Apples on Hike

Aaron, Brian, and Dwayne went on a hike, carrying a bag of apples. They stopped for a nap. Aaron woke up, ate 1/3 of the apples, and went back to sleep. Later Brian woke up, ate 1/3 of the remaining apples, and went back to sleep. Finally Dwayne woke up and ate 1/3 of the remaining apples. There were now 8 apples left in the sack. How many apples had been there originally?

Continue reading

Newspaper Tearing & Stacking

A single sheet of newspaper is .01 cm thick. Tear it in half and stack the two halves together. Tear the two halves in half and stack the 4 pieces together. Keep it up. How tall is the stack after 25 tears? How many tears do you need to get a stack that is 1 meter high?

Continue reading

False Coins 1

You are applying for a job as inspector at the U.S. Mint. You have been handed 8 gold coins and are told that one of them is counterfeit; it is slightly lighter than each of the other seven. You are given a two-pan balance scale, and you are told that you may make two weighings on that scale. How can you identify the counterfeit coin? (Your prospective employers are fussy about the scale; if you put some coins on for the first weighing, and then change the coins in any way, that counts right there as your second weighing.)

Continue reading

Missing Dollar

Three Hollywood talent scouts were in town to watch the spring play production at the high school. After the show they went to the Parma Gianna Pizza Palace and ordered three $10 pizzas for a total of $30. Ten minutes later, Mike the cashier approached them and said there was a special on pizzas that day — buy two, get one half price — so they only owed $25. He gave them back the extra $5 they had paid. Not knowing how to split the $5 three ways evenly, the scouts gave Mike $2 as a reward for his honesty and kept $1 apiece for themselves. This means that each man paid $9 for his pizza, or $27 for the three pizzas. Mike got $2, making $29. What happened to the other dollar?

Continue reading