At the local sweet shop, three particularly nice sweets are on special offer.
A Nobbler is over three times the price of a Sparkle. Six Sparkles are worth more than a Wibbler. A Nobbler, plus two Sparkles costs less than a Wibbler. A Sparkle, a Wibbler and a Nobbler together cost 40p.
Can you determine the price of each type of sweet?
Reasoning
By (3) a Nobbler, plus two Sparkles costs less than a Wibbler, therefore a Wibbler must be the most expensive sweet.
By (1) a Nobbler is over three times the price of a Sparkle, therefore a Sparkle must be the cheapest sweet.
So the order of sweets, from the least to most expensive, is Sparkle, Nobbler, Wibbler.
If a Sparkle was 1p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 5p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 34p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
If a Sparkle was 2p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 11p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 27p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
If a Sparkle was 3p, by (2) a Wibbler could only be up to 17p, by (4) a Nobbler would cost at least 20p, which is more than a Wibbler and isn't allowed as the Wibbler is the most expensive sweet.
So a Sparkle must be at least 4p.
If a Sparkle was 4p, by (1) a Nobbler must be at least 13p, by (4) a Wibbler would cost 23p. This combination matches all of the clues and is a possible solution.
If a Sparkle was 4p and a Nobbler 14p, by (4) a Wibbler would cost 22p. This would not satisfy (3). And if we increase the price of a Nobbler, (3) is never satisfied.
If a Sparkle was 5p, by (1) a Nobbler must be at least 16p, by (4) making a Wibbler at most 19p. This would not satisfy (3).
If we increase the price of a Sparkle or Nobbler further, (3) is will never be satisfied.
Therefore, the only solution we came across must be the correct one.
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Puzzle 2
This is a well known children's musical piece, the vowels have been removed, and the remaining letters have been grouped together.
Can you determine the correct words?
hmpt ydmp tyst nwll hmpt ydmp tyhd grtf llll thkn gshr ssnd llth kngs mncl dntp thmp tytg thrg n
During the latest round of the BrainBashers school triathlon the final results were mislaid, however, this is what we do know.
Hayden was fourth. Alex was not the oldest but was older than Drew, who was not second. The child who was next in age to the youngest, finished second. The child who finished in third place was older than the child who finished first. Billie was younger than the child who finished in third place.
Can you determine who finished where and place the children in order of age?
Answer # Name Age
#1 Drew youngest
#2 Billie next to youngest
#3 Alex next to oldest
#4 Hayden oldest
Reasoning
By (2), neither Alex nor Drew were the oldest. By (5), neither was Billie. Therefore, Hayden was the oldest, and by (1) came fourth.
#1
#2
#3
#4 Hayden oldest
By (4) the youngest didn't come third, and by (3) the youngest didn't come second. Therefore, the youngest came first.
#1 youngest
#2
#3
#4 Hayden oldest
By (3), the next to youngest came second, leaving the next to oldest in third.
#1 youngest
#2 next to youngest
#3 next to oldest
#4 Hayden oldest
By (2), Drew wasn't second, but Alex was older, so Drew can't be third either. Therefore, Drew can only have come in first.
#1 Drew youngest
#2 next to youngest
#3 next to oldest
#4 Hayden oldest
By (5) Billie didn't come third, so came second. Leaving Alex in third.
#1 Drew youngest
#2 Billie next to youngest
#3 Alex next to oldest
#4 Hayden oldest
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Puzzle 4
Can you find the country hidden in the following paragraph:
The local habitat around a railway track can be very interesting. For example, supporting the track is a sleeper, under which you can find the lesser-spotted great weevil.
The local habitat around a railway track can be very interesting. For example, supporting the track is a sleePER, Under which you can find the lesser-spotted great weevil.
