Puzzle 5
Here we have a rectangular room, measuring 30 feet by 12 feet, and 12 feet high.
There is a spider in the middle of one of the end walls, 1 foot from the ceiling (A).
There is a fly in the middle of the opposite wall, 1 foot from the floor (B).
What is the shortest distance that the spider must crawl in order to reach the fly?
The Spider and the Fly – The Canterbury Puzzles, Henry Ernest Dudeney.
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Hint
Going down and across the floor isn't the only route.
Answer
40 feet.
Explanation Diagram
If you imagine the room to be a cardboard box, you can 'unfold' the room in various ways, and each route gives a different answer.
We can use Pythagoras' theorem (a2 + b2 = c2) to calculate the distances:
distance2 = horizontal2 + vertical2
distance = √(horizontal2 + vertical2)
Route #1
distance = 1 + 30 + 11 = 42 feet.
Route #2
horizontal = 6 + 30 + 6 = 42 feet.
vertical = 10 feet.
distance = √(422 + 102) ≈ 43.174 feet.
Route #3
horizontal = 1 + 30 + 6 = 37 feet.
vertical = 6 + 11 = 17 feet.
distance = √(372 + 172) ≈ 43.178 feet.
Route #4
horizontal = 1 + 30 + 1 = 32 feet.
vertical = 6 + 12 + 6 = 24 feet.
distance = √(322 + 242) = 40 feet.
Puzzle 6
Below you will find 15 well-known six-letter words, with only their endings remaining.
Can you find the words?
---cil
---hid
---nze
---ese
---lug
---som
---uxe
---uum
---arm
---amo
---rby
---ink
---sai
---too
---fen
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The first letters of the words are: p, o, b, c, u, r, d, v, d, d, n, s, b, t, d.
Answers
---cil = pencil
---hid = orchid
---nze = bronze
---ese = cheese
---lug = unplug
---som = ransom
---uxe = deluxe
---uum = vacuum
---arm = disarm
---amo = dynamo
---rby = nearby
---ink = shrink
---sai = bonsai
---too = tattoo
---fen = deafen
Puzzle 7
Sports Day - Logic Puzzles
During the recent BrainBashers school sports day, four students were competing in the 400 metres hurdles.
Official figures mysteriously went missing just after the event, however, various spectators could remember the following information.
Alex won and wore red.
The student wearing number 1 came third.
Billie beat the student in yellow, but wasn't wearing number 2.
Only one student finished in the same position as the number they wore, but they didn't wear red.
Emery beat the student wearing number 3, and Glen wore yellow.
The student in green wore number 2.
A spectator remembered that one student wore blue, but couldn't remember anything else about them.
Can you determine the positions the students finished in, along with the numbers and colours they wore?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
What colour did Billie wear?
Answer
# Name Wore Colour
1 Alex 4 Red
2 Emery 2 Green
3 Billie 1 Blue
4 Glen 3 Yellow
Reasoning
(Clue 1) Alex won and wore Red. (Clue 5) Glen wore Yellow. (Clue 3) Billie wasn't wearing number 2, and (Clue 6) number 2 wore Green, so must be Emery. Leaving Billie in Blue.
# Name Wore Colour
1 Alex Red
? Glen Yellow
? Emery 2 Green
? Billie Blue
(Clue 2) Emery didn't come 3rd, and Alex won, so (Clue 5) Emery can't have come last, so must have come 2nd.
# Name Wore Colour
1 Alex Red
2 Emery 2 Green
? Glen Yellow
? Billie Blue
(Clue 3) Billie can't have been last, so came 3rd and (Clue 2) wore 1, leaving Glen in last place.
# Name Wore Colour
1 Alex Red
2 Emery 2 Green
3 Billie 1 Blue
4 Glen Yellow
(Clue 5) Emery beat the student wearing 3, so Glen must have worn 3. Leaving Alex wearing 4.
# Name Wore Colour
1 Alex 4 Red
2 Emery 2 Green
3 Billie 1 Blue
4 Glen 3 Yellow
Puzzle 8
My first is in bridge, but not in ridge.
My second is in awake, and in mistake.
My third is in danger, but not in ranger.
My fourth is in strange, and in orange.
My fifth is in spline, and in nine.
My last is in river, and in diver.
My whole likes the darkness.
What am I?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The first letter can only be B.
Answer
A badger.
Reasoning
My first is in bridge, but not in ridge = B
My second is in awake, and in mistake = A K E
My third is in danger, but not in ranger = D
My fourth is in strange, and in orange = R A N G E
My fifth is in spline, and in nine = I N E
My last is in river, and in diver = R I V E
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