World's 200 Hardest Brain Teasers (3 page)

40.   How many triangles are there in the figure above?

(a) 9

(b) 10

(c) 11

(d) 12

(e) 13

(f) none of the above

41.   Suppose a bird is standing in a closed box that is resting on a scale. When the bird flies in the box, does the scale read the same as, more than, or less than when the bird is resting?

42.   You are competing in a linear race and overtake the last runner. In which position are you now?

(a) last

(b) second to last

(c) third to last

(d) cannot be determined unless the number of runners is known

(e) cannot be determined because this is an ambiguous question

43.   In 20 seconds or less, determine which is greater:

(a) 410/963 - 208/962

(b) 202/962

44.   MOTH : CLOTHING ::

(a) sheep : wool

(b) butterfly : wood

(c) puncture : tire

(d) tear : sweater

(e) termite : house

45.   Assuming the statement “Only the good die young,” is true, we can infer which two of the following?

(a) No good person lives to an old age.

(b) Anyone who lives to an old age must be bad.

(c) Only bad people do not die young.

(d) All bad people do not die young.

(e) Some bad people die young.

46.   Harry owes Sam $30. Sam owes Phil $20. Phil owes Harry $50. Which of the following will settle the debts?

(a) Harry could give Phil $50.

(b) Sam could give Phil $20 and Harry could give Sam $40.

(c) Harry could give Phil $20 and Sam could give Phil $10.

(d) Sam and Phil could give Harry $50 total.

(e) Phil could give Harry $20 and could give Sam $10.

47.   If nobody loves nobody, which of the following must be true?

I. Everybody loves somebody.

II. Somebody loves somebody.

III. Nobody loves anybody.

(a) I only

(b) II only

(c) III only

(d) I and II only

(e) II and III only

48.   Solve this in thirty seconds or less: The following are dimensions of five rectangular boxes. Which box has a volume different from the other four?

(a) 5 x 8 x 12

(b) 15 x 16 x 2

(c) 3 x 32 x 5

(d) 3 x 4 x 40

(e) 2 x 6 x 36

49.   A clothing store offers successive discounts of 30 percent and 10 percent on a sweater. The equivalent single discount would be:

(a) 34 percent

(b) 36 percent

(c) 37 percent

(d) 38 percent

(e) 40 percent

50.   Shown above, angle AED = 90°, angle BED = 40°, and angle AEC = 75°. What is the measure of angle BEC?

51.   In ten seconds and without a calculator, determine whether 999 x 1,001 is greater than, less than, or equal to 1,000 x 1,000.

52.   If there are twenty-four people at a party and each person shakes another person’s hand, how many handshakes are there?

53.   Which verb does not belong with the others in this set?

BRING BUY CATCH DRAW FIGHT SEEK TEACH THINK

54.   The three symbols in sets I and II have something in common. What must the last symbol be so that an analogy exists between the first and second set?

55.   What three letters can be jumbled to make at least 3 three-letter words using the three letters?

56.   What is the three-digit number that can be made from the digits 2, 3, 5, and 7 where no two digits in the three-digit number are alike, and where the three-digit number is a multiple of each of the digits chosen?

57.   What six-letter English word can be produced from a three-letter abbreviation for one month followed by a three-letter abbreviation for another month?

58.   ABCD is a parallelogram (AB is parallel to DC, and AD is parallel to BC). A perpendicular line is drawn from A to DC, of length
h
, and angle D is 60°.

Which is greater:
h
x AB or AD x CD?

59.   At noon and at midnight, the long and short hands of a clock are together. Between noon and midnight, how many times does the long hand pass the short hand?

60.   Find a word that has the same meaning when a prefix is placed before the word.

61.   Given a triangle ABC, draw the altitude BD to side AC and draw the altitude CE to side AB. If AC is greater than AB, what can you say about the relationship between the length of BD and CE? That is, is BD greater than CE, less than CE, or equal to CE?

62.   Anne has three blouses, four skirts, and two pairs of shoes. How many different outfits can she wear if an outfit consists of any blouse worn with any skirt and either pair of shoes?

63.   Take 1,000. Add 40. Add another 1,000. Add 30. Add 1,000 again. Add 20. Add 1,000. And add 10. What is the total?

(a) 5,000

(b) 4,900

(c) 4,100

(d) 4,000

(e) none of the above

64.   What is the next letter in the following sequence: a b d g k ?

(a) m

(b) n

(c) o

(d) p

(e) q

65.   How many positive integers between 0 and 1000 are
not
exactly divisible by 3?

66.   What’s the answer when you divide 40 by 1/2 and add 20?

67.   TURTLE : REPTILE ::

(a) oak : tree

(b) leaf : branch

(c) trout : fish

(d) snake : rattle

(e) oyster : clam

68.   Name six English five-letter words that also make an English word when a letter is placed in front of the word.

69.   Put these statements in the right order:

(a) A woman tries on a dress.

(b) A woman buys a hat.

(c) A man buys a dress.

(d) A woman returns a dress to a store.

(e) A man gives his wife a present.

70.   The three letters in sets I and II have something in common. What letter should “?” be so that an analogy exists between the first and second set?

I. A E L

II. P Q ?

(a) M

(b) T

(c) U

(d) V

(e) W

71.   The sum of two whole positive (greater than 0) numbers is 3. One of them is not 2. What is one of the numbers?

(a) 0

(b) 2

(c) 3

(d) 4

(e) cannot be determined

72.   What is the length of line x in the diagram? (Note: Diagram is not drawn to scale.)

73.   A test was taken by 60 students and was scored on a scale from 0 to 100. Only 21 students scored higher than or equal to 80. What is the smallest possible average score of all 60 students?

74.   What is maximum number of boxes 9 inches x 6 inches x 3 inches that will fit into a closet that measures 6 feet x 4 feet x 2.5 feet?

75.   Can you solve this in five seconds?

Which is greater, 3/7 or 7/16?

76.   In ten seconds or less, express 1,111 divided by 25 as a percent.

77.   Using root meanings to help you, define the meaning of the word MANUMIT.

(a) to manufacture

(b) to be masculine

(c) to set free

78.   What is the next letter in the following sequence: a z c w e t g q i ?

(a) n

(b) k

(c) l

(d) m

(e) o

79.   How many different committees can be formed from a pool of three people, where a committee can consist of one to three people?

(a) 3

(b) 4

(c) 5

(d) 6

(e) 7

80.   Which of the following fractions is smallest?

(a) 11/20

(b) 5/6

(c) 5/7

(d) 2/3

(e) 3/4

81.   If
a, b,
and
c
are consecutive odd integers whose sum is 57, what is
c
?

82.   A man with a number of bookshelves has distributed his book collection evenly on the shelves, putting 80 books on each shelf. If he adds 3 shelves and redistributes his collection evenly on all the shelves, each shelf will have 50 books. How many books are in his collection?

83.   A sundial is the type of timepiece that has the fewest moving parts. What type of timepiece has the most moving parts?

84.   Suppose you have a strainer whose measurements are 4” wide x 3” high x 6” long. How much water can it hold?

85.   In 10 seconds, without multiplying 35 x 65 and 34 x 66, determine which is greater: 35 x 65 or 34 x 66.

86.   Choose any two-digit number. Add the digits. Then subtract that result from the original number to get a final result. Which of the following numbers could be your final result?

(a) 31

(b) 32

(c) 33

(d) 34

(e) 35

(f) 36

87.   Name three words that end in “DOUS.”

88.   Rearranging the letters MEANYRG would give you the name of:

(a) an animal

(b) a state

(c) a city

(d) an ocean

(e) a country

89.   Three messages were received from Mars.

1. “Avion Balcon Sondor,” which was translated to “Serious Spaceship Fumes.”

2. “Mayar Pulgar Avion,” which was translated to “Serious Atmosphere Particles.”

3. “Balcon Roctos Vivand,” which was translated to “Dangerous Liquid Fumes.”

What would the word SONDOR mean?

(a) Liquid

(b) Fumes

(c) Atmosphere

(d) Spaceship

(e) Particles

90.   If everyone working at a car wash works at the same speed, and eight people can wash 50 cars in 60 hours, then four people can wash 100 cars in how many hours?

(a) 30

(b) 60

(c) 120

(d) 240

(e) 360

91.   If some Blips are Plips and some Plips are Jips, then “some Blips are Jips”

(a) is true

(b) is false

(c) cannot be determined as true or false

92.   Matt is the fiftieth fastest and the fiftieth slowest runner in his school. Assuming no two runners are the same speed, how many runners are in Matt’s school?

(a) 50

(b) 51

(c) 99

(d) 100

(e) 101

93.   Peter is taller than Nancy and Dan is shorter than Peter. Which of the following can be proved true:

(a) Dan is taller than Nancy.

(b) Dan is shorter than Nancy.

(c) Dan is as tall as Nancy.

(d) None of the above can be proved true.

94.   Together Harry and Sam caught 32 fish. Harry caught three times as many fish as Sam. How many fish did Harry catch?

(a) 6

(b) 8

(c) 16

(d) 24

(e) 28

95.   Two runners start at the same point facing in opposite directions. Each runner then runs 3 straight miles, takes a right turn, and runs straight for another 4 miles. What is the distance in miles between the two runners at that point?

(a) 5

(b) 8

(c) 10

(d) 12

(e) 14

96.   What is the shortest name of a U.S. state that shares a letter in common with each of the other fifty states?

97.   How many ways can four people be seated at one table for four, with two people facing the other two people?

98.   Is it possible for a man in California to marry his widow’s sister?

99.   A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 die. How many are left?