Puzzle 1
What letter comes next in this sequence:
Z · X · C · V · B · N · ?
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answer
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Hint
The answer is in front of you.
Answer
M.
From the bottom row of a keyboard.
Puzzle 2
Starting with any C, using the move of a chess knight, can you find the letters of Christmas in the correct order?
The moves of a knight are:
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
A knight moves in the shape of an L, two squares one way, one square the other.
Answer
Puzzle 3
Three builders are laying a brick wall.
Freddie can lay 1,000 bricks in three hours, Jimmy can lay 1,000 bricks in two hours and Kevin can lay 1,000 bricks in six hours.
How long will it take Freddie, Jimmy, and Kevin to lay 1,000 bricks if they all work together?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
How many bricks are laid in six hours?
Answer
1 hour.
Reasoning
How many bricks are laid in six hours?
In six hours, Kevin lays 1000 bricks, Freddie lays 2000 bricks, and Jimmy lays 3000 bricks.
So, in six hours, we have a total of 6000 bricks laid.
Which means that it will take one hour to lay 1000 bricks.
Puzzle 4
What is the smallest positive integer which …
… when multiplied by 3 gives a number consisting of only 4's?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Try working backwards.
Answer
148.
Reasoning
A number that is divisible by 3 has digits that add up to a number that is also divisible by 3 (for example, 123 is divisible by 3).
So we can look for the first number where 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + … is divisible by 3, which is 4 + 4 + 4, and 444 ÷ 3 = 148.
Alternative Reasoning
Let's try the possible answers in order:
4 ÷ 3 = 1.3333
44 ÷ 3 = 14.6666
444 ÷ 3 = 148
Double-Checking
148 x 3 = 444.
