Puzzle 5
Which fruit comes next in this sequence:
banana · pear · kiwi · tomato · ?
Choose from:
peach, lemon, plum, guava
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Look at the second letter in each word.
Answer
Guava.
The second letter of the words are the vowels (AEIOU) in order.
Puzzle 6
As the auditor for my local theme park, I noticed that on Saturday there were 4,296 children and 2,143 adults and the takings were £98,718.
However, on Sunday, there were 5,146 children and 2,807 adults and the takings were £122,570.
How much were the children's tickets and adult's tickets?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
This is quite a tricky puzzle, and knowledge of algebra would certainly help.
Answer
The children tickets were £14, and the adult tickets were £18.
Reasoning
There are a number of methods for solving this problem, including:
Using a spreadsheet.
Using a computer program.
Using the intersection of lines on a graph.
Using an online equation solver.
Solving simultaneous equations using algebra.
Solving simultaneous equations using inverse matrices.
Here is my solution using simultaneous equations and algebra.
First construct two algebraic equations, where 'c' is the number of children, and 'a' is the number of adults:
[1] 4296c + 2143a = 98718
[2] 5146c + 2807a = 122570
To make the number in front of 'c' the same on both, we multiply [1] by 5146 and [2] by 4296 to give:
[3] 22107216c + 11027878a = 508002828
[4] 22107216c + 12058872a = 526560720
Now we can do [4] − [3] to give:
1030994a = 18557892
Divide throughout by 1030994 so that:
a = 18
Substituting a = 18 in [1] will give:
4296c + 2143 x 18 = 98718
4296c + 38574 = 98718
4296c = 60144
c = 14
Double-Checking
c = 14 and a = 18
4,296 x 14 + 2,143 x 18 = 98,718
and
5,146 x 14 + 2,807 x 18 = 122,570
Puzzle 7
What is the 10th prime number?
2, 3, 5, 7, …
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Hint
The first nine prime numbers are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23.
Answer
29.
The first ten prime numbers are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29.
Puzzle 8
A 'complete' word is a word in which every letter, in turn, can be replaced by another to form a new word.
For example, RUG is a complete word because:
-ug = hug
r-g = rig
ru- = run
How many of the following words are not complete words? Proper nouns and names are not allowed.
hard
port
duck
bugs
bail
mast
thin
lean
fire
read
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Another example, PEN is a complete word because:
-en = ten
p-n = pin
pe- = pea
Answer
Two of the words are not complete: bugs, lean.
Reasoning
The remaining 8 words can be changed as follows:
hard:
-ard = card
h-rd = herd
ha-d = hand
har- = harp
port:
-ort = fort
p-rt = part
po-t = poet
por- = pore
duck:
-uck = muck
d-ck = deck
du-k = dusk
duc- = duct
bugs:
-ugs = hugs
b-gs = bags
bu-s = buys
bug- = ---- X
bail:
-ail = hail
b-il = boil
ba-l = bawl
bai- = bait
mast:
-ast = cast
m-st = most
ma-t = malt
mas- = mask
thin:
-hin = shin
t-in = twin
th-n = than
thi- = this
lean:
-ean = mean
l-an = loan
le-n = ---- X
lea- = leaf
fire:
-ire = hire
f-re = fare
fi-e = five
fir- = firm
read:
-ead = bead
r-ad = road
re-d = reed
rea- = real
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