Which one of the numbers does not belong in the following series?
3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 38
You can check your solutions here
Category Archives: Logic
Which item does not belong in the following series? (1)
Which one of the numbers does not belong in the following series?
E, D, I, H, J, O, N, U
This kind of questions is one of several types found in the Wechsler IQ test. Unfortunately, one of the questions as I found it online has two answers.
You can check your solutions here
Apologies for not publishing a puzzle last Friday.
How many?
If there is 1 in 1, if there are 2 in 2, 3 in 7 but 0 in 8, how many are there in eleven?
You can check your solutions here
Pattern codes – Diagonals
What is the code for the fifth figure?
This weeks puzzle is pretty easy, I admit. I hope next weeks puzzle will be more of a poser.
You can check your solution.
Shikaku
Shikaku puzzles are puzzles which can be found in some magazines. They were invented by Nikoli, a Japanese puzzle firm. Allthough they can be drawn in black and white, the colored versions seem to be more popular. There are several websites offering them – see below They are also known as Shikaku ni Kire, rectangles, Divide by Squares and Divide by Box.
The basic is a square or rectangle which has been subdivided into rectangles. The border lines are not shown in the exercise – this is what the solver has to find out. The sizes of the rectangles are given as clues.
Example:
The solution:
As you can see in the examples above:
(1) Only rectangles are used;
(2) Every rectangle has exactly 1 square indicating its size;
Here are some puzzles with them:
1) Problem 6×6
2) problem 7×7
3) problem 12×12
There are several apps for your android smartphone or ipad around. Sites which offer shikaku puzzles are:
Inspector Simon Mart and the stolen matchstick
‘I was on the island of Lotl Ire Esain in the Archipellago,’ Inspector Simon Mart wrote in his text editor, ‘where I encountered a strange case. The island is remarkable ny its population, which consists of two distinct groups: Liars, who will always Lie but are honest in the sense that they will never steal, and Thieves, who will often steal but who are absolutely honest in that they will always tell you the truth.’
He continued to write:
In one case brought to my attention, a person had been robbed of a box of burnt matchsticks. Now that may sound ridiculous, but the island is devoid of trees and all wood must be imported so it is considered a criminal offense.
Two suspects were brought in, and it had already been established that one of them had to be the criminal. The policeofficer who brought them in introduced them as Peter and Paul.
‘What the hack,’ I thought. ‘Would it have been the same two persons or is every Jack and Joe called Peter and Paul here?’ Anyway, hoping that the thief would simply asnwer truthfully, I asked Peter: ‘Dit you steal the matchstick?’
But Peter simply answered: Paul is a Liar.
Asking Paul the same question to Paul, Paul replied: ‘Peter is a thief’.
Who stole the matchstick?
If you wish you can check your solution.
What comes next?
What number comes next in the following sequence?
56789
51317
548
…
You can check your solution here
Inspector Smart on the Isle of Thieves and Liars
After his adventure on the island of Koaloao, Inspector Simon Mart traveled on to the second island in the Logico archipelago, Lotl Ire Esa.
The population of this island, he knew, was very peculiar; it consisted of two distinct groups, each with his own rigid disposition, and the inspector suspected it was a genetic mutation.
One group on this island was called Thieves: they had an uncontrollable tendency to steal, but they would always tell the truth. The other group was called Liars, they never stole anything but would always lie.
1) The scepter of dignity
After checking into his hotel, he had gone straight to the police headquarters in the capital. In the case before him, there were two suspects, Peter and Paul. The crime under investigation was the theft of the Scepter of Dignity, a rod made of used matchsticks, and dating back to 1997.
Peter: Paul is a Thief. But he did not steal the scepter.
Paul: Peter is a Thief. And Peter stole the scepter.
It was already certain that one of the two had stolen the scepter. Who is guilty?
If you wish you can check your solution.
The house with eight kids
There’s a house with 8 kids, who are all at home.
Amber is annotating a paper;
Betty is bathing;
Charles is cooking;
Dorothy is playing draughts;
Elly is eating;
Ferdinand is training his fish;
Gina is watching a fashion show on television;
What is Henry doing?
This puzzle is based on this one, but with a subtle twist.
You can check your solution here
Inspector Simon Mart and the camper at Trafalgar square
Inspector Simon Mart looked at the blank screen of the word processor in front of him. He really wanted to write down something about the interesting cases he had explored at the isle of KoaLoao. He was glad, of course, to be back in London, back in the familiar office, back between the familiar colleagues at Wales Yard, back in his own familiar office room with the familiar mug of the familiar undrinkable drab of coffee.
Just as a blink of inspiration on how to start popped up, a superintendant dropped in, wiping out any trace of inspiration about how to start.
‘Three suspects of the theft of the copper kettle of a camper on Trafalgar Square, Simon. Can you question them? Boring cases, of course, for you, after your holiday in Archipelagio.’
‘The only one who needs to be questioned is the camper,’ Simon replied dryly. ‘Why would any one in his right mind want to put up his tent there? Did he obstruct the traffic? And why would he have a copper kettle where every camper uses plastic stuff?’
‘I admit we made a Strategic Mistake in letting that guy go,’ the superintendant replied with a devilish smile, ‘He didnt seem to have obstructed the traffic – he put up his tent in the fountain. But the three suspects we rounded up are all we have. Oh, and we are sure one of them did it.’ Having said that, he showed in Mighty Mike, Ron Rubbish and Sluggy Sarah.
Inspector Simon asked them one simple question: ‘Who did it?’
Mighty Mike replied: Ron Rubbish did it.
Ron Rubbish answered: Sluggy Sarah took it.
Sluggy Sarah said: I’m innocent.
Now, assuming only the thief lied, who should the inspector keep in custody for further interrogation?
You can check your solution here
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