Q1: If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
A1: 9!
Q2: I gave a duck $9, a bee $27, and a spider $36. How much would I give to the
cat?
A2: $18 (according to $4.50 per leg)!
Q3: A grandfather, two fathers, and two sons went to the movie theater. How
many tickets did they buy?
A3: 3! A grandfather, a father, and a son. The grandfather is the “father” of the father.
The father is the “son” of the grandfather.
Q4: A woman goes out to buy bananas. All but 3 got ruined on the way. How
many good bananas does she have now?
A4: 3! All but “3” were ruined.
Q5: If there are 10 apples on the table and you take away 2, how many apples do
you have?
A5: 2! You only took two apples.
Q6: I am odd. But you take away an alphabet and I am even. What am I?
A6: S-Even!
Q7: How can you arrange only eights to get the number 1000 in a mathematical
equation?
A7: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000!
Q8: How did the soccer fan know the score would be 0-0 even before the game
started?
A8: Because the score is always 0-0 when the game begins.
Q9: I added 5 to 9 and got two. The teacher said I was right. Do you know how?
A9: I added 5 hours to 9 a.m. and got 2 p.m.!
Q10: How can you make 5 + 5 + 5 = 550 correct by drawing only one straight
line?
A10: Add a line on the first plus sign to make it “4.” This makes the equation 545 + 5
= 550!
Q11: Calculate:
1+1+1+1+1
1+1+1+1+1
1+1x0+1=?
A11: 30!
We apply the BODMAS (Brackets, Order of Powers, Division, Multiplication,
Addition, and Subtraction) rule here.
So, we see a multiplication sign here and do it first. 1 x 0 = 1.
So, the lines will look like this now:
1+1+1+1+1
1+1+1+1+1
1+0+1
Now, notice that there are no mathematical operations after the last “1” on the first
line or the first “1” on the second line. Hence, we assume that they can be put together
to form the number “11.” The same goes for the last “1” on the second line or the first
“1” on the third line. They can be put together to form the number “11.”
Now we get:
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 11 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 11 + 0 + 1 = 30.
Q12: A half is a third of which number?
A12: One and a half!
Q13: What to add between a 4 and a 5 to make the result greater than 4 and less
than 5?
A13: A decimal! 4.5 is greater than four and less than 5.
Q14: Lisa was 6 when Lucy was 3. Lisa is 60 now. How old is Lucy?
A14: 57! Lucy is only three years younger than Lisa.
Q15: Ray works in a dog shelter. When he puts one dog in a cage, he has an extra
dog left. If he puts two dogs per cage, he has an extra cage left. How many dogs
and how many cages does Ray have?
A15: Three cages and four dogs.
Q16: I bought a rooster today and the salesman told me I can expect two eggs per
day. How many eggs will I have in a week?
A16: None. Roosters don’t lay eggs. Only hens do.
Q17: You have a five-gallon jug of water and an empty three-gallon jug. How
can you measure out exactly four gallons of water?
A17: Fill the 5-gallon jug and pour the water from it into the 3-gallon jug until the
latter is full. Now, you will have 2 gallons of water left in the 5-gallon jug. Empty the
3-gallon jug. Pour the 2 gallons from the 5-gallon jug into the 3-gallon jug.
Now fill the 5-gallon jug again and pour water into the 3-gallon jug until it is full. You
will only be able to pour out 1 gallon of water and will have 4 gallons of water in the
5-gallon jug!
Q18: What weighs more: 16 ounces of soda or one pound of gold?
A18: Both weigh the same. 1 pound = 16 ounces.
Q19: How many times can you subtract 5 from 25?
A19: Only once. Because once you subtract 5, 25 becomes 20 (and is not 25 any
more)!
Q20: If there are 50 students in your class and you have to shake every student’s
hand, how many times will you shake hands?
A20: 49. You will subtract yourself from the number of students in the class.
Q21: Arrange numbers 1 to 9 in the right order in a mathematical equation in
such a way that the result is 100.
A21: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + (8 x 9) = 100.
Q22: If you count 10 houses on the right while going to school and 10 houses on
the left while coming back from school on the same route, how many houses did
you count?
A22: 10. As the houses on the right will be on your left when you come back.
Q23: What’s the angle between the minute hand and the hour hand of a wall
clock at a quarter past three?
A23: 7.5 degrees!
Q24: What number is equivalent to 34/32?
A24: 9!
Q25: Some cards are lost from a pack of cards. If I deal them among three
people, two cards are leftover. If I deal them among four people, three cards are
leftover. If I deal among five people, two cards are leftover. How many cards are
there in the pack?
A25: 47!
