Richard's Stumpers

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24

Set #11

  1. Just before the deep-sea fishing boat left the dock, the captain asked the deck steward how many passengers were on board. The steward counted 57 passengers. If there were 2 women passengers for every male passenger, how many male passengers were there?

  2. If the charge for cutting a link is $.50 and for welding a link if $.50, what is the smallest charge the blacksmith should charge for making one long chain from 5 short chains of 3 links each?

  3. A certain pipe will fill a tank in 10 minutes, a second pipe in 20 minutes, and a third pipe in 30 minutes. How many minutes will be required to fill the tank if all three pipes are used at the same time?

  4. The Constitution of the United States specifies four requirements for becoming President. The candidate must be at least 35 years old, must have been born in the United States, and must have lived in this country for at least 14 years. (Included are the facts that he must be a citizen and not have a criminal record.) What is the fourth requirement?

  5. Marys school is 2 miles from home. Her dog, Sparky, often waits for her outside the school. When classes end, they start home together. The dog trots twice as fast as Mary walks. She travels at 2 mph. Since the dog reaches home first, he always turns and trots back to Mary and then trots home again. How many miles does the dog travel while Mary is walking home from school?

  6. It is between 11:00 AM and 12:00 (noon). In 13 minutes it will be as many minutes short of 1:00 PM as it was past 11:00 AM just seven minutes ago. What time is it?

  7. Into how many different pieces can a circle be cut by drawing only four straight lines across the circle?

  8. If you count January 1, 2000 AD as one, January 2, 2000 AD as two, etc., what number should be assigned to March 1, 2000 AD?

  9. "Here is an odd item, Professor Weinsier," said John, looking up from his newspaper. "It says here that three of the first five presidents of the United States died on the Fourth of July. I wonder what the odds are against a coincidence like that?"

    "Im not sure," replied the professor, "but Im willing to give 10-to-1 odds I can name one of the three who died on that date."

    Assuming the professor had no prior knowledge of the dates on which any of the presidents died, was he justified in offering such odds? Why or why not?

    Answers are available with Stumper Set #12.

Answers to Stumper Set #10

  1. The car is 5 years old.

  2. 3 adult tickets, 15 student tickets, and 2 childrens tickets

  3. 8 minutes

  4. 55 minutes

  5. The five rows are planted to form a 5-point star with one tree planted at each star tip and one at each of the 5 points of intersection within the star.

  6. 2 2/3

  7. zero or 1

  8. Lake Michigan

  9. Every 213 days or about 17 times

  10. 11 times

  11. "What would the other person say is the way out of the room?"

  12. 6 people