As a puzzle setter who is very conscious about acknowledging sources for puzzles that are not my own, one question I often ask myself is: having adapted an existing puzzle into a new setting, have I really made it my own? The answer is usually no.
This week's main puzzle is a special case. I have adapted it from a wonderfully engaging puzzle involving the arrangement of 11 items. What makes my version different is that, besides changing the setting, I have added a few extra conditions to the original. That still does not make it exclusively my puzzle, of course. The original appears in A Mensa Book of Logic Puzzles by Alan Wareham (Orient Paperbacks).
#Puzzle 205.1
Eleven classic novels stand in a row on a bookshelf in a library. I find each of them tempting, but in the end, I pick up only one of them.
(1) The horror classics Frankenstein and Dracula both stand to the right of the book I chose.
(2) Moby Dick and Animal Farm both stand to the left of the book I chose.
(3) Two of the books are by Jane Austen. Of these, Pride and Prejudice stands somewhere right of Emma.
{{/usCountry}}(3) Two of the books are by Jane Austen. Of these, Pride and Prejudice stands somewhere right of Emma.
{{/usCountry}}(4) Pride and Prejudice also stands somewhere right of Frankenstein.
(5) There are two titles by two of the Bronte sisters, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, with two other books (not by the sisters) standing between them.
(6) Two books stand between Wuthering Heights and Moby Dick
(7) Great Expectations (right) and Animal Farm (left) stand on either side of Wuthering Heights.
(8) I notice two children’s favourites, with Heidi standing somewhere to the left of Oliver Twist. There are seven books between these two.
(9) Six books stand between Dracula and Wuthering Heights.
(10) The book I finally choose stands in the middle of the row of 11, i.e. sixth from either left or right.
The original Mensa puzzle uniquely identified the central position, but not all of the remaining positions. I have added three extra clues to make the solution unique—or so I believe. If there is another valid solution that I have overlooked, I'd be delighted to hear from readers.
How are the titles ordered, and which one do I choose?
#Puzzle 205.2
Four centuries ago, the French poet and mathematician Claude Gaspar Bachet de Meziriac (1581-1638) described a mathematical trick to play on an audience. Step by step, it’s like this:
(1) Ask a spectator to think of a number, and multiply it by 3,
(2) The spectator tells you if the product is odd or even. If even, ask them to halve the product. If odd, ask them to add 1 to the product and then halve the sum
(3) Ask the spectator to multiply the result by 3
(4) Ask them to divide the above result by 9 and tell you the answer (ignoring the remainder if any).
His answer is, say, x. What is the number he chose?
MAILBOX: LAST WEEK’S SOLVERS
#Puzzle 204.1
Hi Kabir,
The venues of the first two matches can't be uniquely determined from the given information - the first match could be in Hyderabad and the second in Chennai or vice versa.
Monday (last quarter-final, Hyderabad / Chennai): Germany defeat Spain 3–2
Wednesday (first semifinal, Chennai / Hyderabad): Brazil defeat France 4–1
Thursday (second semifinal, Delhi): Argentina defeat Germany 5–4
Saturday (third place playoff, Mumbai): France defeat Germany 2–0
Sunday (final, Kolkata): Brazil defeat Argentina 6–3
There is another possible solution with the Monday match in Chennai, as far as the scores are concerned, as shown below.
Monday (last quarter-final, Chennai): Germany defeat Spain 3–2
Wednesday (first semifinal, Hyderabad): Brazil defeat France 5–1
Thursday (second semifinal, Delhi): Argentina defeat Germany 2–0
Saturday (third place playoff, Mumbai): France defeat Germany 4–3
Sunday (final, Kolkata): Brazil defeat Argentina 6–4
— Professor Anshul Kumar, New Delhi
#Puzzle 204.2
Dear Kabir,
The countries from the letter products are:
168 = CANADA
784 = GHANA
2268 = IRAN
2912 = PANAMA
Please note, JAPAN = 2240 is another four-digit product.
— Yadvendra Somra, Sonipat
Solved both puzzles: Professor Anshul Kumar (Delhi), Yadvendra Somra (Sonipat), Vinod Mahajan (Delhi), Ajay Ashok (Delhi)
Solved #Puzzle 204.2: Sabornee Jana (Mumbai), Dr Sunita Gupta (Delhi)
Problematics will be back next week. Please send in your replies by Friday noon to problematics@hindustantimes.com