MATHS RIDDLE (SnL)

1. One brother says of his younger brother: “Two years ago, I was three times as
old as my brother was. In three years’ time, I will be twice as old as my
brother.” How old are they each now?
One way to solve this math riddle is to use even numbers: The older
brother will be twice as old as his younger brother in three years’ time.
This immediately rules out the older brother currently being 8, 11, and 14,
so he must be 17, and the younger brother 7. Two years ago, they were 15
and 5 respectively, and in three years’ time, they will be 20 and 10.
2. I add six to eleven, and get five. Why is this correct?
This numbers riddle is designed to trip you up! You have to think more
broadly. When it is 11 a.m., adding six hours makes it 5 p.m.
3. What single digit appears most frequently between and including the numbers
1 and 1,000? Hint: look for a pattern!
The most common digit is 1! Did you figure out why? Every number 1-9
appears exactly the same number of times in every ten numbers. But
because we included the number 1,000, there’s an extra occurrence of the
number 1. In total, the number 1 appears 301 times, and every other
number appears 300 times
4. What is the smallest number that increases by 12 when it is flipped and
turned upside down?
The answer is 86. When it is turned upside down and flipped, it becomes
98, which is 12 more than 86.
5. If you multiply this number by any other number, the answer will always be
the same. What number is this?
Zero

6.What number goes up and doesn’t come back down?

Your age
7. What weighs more, a pound of iron or a pound of feathers?
 Both same

8. What can you put between a 7 and an 8 so that the result is greater than a
seven, but less than an eight?

Decimal 7.8

9.A red house is made out of red bricks. A yellow house is made out of yellow
bricks. And, a blue house is made out of blue bricks. So, what is a green house
made of?
Glass

10. If seven adults can eat seven cupcakes in seven minutes, how long would it
take 30 adults to eat 30 cupcakes?
Seven minutes; one adult takes seven minutes to eat a cupcake

11.  I wave, even if you don’t say hello. What am I?

A flag

12. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three

rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with
loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which
room is safest for him?
The third room, because those lions haven't eaten in three years, so they
are dead.

13. A woman goes into the forest and sees ten trees. She then proceeds to snap all
their branches at once. How is this possible?

She took a picture of the trees

14. Jess’s pencil was wearing out and is now only three centimeters long. Her
friend Stan’s new pencil was eight times that length. How long was Stan’s
pencil?
Answer: 8 x 3 = 24 cms.
15. Can a mathematical symbol be added between 55555 to make it equal 500?
Answer: 555 – 55 = 500

16. Rico the Rabbit eats one carrot on Sunday, two carrots on Monday, four
carrots on Tuesday, and so on. How many carrots does he eat every week?
Answer: 127 carrots.

17. Riddle: What is x? 1 + 4 = 5; 2 + 5 = 12; 3 + 6 = 21; 8 + 11 = x

Answer: x = 96; (a + b) to (a + ab)

18. How many letters are in the alphabet?There are 11 letters in “the
alphabet”.
19. The combined age of a father and son is 66 years. The age of the father is
the age of the son, but with the digits reversed. How old are they? 51 and
15 or 42 and 24 or 60 and 6
20. If X is an odd number, when a letter is taken away from X and it
becomes even. Which is that number? Seven (Seven-S=Even)

21. Mr. Smith had four daughters. Each of his daughters has a brother.How
many children does Mr. Smith have?
5

22. If I had four eggs and a thief gave me three and my rooster laid five more
how many eggs do I have?
7

23. There once were seven dwarfs who were all brothers. They were all born
two years apart. The youngest dwarf is seven years old. How old is his
oldest brother?

Answer: 19 years old

24. If 9999 = 4, 8888 = 8, 1816 = 3, 1212 = 0, then 1919 =?

Look at how many closed areas there are.

9999 has 4 closed areas (the top of the '9').

8888 has 8 closed areas, the top and bottom parts of the 8 and there are no
other digits.
1816 has 3 closed areas, (top and bottom of 8 and bottom of 6, and it has 2
other digits

1212 has 0 closed areas,

25. Riddle: If seven people meet each other and each shake hands only
once with each of the others, how many handshakes happened?
Answer: 21

26. Riddle: A half is a third of it. What is it?

Answer: 1 1/2

27. Riddle: I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is six more than

my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit.
What number am I?
Answer: 193

28. A construction site requires at least 5 laborers to get a job done in 12 days.
How many days will it take if 12 laborers are hired for the same job?
5 days
Explanation: 
Let X be the amount of work to be done
Let Y be the number of days taken by 12 laborers 
Equation of work done by 5 laborers:
X/5 = 12 days
X = 60
Equation of work done by 12 laborers:
X/12 = Y
60/12 = Y
Y= 5

29. It is 9 am now, Rita studies for 2 hours, takes a bath for 1 hour and then
has lunch for 1 hour. How many hours are left before 9 am tomorrow?

20 hours

30.How can you take 2 from 5 and leave 4?

FIVE
Remove the 2 letters F and E from five and you have IV.

31. You are given a telephone and asked to multiply all the numbers on the
device’s number pad. What will be the answer?

Answer: Zero (As the number pad contains number 0, When you

multiply any number by zero, the answer will be zero).

32. Suppose 1+9+8=1, then what can be 2+8+9?

Answer: 10! (Consider the first letter of the spelling of each digit,

One+Nine+Eight= ONE, similarly Two+Eight+Nine= TEN

33.Robin tosses a coin 10 times and it landed in the heads up position all ten
times. So what are the possible chances for him to toss it up again and get
landed in heads up position?

Answer: He has a 50% chance to see the heads up position. This is because
the coin toss is not dependent on the first 10 tosses

34. When Is Pi Day Celebrated?

14 march (3.14)

35.Riddle: A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only
half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there
in the family?
Answer: Four sisters and three brothers
36.Three doctors said that Bill was their brother. Bill says he has no
brothers. How many brothers does Bill actually have?
Answer: None. He has three sisters.