At the local sweet shop, three particularly nice sweets are on special offer.
A Nobbler is over three times the price of a Sparkle. Six Sparkles are worth more than a Wibbler. A Nobbler, plus two Sparkles costs less than a Wibbler. A Sparkle, a Wibbler and a Nobbler together cost 40p.
Can you determine the price of each type of sweet?
Reasoning
By (3) a Nobbler, plus two Sparkles costs less than a Wibbler, therefore a Wibbler must be the most expensive sweet.
By (1) a Nobbler is over three times the price of a Sparkle, therefore a Sparkle must be the cheapest sweet.
So the order of sweets, from the least to most expensive, is Sparkle, Nobbler, Wibbler.
If a Sparkle was 1p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 5p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 34p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
If a Sparkle was 2p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 11p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 27p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
If a Sparkle was 3p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 17p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 20p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
So a Sparkle must be at least 4p.
If a Sparkle was 4p, by (1) a Nobbler must be at least 13p, by (4) a Wibbler would cost 23p. This combination matches all of the clues and is a possible solution.
If a Sparkle was 4p and a Nobbler 14p, by (4) a Wibbler would cost 22p. This would not satisfy (3). And if we increase the price of a Nobbler, (3) is never satisfied.
If a Sparkle was 5p, by (1) a Nobbler must be at least 16p, by (4) making a Wibbler at most 19p. This would not satisfy (3).
If we increase the price of a Sparkle or Nobbler further, (3) is will never be satisfied.
Therefore, the only solution we came across must be the correct one.
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Puzzle 6
Frankie the Squirrel can find one acorn in 15 minutes and Glenn the Squirrel can find one acorn in 12 minutes. As autumn approaches, they both work all day and all night.
However, Alex the Squirrel is eating their collection! It takes Alex 20 minutes to eat an acorn, and Alex eats all day and all night long (and starts on yesterday's acorns).
How many extra acorns will there be at the end of a 24-hour day?
Reasoning
Frankie finds 4 acorns every hour, Glenn finds 5 acorns every hour and Alex eats 3 acorns every hour, so the nett total per hour is 4 + 5 – 3 = 6.
Which is 6 x 24 = 144 extra acorns in a day.
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Puzzle 7
Which circle, square, and triangle, have the closest area to the blue doughnut shape?
The drawings are to scale, so you might be able to judge by eye, or you can work out the actual areas.
Triangle: 47. Doughnut
The area of a circle is π x Radius2.
The larger circle has diameter = 40, therefore, the radius is 20, and the area is π x 202 = 400π.
The smaller circle has diameter = 20, therefore, the radius is 10, and the area is π x 102 = 100π.
Therefore, the shaded area is 400π – 100π = 300π ≈ 942. Circle
The area of a circle is π x Radius2.
The circle with diameter 31 has a radius of 15.5 and an area of π x 15.52 ≈ 755.
The circle with diameter 35 has a radius of 17.5 and an area of π x 17.52 ≈ 962 (closest match).
The circle with diameter 39 has a radius of 19.5 and an area of π x 19.52 ≈ 1195. Square
The area of a square is Side x Side.
The square with side 31 has an area of 31 x 31 = 961 (closest match).
The square with side 35 has an area of 35 x 35 = 1225.
The square with side 39 has an area of 39 x 39 = 1521. Triangle
The area of a triangle is 1/2 x Base x Height. Using Pythagoras' theorem, it can be shown that the area of an equilateral triangle is √3 x Base2 ÷ 4.
The triangle with side 39 has an area of √3 x 39 x 39 ÷ 4 ≈ 659.
The triangle with side 43 has an area of √3 x 43 x 43 ÷ 4 ≈ 801.
The triangle with side 47 has an area of √3 x 47 x 47 ÷ 4 ≈ 957 (closest match).
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Puzzle 8
Last week I spent half of my money on a new jacket, and then I spent half of that amount on some new trousers.
