Browsing the archives for the logic tag

Card Pairology?

Question: John and Matt decide to play a game using a deck of cards. The game involves flipping two cards at a time. If both cards are black, they go into John’s pile and if both cards are red, they go into Matt’s pile. If one card is red and one card is black, they […]

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Boxes of Money

Question: You are given b boxes and n dollar bills. The money has to be sealed in the b boxes in a way such that without thereafter opening a box, you can give someone a requested whole amount of dollars from 0 to n. How should b be related to n for this to happen? […]

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Chasing Dogs

Question: There are four dogs each at the corner of a unit square. Each of the dogs starts chasing the dog in the clockwise direction. They all run at the same speed and continuously change their direction accordingly so that they are always heading straight towards the other dog. How long does it take for […]

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Burning Sticks

Question: You have two sticks and matchbox. Each stick takes exactly an hour to burn from one end to the other. The sticks are not identical and do not burn at a constant rate. As a result, two equal lengths of the stick would not necessarily burn in the same amount of time.  How would […]

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Trains and Birds

Question: A train leaves City X for City Y at 15 mph. At the very same time, a train leaves City Y for City X at 20 mph on the same track. At the same moment, a bird leaves the City X train station and flies towards the City Y train station at 25 mph. […]

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Globe Walker

Question: How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, then one mile east and then one mile north, you would reach the place where you started? Answer: The trivial answer to this question is one point, namely, the North Pole. But if you think that answer should suffice, you […]

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Farmer’s Dilemma

Question: A farmer bought a goat, a wolf and a cabbage from the market. On his way home, he has to cross a river. He has a small boat which only allows him to take one thing with him at a time. The farmer cannot leave the cabbage and the goat together (the goat would […]

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Three Switches

Question: You are standing outside a room next to three switches, all of which are off. Each switch operates a different light bulb in the room. The room door is closed, so you cannot see which switch operates which bulb. You are only allowed to go into the room once. Determine which switch operates which […]

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6 Pirates Fight for 1 Gold Coin

Question: Six pirates discover a chest containing 1 gold coin. They decide to sit down and devise a distribution strategy. The pirates are ranked based on their experience (Pirate 1 to Pirate 6, where Pirate 6 is the most experienced). The most experienced pirate gets to propose a plan and then all the pirates vote […]

What’s Your Eye Color?

Question: On a certain island there are people with assorted eye colors. There are 100 people with blue eyes and 100 people with brown eyes. Since there are no mirrors on this island, no person knows the color of their own eyes. The people on the island are not allowed to talk or communicate with […]

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