Larry Campbell Brain Teasers

Brain Teasers – May/June 2022

NOTE:  Newest BTs in red, Bonuses in blue, comments in green, updates in purple.

  1. 6 + 5 – 4 x 3 ÷ 2 = ?
  2. Pure Trivia, no math 😊 What’s the only word in the English language that uses all five vowels, once each, and in order?!   (Update:  Apparently, there are at least two such words!)
  3. What’s the volume of a tank whose measurements are 80 cm x 1 meter x 600 mm?
  4. There are 3 separate boxes. Inside each box are two smaller boxes.  Inside each smaller box are 3 dice (number cubes).  What’s the sum of all the pips on all the dice?  (For those of you old enough, you can’t ask Gladys Knight. 😊)
  5.  Match the correct building tops below to the building foundations to correctly complete all buildings.mind teaser
  6.  Funny joke? (Saw this online.)  What’s the difference between a violin and a fiddle?  (Lots of answers here I suspect.)
  7.  A rectangle with sides x + 2 and 3x – 1 has perimeter of 18 units.  Find the value of x.
  8. If the radius of a circle is tripled, how much does the area of the circle increase?
  9. If 3y = 8.5, then what exactly is 6y + 5?
  10. What are the next three letters in the following sequence? J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, __, __, __
  11. An elevator is on the ground floor. There are four people in the elevator, including me. When the elevator reaches the first floor, one  three people get in. The elevator goes up to the second floor. Two people get out and six people get in.  Halfway up to the next floor, the cable snaps, and the elevator crashes to the floor. Everyone else in the elevator suffered injuries. How did I remain unscathed?
  12. How many even integers are there between -100 and 100, inclusive
  13. Place one or more plus signs (+) between the numerals to make a true statement:  3  9  2  5  1  7  8 = 242
  14. Find one fraction and one decimal between 1/98 and 1/99.  If this is not possible, tell why.
  15. In what month of the year do people generally sleep the least?
  16. How many squares are on a 3 x 3 mini-checkerboard?

BONUS 1:  How many sets of two initials (like LC, as in first/last name) would you need to have to BE SURE there were at least two sets of initials that are duplicates?
BONUS 2:  Are there any non-negative integers x where  2x < x2 ?

BONUS 3:  If (1/x) + (1/y) = 1/5, then what is the ratio of (x + y) to xy ?