Puzzle 193
Jam Making Contest – Logic Puzzles
At the recent interdepartmental jam making contest, four lucky candidates took part to make the juiciest strawberry jam.
As it happens, the person who came last was the oldest.
Glen was three years older than the person who came second.
Drew was neither the oldest nor the youngest.
Emery finished ahead of the 27-year-old, but didn't win.
Alex was also unlucky this time, and didn't win either.
The ages of the contestants were 24, 27, 30 and 32.
Can you work out who finished where, and how old they were?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
How old was the person in second place?
Answer
# Name Age
1 Drew 30
2 Emery 24
3 Glen 27
4 Alex 32
Reasoning
By (2), because Glen was three years older, the person in 2nd place was either 24 or 27.
But 2nd place can't have been 27, because, by (4), Emery was ahead, but didn't win.
So 2nd place was 24, and Glen was 27.
By (3), Drew could only be 27 or 30, but we now know what Glen was 27, so Drew was 30.
By (1), the person who came last was 32:
1
2 24
3
4 32
By (4), the 27-year-old can't have won,
1 Drew 30
2 24
3 Glen 27
4 32
By (4), Emery beat the 27-year-old:
1 Drew 30
2 Emery 24
3 Glen 27
4 32
Leaving Alex in last place.
1 Drew 30
2 Emery 24
3 Glen 27
4 Alex 32
Puzzle 194
What proverb is hidden below?
Llamas often overlook khaki bagels. Every furry orangutan relishes eating yummy orange umbrellas. Leopards enjoy aquamarine parsnips.
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The first word begins with L.
Answer
Look before you leap.
Using the initial letters of each word.
Puzzle 195
If 5 cats can catch 5 rats in 5 minutes …
… how many cats do you need to catch 100 rats in 100 minutes?
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Hint
How many rats can one cat catch in 5 minutes?
Answer
5.
5 cats can catch 5 rats in 5 minutes.
So
1 cat can catch 1 rat in 5 minutes.
1 cat can catch 2 rats in 10 minutes.
1 cat can catch 20 rats in 100 minutes.
Therefore
5 cats can catch 100 rats in 100 minutes.
Puzzle 196
Can you find three consecutive prime numbers …
… that equal 409,457 when multiplied together?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The cube root of the given number is a good starting point.
Answer
71, 73, 79.
Reasoning
The cube root of 409,457 is around 74.
The closest consecutive prime numbers to 74 are: 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97.
Using a calculator, it is quickly seen that the answer can only be found using 71, 73 and 79.
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