Brain Teasers and Puzzles 

Workings

Hint
Try saying the letters out loud.

Answer
E.

These are letters which all sound the same, bee, see, dee, ee, etc. All depending on how you pronounce Z (zee or zed), you can include this.

Workings

Hint
Convert the letters to positions in the alphabet.

Answer
M.

These are letters that occupy prime number positions in the alphabet: 2, 3, 5, 7, etc.

Workings

Hint
Look at their names.

Answer
James was sitting on the left.

Children with an even number of letters in their name sat on the right.

Workings

Hint
A little algebra might help.

Answer
Pineapple = 83p, coconut = 57p, melon = 62p.

Reasoning
If we assign the letters P, C and M to the fruits, and work in pence we have:

(1)   M + C = 119
(2)   M + P = 145
(3)   C + P = 140

Using (2) - (1) we have:

(4)   P - C = 26

And (3) + (4) gives:

         2P = 166
          P = 83

This can then be substituted back into (2) and (3).