tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:00:05 +0000AlgorithmsProgrammingLanguageMathematicsNumbersProbabilityCryptogramRiddlesWordProblemsForCGamesGeometryHashiSolutionsphysicsPuzzle me this. Or that. But not both!http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)Blogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-7736285978753405458Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:38:00 +00002008-01-23T09:42:40.879-06:00CryptogramWordProblemsthe daily puzzle over at this site... there are some clues if you follow the link ...... e.g. the first two words are the person's name ...http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/cryptograph-cryptogram-with-picture.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-778117269419211350Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:10:00 +00002008-01-21T23:17:24.353-06:00Found these short ones on a website:1) What is it that you can break just by calling its name?2) He who knows it, doesn't tell it. He who takes it, doesn't know it. He who has it, doesn't want it. What is it?3) What must you keep, after giving it to someone else?4) What belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/just-plain-riddles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mrLee)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-400106025498138377Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:24:00 +00002008-01-14T06:45:27.668-06:00physicsQuestion #1:You are driving to a birthday party with a friend. You have a helium balloon suspended between you two in the front seat, not quite touching the ceiling. The road takes a sharp turn to the left, causing you and your friend to feel you are being pushed toward the right. Does the balloon lean toward you, or toward your friend?Question #2:You have a toilet, whose water jets are http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/physics-in-all-directions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mrLee)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-8023570335377115267Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:27:00 +00002008-01-09T12:46:32.196-06:00Hashior simple Hashi is another one of those wonderfuly addictive logic/math puzzles with a non-English name.The Rules (from wikipedia):Hashiwokakero is played on a rectangular grid with no standard size, although the grid itself is not usually drawn. Some cells start out with (usually encircled) numbers from 1 to 8 inclusive; these are the islands. The rest of the cells are empty. [Other sites reporthttp://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/hashiwokakero.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-493027063086839329Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:05:00 +00002008-01-03T12:20:40.270-06:00ForCForCIn Scotland, the new year is ushered in by rolling flaming tar-filled barrels down streets (Jan-1)Studies show that 12.5% of people drop their New Year's resolutions by week three (Jan-2)Avocados have 60% more potassium than bananas (Jan-3)** I got a Fact or Crap tear-away-a-day calendar as a Christmas gift and have brought it to work. I will try and post a few of the better ones once a weekhttp://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/forc-tar-filled-barrels-of-resolute.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-5439838114635034190Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:14:00 +00002008-01-03T08:19:17.982-06:00MathematicsA Scalable Solution Might Be KeyImagine a series of positive real numbers defined so that each next number is a direct math function of the one preceding it such thatevery Xn = f(Xn-1)Require further that after the function is applied about 5 to 25 times the number ends up exactly doubled, that is every Xn = 1/2 Xn+j where 5 <= j <= 25 In other words, I want all series members to always have thehttp://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2008/01/scalable-solution.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-7268794021165237587Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:22:00 +00002007-12-26T10:28:37.255-06:00LanguageHow many words can you find in the english language that begin with the letters dw- ? Multiple forms of the same word and compound phrases using the same word do not count (e.g. if the word is paint, you cannot also cite paints, painted, painting; if the word is book, you can't also cite books, book shelf, etc.). Also poorly pronounced words don't count (e.g. "Gimme 'nother D'wers on the rocks").http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/12/damn-words.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mrLee)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-2422977696436813374Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:28:00 +00002007-12-22T10:38:01.767-06:00RiddlesYou have a friend living in a police state. The police open everything they can, inspect and read it, and then deliver it. They deny they do this. You want to send your friend something in a box that the police won't see.Both you and your friend have your own sturdy boxes, pad locks, and keys. Neither of you has keys to the other's locks. If you send your friend a box with no pad lock, and http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/12/box-locks-n-keys.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mrLee)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-1854122527507848832Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:12:00 +00002007-12-15T17:25:50.586-06:00 Phonetics are like rules of how to sound out words from their component letter combinations. Of course sometimes the same combinations may make two sounds (low, cow). Sometimes different combinations make the same sound (two, too, to). When a language borrows from multiple cultures, it ends up with words based on completely different phonetics, classroom exceptions that cause confusion.1) http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/12/phoneme-failures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mrLee)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-565151956362574629Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:30:00 +00002007-12-12T14:02:23.279-06:00CryptogramLanguageHere is a random cryptogram from Cryptograms.org. If you find a solution, please post the aprox. amount of time it took you and/or any things that tripped you up. If you can't figure it out (probably me) let us know what you did get, etc. If you need help on how to try and solve cryptograms, check out your local paper, the website or wikipedia it.Sorry if the image doesn't turn out. There http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/12/pat-sajak-give-me-q.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-770539792202877722Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:42:00 +00002007-12-07T16:02:45.679-06:00ProgrammingLets say you have a database product table with the following columns: id (numeric key), name (text), type (text), distributer(foreign key).Lets also say you need to find all of the product types for a given category. Oh, and you need a candidate product_id for each product type (doesn't matter which one, but it must be a key of a record who has that type).What is the best way to write a SQL http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/12/when-is-something-too-distinct.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-2823232150134328573Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:54:00 +00002007-11-29T12:59:29.555-06:00AlgorithmsProgrammingSorry to anyone who doesn't like the programming puzzles...Write an itoa function in C w/o using sprintf or the (non)standard itoa.itoa takes in an integer and returns a character array representation of that integer, ex: 1234 -> ['1', '2', '3', '4']If you're not a programmer you can spell out your solution in words, buts its way easier that way...I'll share my solution in the comments later if http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/itoa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Berridge)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-465654459360276380Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:01:00 +00002007-11-20T10:13:13.255-06:00AlgorithmsGamesProbabilityOccasionally I play Solitaire on my iPod. After losing several games in a row (by lose, I mean I can't find anything more to do and I haven't finished the game) I wondered what percentage of games can be won and if there is any "better" methodology or rules to doing it that will yield a higher number of wins versus another. Pure guessing leads me to believe that there are games that can't be wonhttp://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/losing-to-yourself.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-7768251343358831510Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:08:00 +00002007-11-19T09:16:15.094-06:00AlgorithmsGeometryProgrammingThe angle between the hour and minute hands of an analog clock is always between 0 and 180 degrees, inclusive. For example, at 12:00 the angle between the hands is 0 degrees. At 6:00 the angle is 180 degrees, and at 3:00 the angle is 90 degrees.Write a function that given an arbitrary time in the form of two integers (the first representing an hour between 1 and 12 inclusive and the second as http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-it-quitn-time-yet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-9200092568516881169Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:34:00 +00002007-11-16T08:45:29.138-06:00LanguageRiddlesWordProblemsWhat occurs twice in a lifetime, but once in every year.Twice in a week but never in a day?-------------Using the letter grid below, how many words can you find. Each word must contain the central H and no letter can be used twice, however, the letters do not have to be connected. Proper nouns are not allowed, however, plurals are. There is at least one nine letter word. Advanced: 50+ words. http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-word-was-where.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-5451113214266016439Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:59:00 +00002007-11-14T12:08:32.817-06:00MathematicsNumbersA freshman CPS major was practicing octal arithmetic on a problem he made up himself. He eventually exclaimed, "OK, I've got it!" and wrote:572 + 167 + 434 = 1315 (all numbers octal)After just a few seconds glance the grad student tutoring him said "Nope, sorry that's still wrong". Was the grad student right? How could he reach this conclusion without having time to do the arithmetic?Submitted http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/are-you-smarter-than-grad-student.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-646840856449867705Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:57:00 +00002007-11-09T10:11:35.070-06:00MathematicsIn a group of 200 people, everybody has a non burning candle. On person has a match at lights at some moment his candle. With this candle he walks to somebody else and lights a new candle. Then everybody with a burning candle will look for somebody without a burning candle, and if found they will light it. This will continue until all candles are lit. Suppose that from the moment a candle is lit http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/who-remembers-math-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-7635228796357163881Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:51:00 +00002007-11-05T13:58:59.371-06:00ProbabilitySuppose that Monty Hall (on TV's Let's Make a Deal) asks you to choose between three doors: #1, #2, and #3. Behind a random door is a new Rolls Royce. Behind each of the other two doors is a goat. Let's assume that you would prefer a Rolls Royce to a goat. You choose a door. Now, Monty, who knows which door hides the Rolls Royce, shows you a goat behind one of the two doors that you did not http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/raining-goats-w-black-socks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-5934706703999785887Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:28:00 +00002007-11-02T14:30:10.053-05:00If you have seen die hard with a vengance you might know ONE of the sequences that answer this puzzle. For bonus points figure out both of them.Puzzle - If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/11/die-hard.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-6022400800766150617Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:06:00 +00002007-10-31T12:32:09.704-05:00AlgorithmsProgrammingSolutionsI made some progress on the previous puzzle that I didn't think would fit in a comment ...After trying to aproach the problem from a pattern standpoint and being unable to come up with a simple (if X, do Y, else do Z...) kind of solutions and after talking with my dad and reading his ideas about the mathematics behind a solution I decided to write up a brute force solution that might at least gethttp://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/10/toggle-this-continued.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-3931386499004067698Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:26:00 +00002007-10-25T15:55:03.063-05:00AlgorithmsNumbersWe have a square grid of n rows and n columns, i.e. it contains n*n squares in all. Each square can be either on or off. now we have a toggle operation such that if it is applied on any square it toggles all the squares that have a side common to the square(including the square itself). So, in a 3*3 matrix we have initially all off then when we perform toggle on say (2,2) then (1,2) (2,1) (2,2) (http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/10/toggle-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-7026978879730692468Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:41:00 +00002007-10-25T10:25:55.942-05:00ProbabilityOn the occasion of his receiving second Nobel prize, Dr. Linus Pauling, the chemist, remarked that, while the chances of any person in the world receiving his first Nobel prize were one in several billion (the population of the world), the chances of receiving the second Nobel prize were one in several hundred (the total number of living people who had received the prize in the past) and that http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/10/ants-and-nobel-prize-winners-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-5949925004223266630Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:06:00 +00002007-10-18T12:14:20.825-05:00AlgorithmsNumbersIf the integers from 1 to 999,999,999 are written as words, sorted alphabetically, and concatenated, what is the 51 billionth letter?To be precise: if the integers from 1 to 999,999,999 are expressed in words (omitting spaces, 'and', and punctuation[1]), and sorted alphabetically so that the first six integers http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/10/word-numbers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-8429429761982560458Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:49:00 +00002007-10-17T11:06:25.698-05:00ProgrammingPuzzle -Switch the values of two variables without using a third temporary variable.Sample Input -var A = 5var B = 10Sample Output -var A = 10var B = 5 http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/2007/10/no-temps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396158869350108808.post-6253151368279217056Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:00:00 +00002007-10-17T10:00:50.338-05:00A place for math, logic, and programming puzzles to come togetherin a wonderful "keep my brain awake at work" kind of way. If you would like to add your own puzzles, let one of the current authors know.http://puzzlexor.blogspot.com/1999/09/puzzle-me-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Benjamin P Lee)