[For Seniors] Exercise Your Brain with Fun Logic Puzzles!

Care Worker Initial Training Certification ObtainedNakajima Junko
Leveraging my experience working as a care worker at a day service, I am currently active as a writer in the caregiving and welfare fields. Beyond writing, I hope to expand my work into web design and illustration. I am a mother of three who has begun studying to become a certified social worker.

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 Exercise Your Brain with Fun Logic Puzzles! (11–20)

A thief stole a gold bar that was marked into seven equal sections. The thief’s boss promised to give a helper one section of the gold bar as payment each day. However, although the gold bar had dotted lines marking the seven sections, it hadn’t been cut yet. How can the bar be cut with just two cuts so that the payments can be made each day?

See the answer

Cutting a gold bar into one piece and two pieces

It’s hard to split it into seven equal parts with only a few cuts, isn’t it? If you also allow “taking back previously given payments,” you can find a solution. First, make two cuts so that the gold bar is divided into pieces of 1, 2, and 4 units. On day 1, give the 1-unit piece. On day 2, give the 2-unit piece and take back the 1-unit piece from day 1. On day 3, give the 1-unit piece. On day 4, take back all the pieces given so far and give the 4-unit piece. On day 5, give the 1-unit piece. On day 6, give the 2-unit piece and take back the 1-unit piece. Finally, on day 7, give the 1-unit piece remaining in the boss’s possession. This way, you successfully deliver one unit each day.

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Nakajima Junko