Puzzle 1
I started out on the journey from the forest with a full tank of fuel, 12 gallons exactly.
However, the moment I started out, the fuel tank sprung a leak. I travelled at 50 mph until I ran out of fuel exactly 4 hours later.
I know that the car does 25 miles for each gallon.
How much fuel had I lost through the hole?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
How many miles did I travel?
Answer
I had lost 4 gallons.
Reasoning
I travelled at 50mph for 4 hours, which is 200 miles.
I used 25 gallons every 25 miles, so I used 8 gallons travelling those 200 miles.
I started with 12 gallons and used 8 gallons, so I lost the other 4 gallons.
Puzzle 2
Which pair of letters comes next in this sequence:
on · et · wo · th · re · ef · ou · ?
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Hint
Try removing the spaces.
Answer
rf.
This sequence spells out the numbers onetwothreefourf ive etc.
Puzzle 3
How much soil is there …
… in a circular hole 2 metres deep and 1 metre across?
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Hint
How much soil is in any hole?
Puzzle 4
A parent recently arranged a children's party, and had 187 sweets to give out equally to the children.
Each child had more than one sweet, and there were more children than there were sweets per child.
How many sweets did each child end up with?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Find two numbers that multiply to 187.
Answer
There were 17 children, with 11 sweets each.
Reasoning
If we number the clues:
each child had more than one sweet
there were more children than there were sweets per child
187 only has the factors 1, 11, 17, 187. Therefore, the only possible answers are:
1 child, with 187 sweets each, which is not allowed by (2)
11 children, with 17 sweets each, which is not allowed by (2)
17 children, with 11 sweets each (*)
187 children, with 1 sweet each, which is not allowed by (1)
Only one possible answer (*) isn't eliminated.
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