Answers to IQ Tests and Brain Teasers
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Here are the answers to the IQ tests and brain teasers from the last post.
ANSWERS TO IQ TESTS
- a. The Hats in the Box
Remember that there were only 5 hats in the box to pick from: 2 white and 3 black. Each of the 3 men picked out one and put it on his own head without seeing the color of it.
The man at the back saw the two hats in front of him. Yet, when he was asked if he knew what color his own hat was, he said, “No.”
That means the two hats he saw in front of him did not help him figure out what color his own hat was. If he had seen 2 white hats in front of him, he would have known his own hat was black because there were no more white hats. Which, in turn, tells us that he saw either: (1) two black hats in front of him; or, (2) one black hat and one white hat. But he doesn’t tell us anything more than that.
The next step is what the man in the middle must have heard, seen, and concluded before he also said he doesn’t know the color of his own hat. He heard what the man behind him said, so he knows if he was looking at a white hat in front of him, his own hat must be black. But, he must be staring at a black hat because he still doesn’t know if his own hat is white or black. And, that’s how the man in front, who heard all of this, but saw nothing at all, figured out that his own hat must be black!
- b. The Boat by the River
There are several different ways to solve this problem. They all involve the man taking a few extra trips with one of his items to avoid leaving the wrong combination of animals and grain on either side to get eaten. Here’s one possibility:
The man takes the chicken first and leaves it alone at Point B. Then, he comes back to Point A for the grain, leaving the fox all alone there. When he gets to Point B with the grain, he leaves the grain there, but grabs the chicken and brings it back to Point A. Next, he exchanges the chicken for the fox and takes the fox to Point B to sit with the grain. Finally, he comes back to Point A, alone in the boat this time, to pick up the chicken. The chicken got to ride a total of 3 times in this scenario!
- c. Pierce the Nine Dots
The key to this one is to literally think “outside the box.” Here is how you do it:
ANSWERS TO BRAIN TEASERS
- a. A Dead Man in the Woods
The man was a pilot of a small airplane who was trapped in the cabin of his plane when it ran out of fuel and came crashing down into the woods. Many people assume that a “cabin” is a log cabin just because it’s described as “in the woods.”
- b. A Dead Man in the Desert
The man bailed out of his plane but his chute didn’t open and he died upon impact.
- c. A Man Jumps Off a Building
The man believed he was the last person on earth. Driven to suicide out of loneliness, he jumps off the building. But, when the telephone rings on his way down, he realizes someone else is alive. So, he regrets his imminent suicide.
- d. A Woman Dies in a Car
The woman was pregnant and went into labor. While her husband sought help, she had her baby and died immediately afterwards of complications related to the birth.
- e. “Eureka! Adam and Eve!”
The archaeologist saw that the nude male and female bodies did not have navels.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Do you have any favorite IQ tests or brain teasers you’d like to share with me? : )
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