Answer
It is a very short sentence in the English language that includes every letter of the alphabet.
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Puzzle 274
Alex's child, Drew, is exactly one fifth of Alex's age. In 21 years, Alex will be exactly twice Drew's age. How old is Drew now? Billie is exactly seven times the age of his child, Glen. In 8 years, Billie will be three times the age of Glen. How old is Glen now?
Answers Drew is 7 years old.Glen is 4 years old. Answer #1
The first question involves Drew (D) and Alex (A).
Drew is currently one fifth of Alex's age, so:
(1) A = D x 5
In 21 years, Alex will be twice their age, so:
(2) A + 21 = (D + 21) x 2
Using (1) in (2) gives:
A + 21 = (D + 21) x 2
5D + 21 = (D + 21) x 2
5D + 21 = 2D + 42
3D = 21
D = 7
So Drew is 7 (and Alex is 35).
Answer #2
The second question involves Glen (G) and Billie (B).
Billie is exactly seven times the age of Glen:
(3) B = G x 7
In 8 years, Billie will be three times the age of Glen, so:
(4) B + 8 = (G + 8) x 3
Using (3) in (4) gives:
B + 8 = (G + 8) x 3
7G + 8 = (G + 8) x 3
7G + 8 = 3G + 24
4G = 16
G = 4
So Glen is 4 (and Billie is 28).
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Puzzle 275
Hidden in the grid below are eight, 7-letter words. Each word begins with the central P and you can move one letter in any direction to the next letter. All of the letters are used exactly once each. What are the words?
D
I
S
I
S
A
K
M
R
C
N
C
Y
E
A
C
Y
A
H
N
A
H
Y
S
P
I
B
L
I
E
R
O
L
L
S
C
M
P
U
R
A
T
M
U
I
L
A
E
R
Note: this puzzle is not interactive, and the letters cannot be clicked.
Reasoning
We can multiply throughout by 12,
X X X X
- - - + - = -
X 2 4 12
to give:
12 - 6X + 3X = X
12 - 3X = X
12 = 4X
3 = X
As required.
Double-Checking
3 3 3 3
- - - + - = -
3 2 4 12
1 - 1.5 + 0.75 = 0.25
0.25 = 0.25, which confirms that 3 is correct.
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