Brain Teasers

Can You Think Outside the Box?

Can You Make 100?

• Remove 9 of the sticks and make

100.

Can You Make 100? Answer

• When you remove the 9

sticks you form the

standard form of the

number 100.

Can You Change the Point?

• Move only 3 of the coins to make the

triangle point in an upward

direction.

Can You Change the Point? Answer

• Move the 2 quarters in the top corners down 2 rows. Place the

quarter on the bottom point to the top to make a point.

Can You Connect the Dots?

• Use 4 lines to connect all

the dots.

Can You Connect the Dots? Answer

• What unexpected action

did you have to do to

solve this brain teaser?

Can You Find 2 Ways to Make Four?

• Find 2 ways that you can rearrange

the sticks to create four.

Can You Find 2 Ways to Make Four? Answer

• One solution is to create

the standard form of 4

and the other is to create

the roman numeral for 4.

Can You Find How Many Bicycles &

Tricycles? • At the park there

were a total of 11

bicycles and

tricycles. If the

total number of

wheels was 26,

how many

tricycles were at

the park?

Bicycles and Tricycles in The Park

Answer • Assuming 2 wheels for each bicycle,

11 cycles will have 22 wheels. But,

there are 26 − 22 = 4 extra wheels.

As bicycles have 2 wheels and

tricycles have 3 wheels, there is 1

extra wheel per tricycle in the park.

Thus, the 4 extra wheels belong to 4

tricycles.

Can You Cut the Cake Into 8

Pieces? • You must cut a birthday cake into

exactly eight pieces, but you're only

allowed to make three straight cuts,

and you can't move pieces of the

cake as you cut. How can you do it?

Cut the Cake Answer

• Use the first two cuts to cut an 'X' through

the cake. Now you have four pieces. Make

the third cut horizontal, which will divide

the four pieces into eight. There's four

pieces on the top tier and four more just

underneath it.

Can You Not Get Tic-Tac-Toe

With 6 Xs?

• Can you place six X's on a Tic-Tac-

Toe board without making three-in-

a-row in any direction?

Can You Not Get Tic-Tac-Toe

With 6 Xs? Answer

• Is it possible to not get Tic-Tac-Toe if

I add another X? Why, or why not?

Can You Make the Rows, Columns,

and Diagonals Equal 15?

• Arrange the numbers 1 through 9 in the

table so that the numbers in each row,

column, and diagonal adds up to 15.

Row, Columns, and Diagonals

Equal 15 Answer

4 3 8

9 5 1

2 7 6

Can You Get All the Cups Up?

• Your task is to get all the cups right side

up, but you must follow these rules: You

have only three moves.

• For each move, you must turn over two

cups at a time—never one at a time.

Can You Get All the Cups Up?

Answer • First move: Turn over the first and second cups.

• Second move: Turn over the first and third cups.

• Third move: Turn over the first and second cups.

• Now they should all be right side up.

Start

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Can You Determine the Location of

the Cards? • Here are the backs of three cards

from an ordinary deck of cards.

• A, B, and C: You have to identify

each card as a queen or king and

as a heart or spade based on the

following four pieces of

information.

1. There's at least one queen to the

right of a king.

2. There's at least one queen to the

left of a queen.

3. There's at least one heart to the

left of a spade.

4. There's at least one heart to the

right of a heart.

Can You Determine the Location of

the Cards? Answer

Card A = king of hearts

Card B = queen of hearts

Card C = queen of spades

Can You Figure Out the Bottom

Line?

• Look carefully at each line of

numbers in the number

pyramid. What number

should replace the question

mark in the middle of the

bottom line?

• 8

2 5 2

1 2 4 2 1

1 2 1 3 1 2 1

1 2 1 1 ? 1 1 2 1

Can You Figure Out the Bottom

Line? Answer

• The number 2 should

replace the question mark.

Each horizontal row adds up

to one more than the one

above it, so the last row

must add up to 12.

8

2 5 2 2+5+2 = 9

1 2 4 2 1 1+2+4+2+1=10

1 2 1 3 1 2 1 1+2+1+3+1+2+1=11

1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1+2+1+1+2+1+1+2+1=12

Can You Make Five?

• For each of the three rows below,

insert the mathematical symbols (+,

-, ÷, ×) that will make the equation

correct for someone calculating to

from left to right.

a. 3 3 3 3 3 = 5

b. 4 4 4 4 4 = 5

c. 5 5 5 5 5 = 5

Can You Make Five? Answer

a. 3 × 3 + 3 + 3 ÷ 3 = 5

b. 4 - 4 + 4 ÷ 4 + 4 = 5

c. 5 - 5 + 5 - 5 + 5 = 5 = 5

Which Number is the Odd Man Out?

• Which number on this square is the

odd one out.

3 33 15 36

12 27 34 18

72 39 30 6

24 21 9 42

Which Number is the Odd Man Out?

Answer • 34: All the other numbers are evenly

divisible by 3.

3 33 15 36

12 27 34 18

72 39 30 6

24 21 9 42

Can You Stack the Boxes?

• Kenny had an after-school job at the

Pet Food Emporium. His boss told

him to stack 35 cartons of dog food

so that each row of cartons would

have one more than the row above it.

How many rows of cartons did Kenny

have when he was finished?

Can You Stack the Boxes? Answer

• 7 rows. 8 cartons in the bottom row, 2 in the top.