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[For Seniors] Exercise Your Brain with Fun Logic Puzzles!
This time, we’re introducing logic puzzles you can enjoy as a recreational activity!
A logic puzzle is one where you carefully read the problem statement, look for clues within the text, and use them to arrive at the answer.
Unlike quizzes that rely solely on knowledge, and different from riddles that hinge on flashes of inspiration, these puzzles have their own unique flavor.
Depending on the problem, there may be elements of calculation or trick questions, making them great for a mental workout.
Why not try answering with a free and flexible mindset, without overthinking it?
Logic puzzles tend to have longer statements, but this time we’ve prepared shorter ones.
Please feel free to use them as brain training for older adults.
[For Seniors] Let's Do Brain Training with Fun Logic Puzzles! (1–10)
Hanako bought one candy and one chocolate at a sweets shop. She paid 150 yen at the register, but the chocolate is said to be 100 yen more expensive than the candy. How much did each cost?
See the answer
Candy 25 yen, chocolate 125 yen
It looks like an easy problem, and you might think the answer comes right away. You might be tempted to say “the candy is 50 yen and the chocolate is 100 yen,” but let’s think carefully. If it’s 50 yen and 100 yen, the difference is 50 yen, so it wouldn’t be 100 yen more. For the total of 150 yen to have a difference of 100 yen, the candy should be 25 yen and the chocolate 125 yen. It’s a simple question, but with a clever twist.
There are two ropes made of exactly the same material. Each burns out in one hour if you light it from one end. Using their burning times, how should you initially light them in order to measure 45 minutes?
See the answer
Light both tips at the same time, and light only one side from both ends.
This is an interesting problem about measuring time using burning speed. Light both ropes at one end at the same time. Additionally, light both ends of one of the ropes. The rope that is lit at both ends will burn out in 30 minutes, right? At that moment, light the other end of the remaining rope. It will then burn out in half of 30 minutes, which is 15 minutes. That way, you can measure 45 minutes.
There were eight children and one pancake. You can only cut the pancake three times with a knife. How can you divide it into eight equal pieces?
See the answer
If you first cut the pancake horizontally from the side, you can divide it into eight equal pieces.
First, cut the pancake straight across from the side to split it into two equal halves. Next, slice it from the top with a knife twice to divide it into four equal parts. Altogether, the cut pancake becomes eight pieces! The idea of changing your perspective on how to cut—such as “cutting from the side”—is quite unique.
The day before yesterday Jiro was seven years old. On his next birthday, he will be ten. When is Jiro’s birthday? (Answer: December 31. The statement is made on January 1; two days earlier he was 7, he turned 8 yesterday, and will be 9 later this year and 10 on his next birthday.)
See the answer
December 31
Is it possible for someone's age to increase by three years all at once? It becomes possible if the reference point in the problem is January 1, 2021, crossing over the New Year! For example, if “the day before yesterday” was December 30, 2020, they were 7 years old, and then they had their birthday the next day on December 31, 2020, turning 8. At the time referred to in the problem—January 1, 2021—they are 8 years old, then they turn 9 on their birthday on December 31, 2021. Furthermore, on their next birthday, December 31, 2022, they turn 10. With keywords like “the day before yesterday” and “next year,” if you think more deeply, it leads to the answer—it's a fun puzzle.
A baby monkey is climbing a tree. The baby monkey climbs 3 meters in one minute and then immediately slips down 2 meters. How many minutes will it take to climb 10 meters?
See the answer
8 minutes
If you read the passage carefully and organize the information, you might be tempted to answer 10 minutes. In one minute, it goes forward 3 meters and back 2 meters, so it makes a net progress of 1 meter. It climbs 7 meters in 7 minutes, and then climbs 3 meters in the 8th minute, reaching 10 meters there. Once you know the answer, it’s one of those “I see” moments.
Three days before the day after tomorrow was Wednesday. What day is it today?
See the answer
Thursday
The key to solving the problem is to figure out what three days before the day after tomorrow is. It might be easier if you think of the day after tomorrow as a number. The day after tomorrow is two days from today, right? If you go forward two days and then back three days, you get Wednesday, so the answer is Thursday. It’s a problem you can enjoy by organizing the sentences in your head.
The dog lies on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and the cat lies on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. One day, both the dog and the cat said, “I lied yesterday.” What day of the week is it today? (Answer: Friday)
See the answer
Thursday
The only day when both of them don’t lie and tell the truth is Sunday. However, Saturday is the day the cat lies, so it cannot be Sunday. That means one of them is lying and the other is telling the truth. Organizing this from the problem statement, it must be Thursday. Only on Thursday is the dog’s statement “I lied yesterday” true, while the cat’s “I lied yesterday” is a lie.