes?
There are three playing cards lying face up, side by side. A five is just to the right of a two. A five is just to the left of a two. A spade is just to the left of a club, and a spade is just to the right of a spade. What are the three cards?
Solution
A. The number of false statements here is one.
B. The number of false statements here is two.
C. The number of false statements here is three.
D. The number of false statements here is four.
Which of the above statements is true? Solution
What is the four-digit number in which the first digit is one-third the second, the third is the sum of the first and second, and the last is three times the second? Solution
One train runs from A to B at 105 miles per hour; the other runs from B to A at 85 miles per hour. How far apart were the two trains 30 minutes prior to their crossing? Solution
Assume 9 is twice 5; how will you write 6 times 5 in the same system of notation? Solution
The following verse spells out a word, letter by letter. "My first" refers to the word's first letter, and so on. What's the word that this verse describes?
My first is in fish but not in snail
My second in rabbit but not in tail
My third in up but not down
My fourth in tiara not in crown
My fifth in tree you plainly see
My whole a food for you and me Solution
Bill, Ken, and Mark are, not necessarily in this order, a quarterback, a receiver, and a kicker. The kicker, who is the shortest of the three, is a bachelor. Bill, who is Ken's father-in-law, is taller than the receiver.
Who plays in which position?
Solution
Three spies, suspected as double agents, speak as follows when questioned:
Albert: "Bertie is a mole."
Bertie: "Cedric is a mole."
Cedric: "Bertie is lying."
Assume that moles lie, other agents tell the truth, and there is just one mole among the three; determine:
1.) Who is the mole?
2.) If, on the other hand, there are two moles present, who are they?
Solution
Given twelve marbles, identical in size, shape and color, which single marble is heavier in weight than the others? You are supplied with a balance and must conclude your determination using the balance three times only.
Solution