Mathematical Insight Problems

1. Smith Family: In the Smith family, there are 7 sisters and each sister has 1 brother. If you
count Mr. Smith, how many males are there in the Smith family?
Solution: Two( the father and the brother)
2. Water lilies: Water lilies double in area every 2 hours. !t the be"innin" of summer there is
one water lily on the la#e. It ta#es $% days for the la#e to become com&letely covered with water
lilies. 'n which day is the la#e half covered?
Solution: (ay 59 then it doubles on the 60
th
3. Socks: If you have blac# soc#s and brown soc#s in your drawer, mi)ed in a ratio of to *,
how many soc#s will you have to ta#e out to ma#e sure that you have a &air the same color?
Solution: Three - if the first is brown and the second black then the third one will match either
the brown or black.
4. Eyes: +esterday I went to the ,oo and saw the "iraffes and ostriches. !lto"ether they had -%
eyes and le"s. .ow many animals were there?
Solution: 15 (30 eyes each animal has eyes ! 30")
5. orse: ! man bou"ht a horse for /$% and sold it for /7%. 0hen he bou"ht it bac# for /1% and
sold it for /2%. .ow much did he ma#e or lose in the horse tradin" business?
Solution: #0$ made #10 on the first deal and #10 on the second deal.
!. Weights: 0here are ten ba"s, each containin" ten wei"hts, all of which loo# identical. In nine
of the ba"s each wei"ht is 1$ ounces, but in one of the ba"s the wei"hts are actually 17 ounces
each. .ow is it &ossible, in a sin"le wei"hin" on an accurate wei"hin" scale, to determine which
ba" contains the 173ounce wei"hts?
Solution: Take 1 from the 1
st
ba%& from the
nd
& 3 from the 3
rd
etc. Then wei%h all those coins.
'f all the ba%s wei%h 16 ounces you will ha(e 55 ounces (10)9)*)+)6)5),)3))1). -ny
amount in e.cess of the 55 ounces will determine which ba% contains the 1+ ounces (two ounces
o(er ! ba% &if it is + ounces o(er ! ba% + etc)
". Price: What is the minimum number of coins you need to be able to &ay the e)act &rice of any
item costin" anywhere from one cent u& to one dollar? 0he coins are &ennies 41 cent5, nic#els 4*
cents5, dimes 41% cents5, 6uarters 42* cents5 and half dollars 4*% cents5?
Solution: * (/our 0ennies& one nickels& two dimes& one 1uarters& and one half dollar).
#. Frog: ! fro" fell into a well thirty3two feet dee&. 7ach day he 8um&ed two feet u& the wall
and slid bac# down one foot each ni"ht. .ow many days did it ta#e him to 8um& out of the well?
Solution: 30 (not 31 - he didn2t slide back down once he was out).
$. %oins: Which would be worth more, a &ound of /1% &ure "old coins or half a &ound of /2%
&ure "old coins9 or would they be worth the same? 7)&lain your answer.
Solution: - 0ound of %old is worth more than half a 0ound.
4". Earth: It is estimated that the earth wei"hs $ se)tillion tons. .ow much more would the
earth wei"h if 1 se)tillion tons of concrete and stone were used to build a wall?
Solution: 3till 6 se.tillion (the concrete and stone were already 0art of the earth when it was
wei%hed).
55. Fill in the blank:
2, , $, -%, -2, -, -$, %, 2, , $, *%, *2, *, *$, $%, $2, $, $$, :::?
Solution: 000 (it is the ne.t number without an 4e5 in it).
$*. ! man had a 2 dollar bill and wanted to buy a train tic#et that cost - dollars. .e too# the 2
dollar bill to a &awn sho& where he &awned it for /1.*%. 'n the way to the train station, he met a
friend to whom he sold the &awn tic#et for /1.*%. .e then had - dollars with which to buy his
tic#et. Who was out the e)tra dollar?
Solution: The friend. 6e 0aid #1.50 for a 0awn ticket. 6e still has to 0ay #1.50 at the
0awnsho0 to %et the dollar bill& so he has s0ent #3 for a # bill.
&erbal Insight Problems
1. Prisoner: ! &risoner was attem&tin" to esca&e from a tower. .e found in his cell a ro&e,
which was half lon" enou"h to &ermit him to reach the "round safely. .e divided the ro&e in half
and tied the two &arts to"ether and esca&ed. .ow could he have done this?
Solution: 7nwind the ro0e and tie the ends to%ether
2. ole: .ow can you cut a hole in a - ) * card that is bi" enou"h for you to &ut your head
throu"h?
Solution: ;ut a s&iral out and unwind it
3. '(ins: Marsha and Mar8orie were born on the same day of the same month of the same year
to the same mother and the same father 3 yet they are not twins. .ow is that &ossible?
Solution: They are tri0lets
4. %hil)ren:. 0hree women 3 <oan, (ana, and Sandy 3 have amon" them three children 3 Sam,
0raci, and (avid. Sam li#es to &lay with (ana=s son. Sandy occasionally baby3sits for <oan=s
children. Who is 0raci=s mother?
Solution: 8oan
5. *asketball: 'ur bas#etball team won a "ame last wee# by the score of 7-32, and yet not
even one man on our team scored as much as a sin"le &oint. .ow is that &ossible?
Solution: 't was a woman2s team.
!. Pile: ! child &layin" on the beach has $ sand &iles in one area and - in another. If he &ut them
all to"ether, how many sand &iles would he have?
Solution: 9ne
". +ancing: 0hree cou&les went to"ether to a &arty. 'ne woman was dressed in red, one in
"reen, and one in blue. 7ach man was wearin" one of these colors. When all three cou&les were
dancin", the man in red was dancin" with the woman in blue. >Isn=t it funny ;hristine, not one of
us is dancin" with a &artner dressed in the same color.> 0hin# about the man who is dancin" with
the woman in red. What color is he wearin"?
Solution: :reen. 3ince the man in blue is dancin% with the woman in red the man in %reen has
the choice of either the woman in red or %reen (he cannot dance with %reen so he is dancin% with
the woman in red).
#. %oin: 'ne archaeolo"ist re&orted findin" a ?oman coin with <ulius ;aesar=s ima"e on it, dated
21 @.;. !nother archaeolo"ist correctly asserted that the find was a fraud. Why?
Solution: ;rior to the start of <.=. coins were not minted with <.=. > it wasn2t a known
abbre(iation
$. Wi)o(: Is it le"al for a man to marry his widow=s sister? Why or why not?
Solution: no& f his wife is a widow then he is dead and a dead man can not le%ally marry.
1,. *o-: What was Aewis ;arroll tal#in" about in this &oem? <ohn "ave his brother <ames a bo):
!bout it there were many loc#s. <ames wo#e and said it "ave him &ain9 So he "ave it bac# to
<ohn a"ain. 0he bo) was not with lid su&&lied, +et caused two lids to o&en wide. !nd all these
loc#s had never a #ey 3 What #ind of bo), then, could it be?
Solution: - bo. is a sla0 on the head
11. Wor)s: ?earran"e the followin" &atterns to ma#e familiar words:
run"hy
flymia
mulcica
dornev
lendraca
Solution:
run"hy hun%ry
flymia family
mulcica calcium
dornev (endor
lendraca calendar
12. Flash:. 0he le"endary runner Blash Bleetfoot was so fast that his friends said he could turn
off the li"ht switch and 8um& into bed before the room "ot dar#. 'n one occasion Blash &roved
he could do it. .ow?
Solution: 6e went to bed durin% the day
13. Pl.ms: ! farmer in ;alifornia owns a beautiful &ear tree. .e su&&lies the fruit to a nearby
"rocery store. 0he store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to
&urchase. 0he farmer #nows that the main trun# has 2 branches. 7ach branch has e)actly $
twi"s. Since each twi" bears one &iece of fruit, how many &lums will the farmer be able to
deliver?
Solution: ?one& it was a 0ear tree.
14. %hristmas: In what year did ;hristmas and Cew +ear=s fall in the same year?
Solution: @(ery year
15.: .ow many cubic centimeters of dirt are in a hole $ meters lon", 2 meters wide and one
meter dee&?
Solution: Aero$ there is no dirt in a hole.
1!. %a/tain: ;a&tain Scott was out for a wal# when it started to rain. .e did not have an
umbrella and he wasn=t wearin" a hat. .is clothes were soa#ed yet not a hair on his head "ot wet.
.ow could this ha&&en?
Solution: 6e is bald.
1". In0ention1 0here is an ancient invention still used in &arts of the worlds today that allows
&eo&le to see throu"h walls. What is it?
Solution: - window
1#. 2ock: If you dro& a roc#, would it fall more ra&idly throu"h water at % de"rees Bahrenheit
or 2% de"rees Bahrenheit? Why?
Solution: ,0 de%rees /ahrenheit& because water is froBen solid at ,0 de%rees.
1$. Mr. Sha)o(: Mr. Shadow o&ened the door to (r !&&le=s office and surveyed the scene. (r
!&&le=s head lay on her des# in a &ool of blood. 'n the floor to her ri"ht lay a "un. 0here were
&owder burns on her ri"ht tem&le indicatin" that she was shot at close ran"e. 'n her des# was a
suicide note and in her ri"ht hand the &en that had written it. Mr. Shadow noted that death had
occurred in the &ast hour. .e also reali,ed that it had not been a suicide but a clear case of
murder. .ow does Mr. Shadow #now?
Solution: 'f she has killed herself the last thin% in her ri%ht hand would ha(e been the %un& not a
0en.
2,. Marrie): ! man who lived in a small town in the Dnited States married 2% different women
of the same town. !ll are still livin" and he never divorced any of them. In this town &oly"amy
is unlawful9 yet he has bro#en no law. .ow is this &ossible?
Solution: 6e was the minister 0residin% o(er the weddin% ceremony.
21. %o33ee:. 'ne mornin" a woman=s earrin" fell into a cu& that was filled with coffee, yet her
earrin" did not "et wet. .ow could this be?
Solution: The earrin% fell into coffee %rounds.
22. Feathers: Eaul is carryin" a &illow case full of feathers. Mar# is carryin" three &illow cases
the same si,e as Eaul=s, yet Mar#Fs load is li"hter. .ow can this be?
Solution: -aron2s 0illowcases are em0ty.
23. Magician:. ! ma"ician claimed to be able to throw a &in" &on" ball so that is would "o a
short distance, come to a dead sto&, and then reverse itself. .e also added that he would not
bounce the ball a"ainst any ob8ect or tie anythin" to it. .ow could he &erform this feat?
Solution: 6e threw it u0 in the air.
24. S./er/sychic: ! famous su&er&sychic could tell the score of any baseball "ame before it
starts. What was his secret?
Solution: The startin% score is always 0 to 0.
25. %alen)ars: ;alendars made in 7n"land do not show Aincoln=s birthday. (o these calendars
show the fourth of <uly? 7)&lain.
Solution: +es& e(ery calendar has a fourth of 8uly.
2!. Fishing: 0wo mothers and two dau"hters were fishin". 0hey mana"ed to catch one bi" fish,
one small fish, and one fat fish. Since only three fish were cau"ht how is it &ossible that each
woman had her own fish?
Solution: There are only three women > (%randmother& mother& and dau%hter) the mother is
a dau%hter too.
2". 4nliste): 0here is a town in Corthern 'ntario where *G of all the &eo&le livin" in the town
have unlisted &hone numbers. If you selected 1%% names at random from the town=s &hone
directory, on avera"e, how many of these &eo&le selected would have unlisted &hone numbers?
Solution: ?one& unlisted 0hone numbers are not in the directory.
2#. Sa3ari: While on safari in the wild 8un"les of !frica, Erofessor White wo#e one mornin" and
felt somethin" in the bac# &oc#et of her shorts. It had a head and a tail but no le"s. When White
"ot u& she could feel it move inside her &oc#et. White however showed little concern and went
about her mornin" rituals. Why such a casual attitude toward the thin" in her &oc#et?
Solution: 't was a coin.
2$. Pro3essor: Erofessor @umble, who is "ettin" on in years is "rowin" absent minded. 'n the
way to a lecture one day he went throu"h a red li"ht and turned down a one way street in the
wron" direction. ! &oliceman observed the entire scene but did nothin" about it. .ow could
Erofessor @umble "et away with such behavior?
Solution: 6e was walkin%
3,. Win)o( (asher: ! window washer was cleanin" the windows of a hi"h rise buildin" when
he sli&&ed and fell off a si)ty3foot ladder onto the concrete sidewal# below. Incredibly he did not
in8ure himself in any way. .ow was this &ossible?
Solution: 6e fell off the first run% of the ladder.
31. *oat: If a boat, at low tide, has $ of its 12 ladder ste&s in the water. .ow many ladder ste&s
will be in the water a hi"h tide?
Solution: 6 - the boat floats.
32. Saint I0es: While I was travelin" to Saint Ives, I met a man with 7 wives, the 7 wives had 7
sac#s, and the 7 sac#s had 7 cats, the 7 cats had 7 #ittens. Hittens, ;ats, Sac#s, Wives, how many
were "oin" to Saint Ives?
Solution: 9ne (the others were Cust met on the road).
33. 5ail: ! man "oes to visit another man in 8ail, the "uard tells the visitor that only family
members are allowed to visit inmates, the visitor declares > brothers, sisters I have none, but that
man=s father is my father=s son.> Who is the visitor?
Solution: The inmate2s son$ 6e has no brothers or sisters so when he says 4Dmy fathers son5 it
can only be himself. 'n other words he is sayin% 4this man2s father is me.5
34. Whoe0er: Whoever ma#es it doesn=t use it, whoever buys it doesn=t want it and whoever uses
it doesn=t #now it?
Solution: - coffin.
35. %ar acci)ent: ! father and his son "et in a car accident. 0he father is sent to one hos&ital,
and the son is sent to another. When the doctor comes in to o&erate on the son, the doctor says, >I
cannot o&erate on him. .e is my son.> .ow can that be?
Solution: The doctor is the mother.
3!. 2ea)ing: Solve: IrIeIaIdIiInI"I
Solution: Eeadin% between the lines.
3". Eternity: What is at the be"innin" of eternity, the end of time and s&ace. 0he be"innin" of
every end, the end of every &lace.
Solution: The letter 4e5
3#. Months: .ow many months have twenty3ei"ht days in them?
Solution: -ll of them..
3$. 6ears: Erofessor Jray was drivin" alon" in her old car when suddenly it shifted "ears by
itself. She &aid no attention and #e&t on drivin". Why wasn=t she concerned?
Solution: The car is an automatic.
4,. %abin: 7rin stumbles across an abandoned cabin one cold, dar# and snowy ni"ht. Inside the
cabin is a #erosene lantern, a candle, and wood in a fire&lace. She only has one match. What
should she li"ht first?
Solution: The match.
S/atial Insight Problems
1. 4 )ots: Without liftin" your &encil from the &a&er, show how you could 8oin all dots with 2
strai"ht lines
Solution:
2. 'rees: ! landsca&er is "iven instructions to &lant four s&ecial trees so that each one is e)actly
the same distance from each of the others. .ow is he able to do it?
Solution: ;lant them on a hill$ three at the base one on the to0 (like the four corner 0oints on a
0yramid)
3. %hain: ! "irl has four &ieces of chain. 7ach &iece is made u& of three lin#s. She wants to 8oin
the &ieces into a sin"le closed loo& of chain 4li#e a nec#lace5. 0o o&en a lin# costs 2 cents and to
close a lin# costs - cents. She only has 1* cents. .ow does she do it?

Solution: 90en all the links from one 0iece and use those
to attach the three remainin% 0ieces to%ether.
4. Fig.re: Show how you can divide this fi"ure into four e6ual &arts that are the same si,e and
sha&e
Solution:
5. Pennies: Show how you can arran"e 1% &ennies so that you have * rows 4lines5 of &ennies in
each row.
Solution:
!. Pens$ (escribe how to &ut 27 animals in &ens in such a way that there is an even of number
of animals in each &en.
Solution: -llow the 0ens to o(erla0 and for some animals to count twice in two 0ens

". Pencils: .ow can you arran"e $ identical &encils in such as way as to form identical
trian"les whose sides area are all e6ual, without modifyin" the &encils in any way?

Solution: Fake a 0yramid& three on the base and three on the sides
#. Series: Identify the ne)t term in the series:
11 ... $ ... 2 ...
Solution: ,0 (**-6,!,& so 6,-,!,0)
$. %ar)s: 0hree cards lie face down on a table, arran"ed in a row from left to ri"ht. We have the
followin" information about them. a. 0he <ac# is to the left of the Kueen b. 0he (iamond is to
the left of the S&ade c. 0he Hin" is to the ri"ht of the .eart d. 0he S&ade is to the ri"ht of the
Hin". Which card 3 by face and suit 3 occu&ies each &osition?
Solution: 8ack and hears& Gin% of Hiamonds& Iueen of 30ades
1,. 'riangle: 0he trian"le shown below &oints to the to& of the &a"e. Show how you can move
three circles to "et the trian"le to &oint to the bottom of the &a"e.
Solution:
11. 7etter 8: ;an you fi"ure out where to &ut the letter L, to& or bottom line and Why?
! 7B .I HAMC 0 MWN+
3333333333333333333333333
@;( J < 'EK?S D
Solution: To0& all letters with a cur(ed line in them are on the bottom.
12. %an)le: Jiven the material below how can you attach the candle to the wall above the table
so that the wa) does not dri& on the table?

Solution: Hum0 out the nails and hammer the bo. to the wall. Ji%ht candle and usin% a dro0 of
wa. secure the candle in the bo.
13. 'he $ +ots: (raw four continuous strai"ht lines, connectin" all the dots without liftin" your
&encil from the &a&er.
Solution:
14. '.mor: Ima"ine you are a doctor treatin" a &atient with a mali"nant stomach tumor. +ou
cannot o&erate but you must destroy the tumor. +ou could use hi"h intensity N rays to destroy
the tumor but unfortunately the intensity of the N rays needed to destroy the tumor also will
destroy healthy tissue throu"h which the N rays must &ass. Aess &ower full N rays will s&are the
healthy tissue but will not be stron" enou"h to destroy the tumor. .ow can you destroy the
tumor without dama"in" the healthy tissue?
Solution: 7se multi0le K rays from multi0le 0oints of ori%in that con(er%e all at the same s0ot$
the tumor
15. Strings: 0here are two strin"s han"in" from the ceilin" in the room below. 0he woman
cannot reach both. .ow can she tie the two strin"s to"ether?
Solution: Tie a 0aint 0ot to one strin% and swin% it in motion. :ras0 the other strin% and wait
for the 0aint 0ot to swin% into your reach
1!. ole: .ow can you cut a hole in a - ) * card that is bi" enou"h for you to &ut your head
throu"h?
Solution: =ut two concentric s0irals in the center of the card and then unwra00in% them