Home › Forums › Decaffeinated Coffee › The Riddle Thread….
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December 27, 2011 4:30 pm at 4:30 pm #1069787squeakParticipant
1. If you replace the 90 in the sequence with 10^100, then the answer is 96. Otherwise, I have no idea.
December 27, 2011 4:44 pm at 4:44 pm #1069788feivelParticipant1) 96
December 28, 2011 1:15 pm at 1:15 pm #1069789stamamenMemberblinky got #5 correct.
ICOT got #’s 2 – 4 correct.
feivel got #1 correct.
squeak seems to have coincidentally gotten #1 correct with incorrect reasoning. Perhaps feivel can explain the logic.
That leaves #6 unresolved. ICOT, really there is no hints or Q&A allowed on these interview questions. But there isn’t only a single correct answer for that. Your “a)”‘s might be plausible, but isn’t the best response that was given for that question. (You’re playing with your life.) And there was no liquid mentioned, so assume none.
December 28, 2011 3:10 pm at 3:10 pm #1069790squeakParticipantJoe, please explain why 96 is correct. What is the pattern in the series you gave?
December 28, 2011 4:11 pm at 4:11 pm #1069791stamamenMemberSpell it out.
December 28, 2011 5:16 pm at 5:16 pm #1069792feivelParticipantyou know the pattern squeak.
and yes the possible flaw is that ninety could be replaced by googol.
you could answer either: googol is a name of a number but it does not follow the same system of nomenclature as all the other numbers listed in the series
or
you could say the series is arbitrarily limited to numbers of two digits or less, which of course should have more fairly been mentioned in the presentation of the problem.
December 28, 2011 5:17 pm at 5:17 pm #1069793squeakParticipantYes? what about when you spell it out? Lots and lots of numbers are spelled with x number of letters. For example, why 10 instead of 1? Both are 3 letters.
December 28, 2011 5:29 pm at 5:29 pm #1069794feivelParticipantits the largest number, of that many letters, using that particular nomenclature, however you define it.
if you dont like the nomenclature caveat then youre right.
you would have to change ninety to googol, and the next number in the series after ninetysix would be googolplex.
December 28, 2011 5:40 pm at 5:40 pm #1069795stamamenMemberOne googol would be correct (and a cleverer answer, considering who asked the question.) There wasn’t only one correct response.
December 28, 2011 5:57 pm at 5:57 pm #1069796feivelParticipantwhich makes me think:
actually im not sure if you COULD replace ninety with googol (and my googolplex answer would also be incorrect)
im not so sure that “googol” is a number.
one hundred is a number, two hundred is a number, is “hundred” a number? im inclined to say no, but i can see how one could argue yes (based on common understanding that stam hundred is one hundred)
December 29, 2011 4:51 am at 4:51 am #1069797stamamenMemberICOT (or anyone else): You want to take another shot at #6, or should I let the cat out of the bag?
December 29, 2011 10:03 pm at 10:03 pm #1069798I can only tryMemberstamamen-
Okey-dokey, you want more answers.
Here you go:
b) The balloon will move forward, stay in the same place, or move backward relative to the car. Since gas (i.e. regular air in this case) is compressible, it will undergo slight compression toward the read of the car due to inertial drag. Therefore:
B1) Under normal acceleration, the compression is negligible, so the balloon will move forward as initially explained.
B3) Under extreme acceleration, the air in the car will be compressed backward and the balloons inertia will combine to such a great extent that the balloon will actually move backward.
6) a) You saw the table in half. You then put the two halves together, making a whole. You exit the blender thru the whole.
December 30, 2011 4:45 am at 4:45 am #1069799stamamenMemberYou got these, but here is a longer winded explanation:
2. The near-universal intuition is that the balloon leans backward as you accelerate. Well, the intuition is wrong. Your job is to deduce how the balloon does move and to explain it to the interviewer.
Untie the helium balloon and let it hit the moonroof. It becomes a spirit level. The balloon is a “bubble” of lower-density helium in higher-density air, all sealed in a container (the car).
Gravity pulls the heavy air downward, forcing the light balloon against the moonroof.
When the car accelerates, the air is pushed backward, just as your body is. This sends a lighter-than-air balloon forward. When the car brakes suddenly, the air piles up in front of the windshield. This sends the balloon backward. Centrifugal force pushes the air away from the turn and sends the balloon toward the center of the turn. Of course, the same applies when the balloon is tied to something; it’s just less free to move. The short answer to this question is that the balloon nods in the direction of any acceleration.
4. Every page number has a digit in the units column. With N pages, that’s N digits right there. All but the first 9 pages have a digit in the tens column. That’s N – 9 more digits.
All but the first 99 pages have a digit in the hundreds column (accounting for N – 99 more digits).
I could go on, but not many books have more than 999 pages. A book with 1,095 digits in its page numbers won’t, anyway.
This means that 1,095 must equal:
N + (N – 9) + (N – 99).
This can be simplified to:
1,095 = 3N – 108.
That means that 3N = 1,203, or N = 401. That’s the answer, 401 pages.
December 30, 2011 4:56 am at 4:56 am #1069800stamamenMemberOkay, now the biggie, #6:
So how do you measure a talent for invention? The blender riddle encapsulates the process of inventing a new product. You begin by brainstorming. There are many possible answers, and you shouldn’t be in a hurry to settle for the first idea that seems “good enough.”
The two most popular serious answers to the blender riddle seem to be (1) lie down, below the blades and (2) stand to the side of the blades. There ought to be at least a nickel’s width of clearance between the whirring blades and the bottom or sides of the blender jar. Another common reply is (3) climb atop the blades and position your center of gravity over the axis. Hold tight.
None of the above answers scores you many points at Google. Former and current Google interviewers have said that the best answer they’ve heard is: Jump out of the jar.
Huh?
The question supplies an important clue: the word “density.” “Being shrunk to the size of a nickel” is not a realistic predicament. For starters, it might mean eliminating 99.99% of the neurons in your brain. To deal with a question like this, you have to decide where to suspend disbelief.
The fact that the interviewer mentions a detail like density is a nudge. It says that things like mass and volume matter in this question and that a successful answer can use simple physics.
That is the kernel of a good answer to the question.
December 30, 2011 5:19 am at 5:19 am #1069801stamamenMemberSo you really want that job at Google, huh? Okay, if you get all these Google interview questions correct you’re their next Executive V.P.:
7. Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.
8. What is the most beautiful equation you have ever seen? Explain.
Okay, okay, those are too open-ended for your nerves? Those we’ll be the extra-credit for you. Here are some more for you to answer:
9. Imagine a country where every family wants to have a boy. Every family keeps having children until they have a boy; then they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in this country? (Hint: Ignore multiple births, infertile couples, and couples who die before having a boy.)
10. Use a programming language to describe a chicken.
11. Look at this sequence:
1
1 1
2 1
1 2 1 1
1 1 1 2 2 1
What’s the next line?
December 30, 2011 5:28 am at 5:28 am #1069802stamamenMemberDid I mention that Google receives a million job applications a year? It’s estimated that only about 1 in 130 applications results in a job. By comparison, about 1 in 14 high-school students applying to Harvard gets accepted.
December 30, 2011 2:07 pm at 2:07 pm #1069803musicaldignityMembernoitallmr
I bet you had no clue that your post would be this popular when you posted your first post -_-
January 5, 2012 3:07 am at 3:07 am #1069804writersoulParticipantLateral Thinking Problems (from a website)
A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, coat, gloves and ski mask. He is walking down a back street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.
(There’s a book a lot like this paragraph. THAT WAS A MAJOR HINT.)
January 5, 2012 10:52 am at 10:52 am #1069805blinkyParticipantwritersoul- the answer to your last riddle is that there is no letter E found in it
And for the first one im just guessing- he was wearing reflectors
January 6, 2012 3:48 am at 3:48 am #1069806writersoulParticipantblinky- yes and no
January 6, 2012 4:30 am at 4:30 am #1069807not2brightMemberwritersoul:
1) It was the middle of the day and you don’t need streetlights when the sun is shining 🙂
2) He drank the punch and then poisoned it
-OR-
The punch contained some gluten and everyone else at the party had intense forms of celiac’s while he did not
-OR-
“Everyone else subsequently died of poisoning” not necessarily due to the punch, just later on in life they all happened to die from poisoning, and you seem to assume he did not die at all, in which case he happens to still be alive but eventually he will also die
Take Your Pick
January 6, 2012 6:01 pm at 6:01 pm #1069808I can only tryMemberwritersoul-
1) Clearly “It was during the day” is too obvious an answer. Therefore, the correct answer is, the man used to work in the Chernobyl power plant, so he now glows in the dark (boy, that was easy).
2) Same man. The activated charcoal he swallows daily for the radiation absorbed the poison.
3) The Chernobylian man wrote the paragraph. It’s very unusual – how many paragraphs do you know that are written by glow-in-the-dark men?
January 6, 2012 6:22 pm at 6:22 pm #1069809cinderellaParticipantwritersoul- The poison was in the ice. He drank the punch before the ice had melted.
January 6, 2012 7:35 pm at 7:35 pm #1069810writersoulParticipantnot2bright and cinderella: correct!
ICOT gets points for originality 🙂
What is
Pharology
machirology
melissopalynology
cytology
deltiology
esperatology
pulicology
selenology
gelotology
hippology
January 9, 2012 3:57 am at 3:57 am #1069811cheftzeMemberA ‘snooker’ table (measuring 8 metres by 4m) with 4 ‘pockets’ (measuring 0.5m and placed at diagonal slants in all 4 corners) contains 10 balls (each with a diameter of 0.25m) placed at the following coords:
2m,1m…(white ball)
…and red balls…
1m,5m… 2m,5m… 3m,5m
1m,6m… 2m,6m… 3m,6m
1m,7m… 2m,7m… 3m,7m
The white ball is then shot at a particular angle from 0 to 360 degrees (0 being north, and going clockwise).
Just to make it clear, a ball is ‘potted’ if at least half of the ball is in area of the ‘pocket’
Assuming the balls travel indefinitely (i.e. no loss of energy via friction, air resistance or collisions), answer the following:
a: What exact angle/s should you choose to ensure that all the balls are potted the quickest?
b: What is the minimum amount of contacts the balls can make with each other before they are all knocked in?
c: Same as b, except that each ball – just before it is knocked in – must not have hit the white ball on its previous contact (must be a red instead of course).
d: What proportion of angles will leave the white ball the last on the table to be potted?
January 9, 2012 9:42 pm at 9:42 pm #1069812feivelParticipantmachirology: the study of how to look like a very important person.
melissopalynology: the study of the friends of anyone named melissa.
deltology: investigating the inner workings of faucets
gelotology: the compiling of jello recipes
hippology: the study of why people put on weight after age 40
January 9, 2012 10:38 pm at 10:38 pm #1069813blinkyParticipantPharology- The study of Egyptian rulers
January 11, 2012 1:07 am at 1:07 am #1069814writersoulParticipantSorry, all wrong (though I like Feivel’s definitions better than the real ones (: )
However, I’m not so sure these were so fair of me to post, because they’re pretty obscure. Some knowledge of Greek and Greek mythology can help on many of them (along with some trivia knowledge).
To make up for it, another riddle (this time solvable!)
From a website:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the descriptions provided below and try to guess which proverb (old saying) they each represent. Don’t worry if you say the “proverb” in a slightly different way than shown in these answers. Over the years, there are many slightly different ways of expressing an old proverb!
If a large solid-hoofed mammal becomes available to you without compensation, refrain from casting your faculty for seeing into the oral cavity of such a creature.
Each vaporous mass suspended in the firmament has an interior decoration of metallic hue.
It is not advantageous to place the sum total of your barnyard collections into the same wicker receptacle.
Feathered bipeds of a kindred mind in their segregated environment associate with a high degree of amiability.
Deviation from the ordinary or common routine of existence is that which gives zest to man’s cycle of existence.
He who locks himself into the arms of Morpheus promptly at eventide, and starts the day before it is officially announced by the rising sun, excels in physical fitness, increases his economic assets and celebrates with remarkable efficiency.
Do not traverse a structure erected to afford passage over a waterway until the time of drawing nigh
A mobile section of petrified matter agglomerates no bryophytes.
Pulchritude pertains solely to the epidermis.
January 11, 2012 2:05 am at 2:05 am #1069815squeakParticipantDon’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Variety is the spice of life.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man miss all the nightlife.
Don’t cross the bridge until you come to it.
No use crying over spilled milk.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Beauty is only skin deep.
January 25, 2012 6:00 pm at 6:00 pm #1069816BaalHaboozeParticipantRIDDLE ME THIS:
1) Which is the next letter in this sequence? E N T J Q K ?
2) Which burns longer?
a) a birthday candle
b) a Chanuka candle
c) a Yartzeit candle
3) What travels around the world and stays in a corner?
January 25, 2012 9:29 pm at 9:29 pm #1069817writersoulParticipant2) a chanukah candle because it burns 8 days?
3) a stamp
January 25, 2012 9:51 pm at 9:51 pm #1069818tzaddiqMember1) ??
2) none, they all burn shorter
3) a stamp
January 26, 2012 3:57 pm at 3:57 pm #1069819BaalHaboozeParticipantAnswers:
1) “A” : playing cards
E ight
N ine
T en
J ack
Q ueen
K ing
A ce
2)correct tzaddiq
3) correct writesoul and tzaddiq
L’Chaim, L’Chaim!!
January 26, 2012 4:04 pm at 4:04 pm #1069820BaalHaboozeParticipant**first one to get these wins a prize**
name 10 things that are black and white
name 10 things that are multi-colored
name 10 things that are enormous in size but meaningless to you.
name 10 things that are small in size but incredibly important
March 22, 2012 3:15 pm at 3:15 pm #1069822Oh My GoshMember1) zebra, newspaper, penguin, Cow, Documents, Hubby’s Wardrobe, receipt,Chess Board, Panda Bears, UPC.
2) tissue box, glue stick, grocery bag, bedroom, vegetables, fruits, tuna can, google home page, box of crackers, ads on YWN.
3) Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Joe Biden, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Raegen, Abe Lincoln.
4) fingers, toes, heart, brain, liver, nose, mouth, eyes, ears,lungs.
March 22, 2012 6:57 pm at 6:57 pm #1069823BaalHaboozeParticipantoh my Gosh…you win!!! took a while, but you did it!
check’s in the mail with your prize of $100,000. congradulations!
March 23, 2012 12:01 am at 12:01 am #1069824Doodle-Manâ„¢Memberdo another contest(And higher the prize to 1,000,000)!
March 23, 2012 12:07 am at 12:07 am #1069825Doodle-Manâ„¢Memberstame amen the next numbers equal 13
March 23, 2012 12:26 am at 12:26 am #1069826Luna LovegoodParticipantWhat comes first the phoenix or the flame? 🙂
March 23, 2012 1:08 am at 1:08 am #1069827writersoulParticipantA circle has no beginning.
April 25, 2012 8:59 pm at 8:59 pm #1069828tzaddiqMembermore than 1 answer:
1. what’s round on the ends and high in the middle?
2. what’s black when clean, and white when dirty?
3. what’s blue and not heavy?
April 25, 2012 10:51 pm at 10:51 pm #1069829SaysMeMember1.a jelly donut? a mountain?
2.chalkboard!!
3.the sky?
April 26, 2012 12:35 pm at 12:35 pm #1069830tzaddiqMemberAnswers:
1) Ohio (O-HI-O)
2) chalkboard – correct, Saysme!
3) light blue
April 26, 2012 3:32 pm at 3:32 pm #1069831chocandpatienceMemberwhere has ICOT gone?
April 26, 2012 5:25 pm at 5:25 pm #1069832I can only tryMemberchocandpatience-
I’m right here ?
Thank you for asking.
April 27, 2012 7:28 pm at 7:28 pm #1069833I can only tryMemberHair, Thair, Everywhair
3) All bearded U.S. presidents had this trait in common.
4) How Caesar (supposedly) hid his baldness.
5) A near miss with disaster is sometimes called this.
6) An audacious, dangerous and risky act is sometimes metaphorically referred to as this.
7) A famous Sherlock Holmes short story references this fictional group.
8) This garment is worn by religious fanatics to make them physically uncomfortable.
10) This is what camel-hair brushes are really made of (usually).
11) Edward Teach was better known and feared by this nickname.
12) Recommended cure for a hangover.
15) By law, food service workers must wear these.
16) This soldier’s safety device may not fit bearded men properly.
April 30, 2012 12:23 am at 12:23 am #1069834writersoulParticipantWhat is wrong with this statement?
April 30, 2012 1:15 am at 1:15 am #1069835SaysMeMemberwritersoul- it isn’t one! 🙂 i liked it tho
April 30, 2012 1:46 am at 1:46 am #1069836writersoulParticipant1) Amish
4) Laurel wreath
5) Close shave
7) Red-headed League (I love that story!)
8) Hair shirt
9) Turtle was dropped on his head
11) Blackbeard
15) Hairnet
16) Gas mask
April 30, 2012 2:44 am at 2:44 am #1069837OneOfManyParticipant14) the rhino
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