Puzzle 13
Four shepherds were watching over their flocks, and they were commenting on how many sheep they each had.
If Alex had three more sheep, then he'd have one fewer sheep than Billie.
Whereas Drew has the same number as the other three shepherds put together.
If Charlie had three fewer sheep, he'd have exactly three times the number of Alex.
If they were evenly distributed, they'd each have eleven sheep.
How many sheep does Alex have?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Find how many sheep Drew has first.
Answer
3.
Reasoning
If we denote Alex by A, Billie by B, Charlie by C, and Drew by D and number the clues.
If Alex had three more sheep, then he'd have one fewer sheep than Billie.
Whereas Drew has the same number as the other three shepherds put together.
If Charlie had three fewer sheep, he'd have exactly three times the number of Alex.
If they were evenly distributed, they'd each have eleven sheep.
By (4):
A + B + C + D = 44
And, by (2), these are shared equally between A + B + C and D.
So D = 22, and A + B + C = 22 (* )
By (1):
A + 3 = B − 1
A + 4 = B
By (3):
C − 3 = 3A
C = 3A + 3
Substitute B and C in (* ):
A + (A + 4) + (3A + 3) = 22
5A + 7 = 22
5A = 15
A = 3
And, B = 7, C = 12.
Double-Checking
A = 3, B = 7, C = 12, D = 22.
(1) 3 + 3 = 7 − 1
(2) 3 + 7 + 12 = 22
(3) 12 − 3 = 3 x 3
(4) 3 + 7 + 12 + 22 = 44, and 44 ÷ 4 = 11 each.
Puzzle 14
Complete this grid with the digits 1 to 6 to make the sum correct.
Perform each mathematical operation in the order shown, from left to right, so 1 + 2 x 3 is treated as (1 + 2) x 3 = 9.
Consecutive numbers are not next to each other, there is no ÷ 1, and at no point is a decimal or a fraction used.
Note: this puzzle is not interactive, and the squares cannot be clicked.
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The first number is 2.
Answer
Puzzle 15
Below, 10 countries have been broken into chunks of letters.
The chunks have been moved around, no chunk is used twice, and all of the chunks are used.
Can you determine what the 10 countries are?
ezu itz zil ela bra gi ia
fi pan mba bel and ber zi
nl bo cam ven dia and um
sw bwe mex erl ico ja li
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hints
The countries begin with the letters: B, M, B, J, C, S, Z, V, F, L.
Answers
bel-gi-um = Belgium
mex-ico = Mexico
bra-zil = Brazil
ja-pan = Japan
cam-bo-dia = Cambodia
sw-itz-erl-and = Switzerland
zi-mba-bwe = Zimbabwe
ven-ezu-ela = Venezuela
fi-nl-and = Finland
li-ber-ia = Liberia
Puzzle 16
Which is larger:
fathoms in a kilometre
hours in a month
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Answer
Hours in a month.
Reasoning
A fathom is 6 feet, which is 1.8288 metres.
So there are 1000 ÷ 1.8288 ≈ 546.8 fathoms in a kilometre.
The shortest month has 28 x 24 hours = 672.
So even the shortest month has more hours than there are fathoms in a kilometre.
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