Puzzle 137
I recently went to the shop and purchased 4 items.
Three of the items cost:
$1.50
$3.00
$4.00
There was quite a long queue, and as I was quite bored, I was playing with my pocket calculator while I waited.
Very curiously, the 4 prices added to the same number as I got when I multiplied the 4 prices together.
What was the price of the 4th item?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
What do the 3 numbers add and multiply to give so far?
Answer
$0.50.
Reasoning
The three prices add to 1.50 + 3.00 + 4.00 = 8.50.
The three prices multiply to 1.50 x 3.00 x 4.00 = 18.00.
You might be able to see that adding another 0.50 will take the total to 9.00, and multiplying by another 0.50 will take the product to 9.00.
The answer can also be found using algebra. If we call the missing price P, we have:
1.50 + 3.00 + 4.00 + P = 1.50 x 3.00 x 4.00 x P
8.50 + P = 18.00 x P
8.50 = 18.00 x P – P
8.50 = 17.00 x P
8.50 ÷ 17.00 = P
P = 0.50.
Puzzle 138
Can you find the country hidden in the following sentence:
A parish newspaper printed part of a page that pointed out that port officials use a pencil, not a pen, when they prepare paper updates to their port reports.
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
The country spans mode than one word.
Answer
Peru.
A parish newspaper printed part of a page that pointed out that port officials use a pencil, not a pen, when they prepare paPER Updates to their port reports.
Puzzle 139
Summer Paintings - Logic Puzzles
At a recent painting competition, the results were mislaid. Luckily, I remembered the following:
Emery's rendition of the Constable painting was not in last place.
The person who painted the Monet was very successful and took first place.
Glen only just managed to avoid last place and came third.
Alex beat the person who painted the Taylor, and the person who painted the Van Gogh beat Drew.
Can you determine who painted what, and who won?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Which painting won, and who came first?
Answer
# Name Artist
1 Alex Monet
2 Emery Constable
3 Glen Van Gogh
4 Drew Taylor
Reasoning
The four entrants were: Alex, Drew, Emery, Glen.
The four artists were: Constable, Monet, Taylor, Van Gogh.
By (2), the Monet came first.
1 Monet
2
3
4
By (3), Glen came third.
1 Monet
2
3 Glen
4
By (1), the Constable can't have been last, so must have been second (as Emery painted it, and not Glen).
1 Monet
2 Constable
3 Glen
4
The Taylor was either third or fourth, either way, by (4) Alex must have won.
1 Alex Monet
2 Constable
3 Glen
4
By (4), the Van Gogh came third, leaving Drew in last place.
1 Alex Monet
2 Constable
3 Glen Van Gogh
4 Drew
Leaving Emery in second place, and the Taylor in last place.
1 Alex Monet
2 Emery Constable
3 Glen Van Gogh
4 Drew Taylor
Puzzle 140
I have a bottle and a straw which cost me 60 pence. The bottle cost 10 pence more than the straw. What does each item cost?
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Answer
The bottle cost 35 pence and the straw cost 25 pence.
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