Puzzle 201
What number comes next in this sequence? There are two possible answers, can you find them both?
1 · 23 · 124 · 1251 · 26127 · 128129 · ?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Try removing the spaces from the sequence.
Answer
1301311 or 1210121.
Reasoning
Removing spaces from the original sequence gives:
123124125126127128129
Now adding spaces back in:
123 124 125 126 127 128 129
Answer #1
The next few terms could be the next 3 numbers:
123 124 125 126 127 128 129 + 130 131 132
Remove the spaces:
123124125126127128129130131132
Now break the sequence into chunks of increasing size:
1 23 124 1251 26127 128129 1301311
One possible answer is 1301311.
Answer #2
The next few terms could be 12 + 10, 12 + 11, 12 + 12:
123 124 125 126 127 128 129 + 1210 1211 1212
Remove the spaces:
123124125126127128129121012111212
Now break the sequence into chunks of increasing size:
1 23 124 1251 26127 128129 1210121
Another possible answer is 1210121.
Puzzle 202
Can you decode this well-known saying:
V CCVCCC VC CVCV CVCVC CVCV
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
V represents a vowel (AEIOU).
Answer
A stitch in time saves nine.
Each vowel (AEIOU) is represented by the letter V and each consonant is represented by C.
Puzzle 203
Yesterday I went for a short bicycle ride around the local lakes. As the weather was very hot, I rode in shorter stages than I'd normally ride.
In Stage One, I rode half of the overall distance.
Stage Two saw half of the remaining distance plus 35 metres covered.
Stage Three covered three-quarters of the remaining distance.
Stage Four completed half of the remaining distance, plus 75 metres.
Stage Five completed the journey with a final burst of 150 metres.
How far did I cycle in total?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Try working backwards.
Answer
7,340 metres.
Reasoning
Stage 5's clue tells us that 150m was left. So the distance left at the start of Stage 4 must have been:
Dist4 = Dist4 + 75 + 150
—————
2
Which simplifies to give Dist4 = 450m.
Stage 3's clue tells us that 450m was one quarter of the remaining distance, so Dist3 = 1,800m.
Stage 2's clue tells us that the distance at the start of Stage 2 was:
Dist2 = Dist2 + 35 + 1800
—————
2
Which simplifies to give Dist2 = 3,670m.
Stage 1's clue tells us that 3,670m was half the overall distance, which means the entire ride was 7,340m.
Double-Checking
Starting with 7,340m:
Stage 1: cycled 3,670m, leaving 3,670m
Stage 2: cycled 1,870m, leaving 1,800m
Stage 3: cycled 1,350m, leaving 450m
Stage 4: cycled 300m, leaving 150m
Stage 5: cycled 150m, leaving 0m
Puzzle 204
During a recent club trip to the seaside, I sat at the rear of the bus.
I noticed a strange thing: Ann, Kevin, Matilda, and Nathaniel were all sitting on the left side of the bus.
Even more curious was the fact that Jack, Amelia, Isabella, and Maximilian were all sitting on the right side of the bus.
On which side was James sitting?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Look at the lengths of the names.
Answer
James was sitting on the left.
Members with an odd number of letters in their name sat on the left, and members with an even number sat on the right.
