BRAIN TEASERS -I
SOLVE THE RIDDLES BELOW AND HAVE FUN DOING IT. THE ITEM NUMBERS ARE RANDOM, BUT EACH ONE HAS ITS CORRESPONDING ANSWER KEY AT THE END. TRY NOT TO GIVE UP TOO QUICKLY
9– IMAGINARY NUMBERS is to REAL NUMBERS as
(a) spiritual : global
(b) infinite : finite
(c) prime : rational
(d) negative : positive
(e) disordered : ordered
4– If you don’t know the meaning of the word PRECURSORY, which
of the following words do you think means the opposite of
PRECURSORY?
(a) flamboyant
(b) succeeding
(c) cautious
(d) simple
(e) not planned
10 – In 40 seconds or less, and without using a calculator, figure out
which is greater: 354 × 357 or 355 × 356.
12– A lawyer argued for $1,000,000 damages based on the following claim: His client went to an art museum, where he saw a painting of Marie Antoinette on a guillotine. He fell asleep and dreamed of the painting. At the museum’s closing time, a guard tapped him on the neck just as he dreamed of the guillotine beheading Marie Antoinette. The tap provoked immediate cardiac arrest and a fatal heart attack immediately following, because he associated the tap with the guillotine blade. Why did the judge dismiss the case?
13– “Many more people who smoke develop lung cancer than those who do not smoke.” What research would possibly show that cigarette smoking does not cause cancer?
8– Terry is half as old as Alice was when Alice was five years older than Terry is now. How old is Terry now?
7– A malicious computer program informs a user that it has “kidnapped” an important file and that what happens to the file will be based on the next statement to be typed by the user. If the user types a false statement it will delete the file, and if the user types a true statement it will change the file’s name so it can never be found. The user types a statement that makes the computer unable to perform or shut down. What could the user have typed?
17 – What is the next number in the following sequence:
0 0 1 2 2 4 3 6 4 8 5 ?
(a) 6
(b) 8
(c) 10
(d) 12
(e) 14
19– A triangle has sides of lengths A, B, and C. Which is true?
(a) C minus B is always greater than A
(b) C minus B is always less than A
(c) C minus B is always equal to A
(d) None of the above comparisons can be made between
C minus B and A.
23– 50 × 50 × 50 ×…(where there are a hundred 50s) is how many
times 100 × 100 × 100 ×…(where there are fifty 100s)?
(a) 25 × 25 × 25 ×…(where there are fifty 25s)
(b) 4 × 4 × 4 ×…(where there are fifty 4s)
(c) 2 × 2 × 2 ×…(where there are fifty 2s)
(d) 1 time
(e) None of these answers is correct.
24– How could you figure out the meaning of the word INEXTRICABLE?
25– A doctor’s son’s father was not a doctor. How is this possible?
26– What’s wrong with this advertisement: “Shop early and avoid the crowds.”
29– HELMET : HEAD ::
(a) sword : warrior
(b) umbrella : clothing
(c) shoe : sock
(d) watch : wrist
(e) thimble : finger
31– A knight wants to marry a princess and she wants to marry him. However, the king demands that the knight draw one of two slips of paper from a box. The king says one will say “Death” and the other “Marriage.” The princess whispers to her suitor that both slips say “Death.” What could the knight do to wed the princess?
37– If A = 250 percent of B, what percent of A is B?
(a) 1/250 percent
(b) 25 percent
(c) 40 percent
(d) 50 percent
(e) 125 percent
39– Put these statements in the right order:
(a) The ship stopped to anchor in Commander Bay.
(b) A boy awoke and saw a sea lion.
(c) A boy went ashore and napped in a meadow.
(d) A boy did not tell what he had seen.
(e) A boy got a job on a ship.
43– In 20 seconds or less, determine which is greater:
(a) 410/963 – 208/962
(b) 202/962
44 – MOTH : CLOTHING ::
(a) sheep : wool
(b) butterfly : wood
(c) puncture : tire
(d) tear : sweater
(e) termite : house
45– Assuming the statement “Only the good die young,” is true, we can infer which two of the following?
(a) No good person lives to an old age.
(b) Anyone who lives to an old age must be bad.
(c) Only bad people do not die young.
(d) All bad people do not die young.
(e) Some bad people die young.
47– If nobody loves nobody, which of the following must be true?
I. Everybody loves somebody.
II. Somebody loves somebody.
III. Nobody loves anybody.
(a) I only
(b) II only
(c) III only
(d) I and II only
(e) II and III only
58– ABCD is a parallelogram (AB is parallel to DC, and AD is parallel
to BC). A perpendicular line is drawn from A to DC, of length h,
and angle D is 60o.
Which is greater: h × AB or AD × CD?
63– Take 1,000. Add 40. Add another 1,000. Add 30. Add 1,000
again. Add 20. Add 1,000. And add 10. What is the total?
(a) 5,000
(b) 4,900
(c) 4,100
(d) 4,000
(e) none of the above
65– How many positive integers between 0 and 1000 are not exactly
divisible by 3?
66– What’s the answer when you divide 40 by 1/2 and add 20?
68– Name six English five-letter words that also make an English word when a letter is placed in front of the word.
73– A test was taken by 60 students and was scored on a scale from 0 to 100. Only 21 students scored higher than or equal to 80. What is the smallest possible average score of all 60 students?
77– Using root meanings to help you, define the meaning of the word
MANUMIT.
(a) to manufacture
(b) to be masculine
(c) to set free
80– Which of the following fractions is smallest?
(a) 11/20
(b) 5/6
(c) 5/7
(d) 2/3
(e) 3/4
86– Choose any two-digit number. Add the digits. Then subtract that
result from the original number to get a final result. Which of
the following numbers could be your final result?
(a) 31
(b) 32
(c) 33
(d) 34
(e) 35
(f) 36
88– Rearranging the letters MEANYRG would give you the name of:
(a) an animal
(b) a state
(c) a city
(d) an ocean
(e) a country
89– Three messages were received from Mars.
1. “Avion Balcon Sondor,” which was translated to “Serious
Spaceship Fumes.”
2. “Mayar Pulgar Avion,” which was translated to “Serious
Atmosphere Particles.”
3. “Balcon Roctos Vivand,” which was translated to
“Dangerous Liquid Fumes.”
What would the word SONDOR mean?
(a) Liquid
(b) Fumes
(c) Atmosphere
(d) Spaceship
(e) Particles
91– If some Blips are Plips and some Plips are Jips, then “some Blips
are Jips”
(a) is true
(b) is false
(c) cannot be determined as true or false
99– A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 die. How many are left?
121– What is the main problem with the following argument?
“Women are better than men in tennis. It is true that Bobby (Robert) Riggs beat Margaret Court, but he played like a woman and she played like a man.”
126– One segment of the game show Let’s Make a Deal had three doors—behind one door was a new car and behind each of the other two was a goat. The contestant would win whatever was behind the door he or she chose. The contestant chose one of the three doors, but before it was opened, the host opened up a different door that had a goat behind it. In order to have the greatest chance of winning the car, should the contestant open the door that was his or her original choice or open the remaining door?
131– What is the next letter in the following series: a l b e m f i n j ?
(a) l
(b) m
(c) o
(d) p
(e) q
140 – Three items in a department store are sold with successive discounts.
The first is sold with successive discounts of 60 percent and 40 percent.
The second is sold with successive discounts of 50 percent and 50 percent.
And the third is sold with successive discounts of 30 percent and 70 percent.
Which of the following is true:
(a) The equivalent single discount of all three items is the
same, but not 100 percent.
(b) The equivalent discount of each of the three items is
between 70 percent and 80 percent.
(c) The equivalent discount of each of the three items is
between 80 percent and 90 percent.
(d) The equivalent discount of each of the three items is 100
percent.
(e) None of the above statements is true.
SUDOKU - I
The rules of Sudoku are very simple: place the numbers 1 to 9 into each row, column, and bold- lined 3×3 box. Each number must appear only once in any row, column or box.
See answer keys at the bottom
| 5 | 2 | 8 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 3 | ||||
| 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |||
| 7 | 1 | |||||||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
RIDDLES - I
A PUZZLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY!
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On Valentine’s Day:
A woman gets into an accident and can’t remember who she is or her family.The police ask her if there’s anyone they could call. She thinks for a bit and says, “On Valentine’s Day, we had pie and talked about a George Orwell book.” The police think nothing of it at first, but then one of them realizes the significance of what she said. The knowledgeable officer dials a 9-digit phone number and reaches the woman’s husband. What is the phone number?
John’s Car
John and his wife own a car that fits a maximum of 5 people. He drives Molly to work everyday. On his way, he drops his three kids off at school, and his mom at the mall. How did everyone fit in the car?
Making Muffins
You’re making muffins and need to add 1/3 (one third) of a cup of sugar to the batter. You check the cupboards and find that you only have the following measuring cups: a 2/3 (two thirds) cup, and a 1/2 (half) cup. The muffin recipe requires exactly 1/3 of a cup of sugar. How can you accurately add this amount to the batter?
The Angry Astrologist
The angry astrologist has locked you up in a series of rooms. With your superior thinking abilities, you escape them one by one, until you reach the final room. There’s a locked door with an electronic keypad with the numbers 0 to 9, and it only takes 4 digits. In the middle of the room, there’s a table with information about the zodiacs:
AQUARIUS – January-February
PISCES – February-March
ARIES – March-April
TAURUS – April-May
GEMINI – May-June
CANCER – June-July
LEO – July-August
VIRGO – August-September
LIBRA – September-October
SCORPIO – October-November
SAGITTARIUS – November-December
CAPRICORN – December-January
You look around for more clues and stumble across something rather interesting. Above the door are three drawings from left to right: a set of scales, two fishes swimming in a circle, and a goat. Suddenly, the angry astrologist announces, “You have five minutes to escape. But if you enter the wrong code, you’ll be in for a huge surprise! Since my favorite holiday is coming soon, I’m feeling generous, so here’s a hint…just kidding! No hints! Hahahahaha!” The angry astrologist always talks in riddles, so you’re quite sure there was a hint in what she said. Time is running out! Can you figure out the 4-digit code?
Mystery Man
Can you figure out who this is?
I’m big, I’m small
I can spit fireballs
When I’m on the TV
kids want to play with me
My brother’s not as popular
‘cause he wears a green hat
I have a red one
I can only tell you that
Lily’s Birthday
Lily is having a birthday party at her house in a few days. In order to be invited, people have to bring with them a gift. But it can’t just be any gift, it has to be something Lily approves. Very soon, a list is going around with names of people who have been invited and what they’re bringing:
APPLES – Amelia
BALLOONS – Bob
CAKE – Eric
EGGS – Joanne, Steve, Pete
HOTDOGS – Beth
NOODLES – Jonathan, Eileen
Sally wants to go to the birthday party. What can she bring in order to be invited?
Lost Time
Jack is a truck driver from Springfield, Illinois. On one of his trips to Louisville, Kentucky, something bizarre happened. He left Springfield at 8:00 PM and arrived in Louisville 4 hours later. Then he checked into a motel and slept for 8 hours. When he woke up the following day, it was already
10:00 AM. How did that happen?
Next Tuesday
If tomorrow is two days before Tuesday, how many days before it’s Tuesday
two days from today?
Strange Sentences
Which of the following sentences is the odd one out?
A) Matrices are too hard!
B) Maracas, ukuleles, saxophones, Irish castanets.
C) Human intentions strange; they often remember yesterday.
D) Stars, planets, asteroids, comets. Endless.
E) So, can I eat now (chewing everything)?
Lara’s Choice
While hunting for treasure, Lara comes across an area with three tunnels (A, B, C), each with a label next to its entrance.
A) A tunnel full of cute, but very hungry, man-eating bunnies.
B) A tunnel full of poisonous gas with no cure.
C) A tunnel full of laser-shooting robots programmed to kill everything and everyone on sight.
Which tunnel should she choose?
A Simple Word Game
Marty wants to play a word game with his friends. He writes down a few words and tells them how much they are worth in points:
MATH – 1 point
TREE – 1 point
HAND – 2 points
BOMB – 5 points
WING – 0 points
FINS – 0 points
He gives them this clue, “Count the fields, get the points.” How many points is WORD GAME worth?
A Strange Party
There are 100 very strange people at a party. They will only shake hands with someone if the other person says ‘hello’ to them first. At the end of the party, how many people will have shaken hands with each other?
Three Different Jobs
Three people named Mary, Alice, and Steve all have different jobs as either a nurse, an elementary school teacher, or a police officer. If Mary is afraid of blood, and neither she nor Steve likes kids, what is Steve’s job?
New Math
Your quirky teacher comes up with a new Math operation called “@” and wants to see if you can figure out what it does. She writes the following examples on the blackboard:
8@5 = 31340
9@3 = 61227
10@9 = 11990
What’s the answer for 7@6?
Family Day
A family of 5 is at home doing various chores and activities around the house. The mom, Amanda, is in the kitchen preparing food. The dad, John, is in the garage repairing the car. Tracy is in the basement playing ping pong. Max is mowing the lawn in the backyard. The 5th family member is Peter. Where is he and what is he doing?
Milk And Eggs
Mary has a password-protected smart phone, but she’s not very good at remembering numbers. She decides to come up with a simple mnemonic, “My favorite things are MILK and EGGS.” Her password is 4-digits long. What is it?
Two Lies And A Truth
You’re babysitting three kids: Mary, Mark, and Mindy. Their parents tell you 2 of them like lying and 1 of them only knows how to tell the truth. You ask the kids, “Which one of you is the smartest?”
Mary says, “I’m not.”
Mark says, “Mindy is.”
Mindy says, “Mark is lying.”
Who’s telling the truth?
Penguin Escape
3 zookeepers and 3 penguins arrive at a river which they must cross to get back to the zoo. There’s a boat they can use, but it can only hold up to 3 of them at once. Since penguins can’t row, it’s up to the zookeepers to do all the work. However, there’s a problem! A zookeeper must always been present to watch the penguins, and, each zookeeper can only keep an eye on 2 penguins at a time. If there are no zookeepers on a side of the river where there are one or more penguins, the penguins run off. If there are 3 penguins on one side with only 1 zookeeper present, the penguins also escape. How can the zookeepers plan their trip across the river so that they all arrive back at the zoo with all the penguins?
Cute Little Things
Can you figure out this riddle?
Grab one of these from the night sky
Flip it around
You’ll get these cute little things that make kiss-y sounds
What are these cute little things?