Answers to Festive Maths Quiz – December 23
Did you enjoy the festive maths quiz? Here are the solutions to the puzzles set on December 23.
Puzzle 1: Fake Gold Coin
To identify the fake gold coin that weighs less than the real ones, you only need two weighings. Divide the nine coins into three sets of three and weigh two sets against each other. Then, follow up by weighing two coins from the lighter set against each other.
Puzzle 2: Baking Christmas Pie
To time exactly 10 minutes using 4-minute and 7-minute egg-timers, start both timers simultaneously. When the 4-minute timer finishes, put the pie in the oven. After the 7-minute timer is done, take the pie out for a perfect 10-minute bake.
Puzzle 3: Allocating Mulled Wine
By following an 11-step process, you can precisely measure and distribute 3 liters of wine into each of the five-liter and four-liter bottles from two ten-liter barrels.
Puzzle 4: Total Gift Money
Using a clever mathematical technique, you can quickly calculate that the total amount of money received over 100 days of Christmas gifting is £5,050.
Puzzle 5: Christmassy Sequence
The sequence of numbers corresponds to the number of letters in each consecutive gift given over the 12 days of Christmas. The next number in the sequence is 5, representing “swans”.
Puzzle 6: True Statement
The only true statement among the 100 is the 99th one. Each statement indicates the number of false statements in the list, making the 99th statement the only true one.
Puzzle 7: Christmas Hats Logic
Using deductive reasoning and logic, you can determine that your Christmas hat is red if both Arthur and Bob have red hats based on their statements.
Puzzle 8: Mixed-up Labels
To correct the labels on the boxes, choose the box labeled with one small present and one piece of coal. By observing the contents and applying logic, you can rearrange the labels correctly.
Puzzle 9: Juice Mixing
After mixing orange juice with apple juice and vice versa, the amounts of each juice remain the same due to the principle of invariance.
Puzzle 10: Banknote Pictures
To confirm the older elf’s statement about Santa and presents on the banknotes, you should turn over the Santa banknote and the reindeer banknote for verification.
Bonus Puzzle Solution: Santa’s Average Speed
By employing algebra and critical thinking, the average speed of Santa’s journey from Greenland to the North Pole and back is calculated to be 34.3 miles per hour.
Did you crack all the festive maths puzzles? Stay tuned for more brain-teasers and mathematical challenges!
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