Random Puzzles 

Workings

Hint
They can't have been born in the USA then.

Answer
They live in Australia, but they could have been born anywhere South of the equator, where the seasons are reversed.

Workings

Hint
When does the clock strike just once?

Answer
1.30 in the morning.

The initial single strike was at 12.30.

Workings

Hint
If we look at all of the clues, each person appears exactly twice.

Answer
Alex had been teaching for 21 years.
Billie had been teaching for 15 years.
Charlie had been teaching for 7 years.

Reasoning
If we look at all of the clues, each person appears exactly twice.

So the total of the three clues gives us two lots of Alex + Billie + Charlie = 36 + 22 + 28 = 86.

So, Alex + Billie + Charlie = 43 years.

In each clue we are given two of the people, so we can use this to find the missing person:

   Charlie and Billie had been teaching for a total of 22 years, which means that Alex must be: 43 – 22 = 21 years.

   Charlie and Alex had been teaching for a total of 28 years, which means that Billie must be: 43 – 28 = 15 years.

   Alex and Billie had been teaching for a total of 36 years, which means that Charlie must be: 43 – 36 = 7 years.

Reasoning With Algebra
Let Alex = A, Billie = B and Charlie = C, then:

[1]   A + B = 36
[2]   C + B = 22
[3]   C + A = 28

If we use [3] – [2] we have:

[4]   A – B = 6

If we use [1] + [4] we have:

   2A = 42
    A = 21

By [1] B = 15. By [3] C = 7.

Workings

Hint
It doesn't matter what the distance is, so try a random distance.

Answer
This cannot be done.

It does not matter how far the trip is, let's assume that it is random distance, say 60 miles, and remembering that Time = Distance ÷ Speed.

The morning trip took 60 miles ÷ 30 mph = 2 hours.

To average the required 60 mph, we would have to travel the total distance (of 120 miles) in 2 hours. However, we've already used all of the two hours for the morning trip!

Choosing any random distance would also show that it can't be done.