18) Pat's Matching Pairs

Pat's pulling socks and mittens out of the closet. There are six identical mittens (they can be worn either on the left or the rigth hand) and nine identical-looking socks in the closet.

How many pieces of apparel had to be taken out of the closet in order to be sure to find: 1) a matching pair; 2) 3 identical matching pairs; and 3) 4 pairs of socks?

17) Little Freddie

In a few weeks little Freddie will celebrate his tenth birthday. In 11 years Freddie will be half the average age of his parents. His mother is only 17 years older than her son. How old are Freddie's father and mother?

16) Albert the Fat One

Four members of the Knott family intended to cross a lake in a small rubber dinghy. They soon discovered that it wouldn't carry more than 200 pounds, and that's what Albert weighed all by himself!

The rest of the Knott family were considierably lighter. Gigi, for instance, weighed in at only 104 pounds. Nita's weight was six pounds less, and all four Knotts together did not weigh more than 494 pounds. But weight was not the only problem. Nita Knott didn't know how to row (although everyone else, including Mona) did.

After considerable debate, teh Knotts figured out a way to cross the lake safely. What was their solution?

15) Goodbye Mr. Fisk

It was wartime when the Fisks found out they were going to have a baby. Harry Fisk was called to duty - a call he accepted bravely. He did not leave, however, until he had made out a will.

He determined that the money in a savings account - $14,000 - was to be divided between his wife and his child-to-be. If the child were a boy, his wife was to give him twice the amount of her portion. If the child were a girl, the mother would get tiwce the amount the girl was to receive.

We can't begin to understand what was going on in Mr. Fisk's mind to leave such a will. And we never will find out because, as fate would have ti, Mr. Fisk did not return. Mrs. Fisk gave birth to fraternal twins. You guess it - she had a boy and a girl!

How was the money divided?

14) Summer Home

The Gooch family, the McCoy family, a bachelor, and a couple without children have decided to buy a summer home together. They divided the purchase price based on the sizes of their families adn how much time they would be spending in the house.

The summer house costs $264,000. The smaller of the two families - the McCoys - have two children and will carry one third of the cost. The oarger of the two - the Gooch family - will pay three times the amount of the bachelor's share and twice the amount the couple will pay.

How much will each party have to pay, and what equity in the house are they buying for their money?

13) Three Generations

Grandfather Hooper figured out the following: "My son Charley is 24 years younger than I am and 35 years older than my grandson, Tiny Tim. Together our ages add up to 100."

How old are they?

12) Brothers

Richard is 33 years old today. This is three times as old as his brother Philip was when Richard was the age that Philip is today.

How old is Philips?

11) Mr. Hooper Takes a Nap

Mr. Hooper goes to work by a private bus that picks up all the company's employees. He gets on at the first stop and has a long way to go, so he usually naps along the way.

Today, Mr. Hooper is particularly tired. He falls asleep when the bus still has twice as far to go as it has already gone.

Halfway through the trip he wakes up as the bus bounces over some bad potholes. When he finally falls asleep again, the bus still has half the distance to go that it has already traveled. Mr. Hooper wakes up at the end of the trip.

What portion of the total trip did Mr. Hooper sleep?

10) Waterlilies

The lake had only one waterlily in the beginning of June. But then it rapidly became covered with waterlilies. The area covered doubled daily. By the end of June, the lake was completely covered.

1. At what point was half the lake covered with waterlilies?
2. How long would it take for two waterlilies to completely cover the lake?

9) Apple Cider

How can you measure one liter of apple cider out of a barrel, if all you have available is a 3-liter and a 5-liter pitcher?

8) Egg Salad

Farmer Tuttle has many hens. He knows that 20 of them, housed in three coops, will hatch 30 eggs in 18 days.

How long will it take for 30 hens, housed in four coops, to hatch the same number of eggs?

7) Identical Twins

Andrea and Bonnie are identical twins. Well, identical except for one thing: Andrea always tells lies, while Bonnie always tells the truth.

What question could you ask of the two of them in order to tell who is who?

6) Number Please

What is the smallest five-digit number in which the digit in the 10's place is twice the digit in the 1,000's place (and neither digit is zero)?

5) A Fair Split

A large cookie is to be divided between two children. They are both anxious to have the cutting done fairly so that the other doesn't end up with a bigger piece.

How can the children be sure that they have received a true half of the cookie?

4) Duet

1. A farmer combined two compost heaps with three others. How many compost heaps does he have?
2. A large family contains seven sons and each one of them has one sister. How many people are in the family?

3) Allowance

On the way home from school Tom found out that he got only half the allowance that Mark got. (Mark is not much older than Tom.) Suzi is three years older and receives three times what Tom gets. Together, the three receive $144.

How much is each student actually getting?

2) Classmates

Bob, Tim and Lisa are classmates, but they differ greatly in their heights. Tim is 14 inches taller than Lisa. The difference between Tim and Bob's height is two inches less than between Bob and Lisa's. Tim at 6 feet 6 inches is the tallest in the class.

How tall are Bob and Lisa?

1) 100 Storks

How long would it take 100 storks to catch 100 frogs when five storks need five minutes to catch five frogs?