30 Brain Teaser Interview Questions & Detailed Answers

If you have learned about consulting interviews, the term "Brain Teasers" is certainly familiar to you at some stage, however, are recruiters really using it in interviews or is this just a myth? According to a senior consultant/interviewer of McK and BCG, the use of brainteasers differs across the tiers:

  • Not used in MBB
  • Sometimes used in Tier 2 firms (Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, etc.)
  • Frequently used in Tier 3 firms (Arthur D. Little, etc.)

Brain Teasers are now being used less in interviews by consultants since they have recognized the limitations of brain teasers as an assessment tool and have shifted their focus to more practical case interviews that reflect the actual work of a consultant. 

However, not all consulting businesses share the same opinion. In fact, many consulting firms still utilize brainteasers to seek out candidates who are capable of thinking rationally and creatively under pressure. Hence, to best prepare for the interviews, you should learn something about this subject.

Table of Contents

What are Brain Teasers in Consulting Interviews?

Brain teasers are “trick questions”.

Brain teasers are puzzles or problems that require a candidate to use logic, creativity, and critical thinking to arrive at a solution . These quizzes come in various forms, such as math problems, logic puzzles, or situational challenges and also can be applied in a wide range of cases in different fields. 

Brain teasers aim to test the ability of people to think outside the box, analyze complex situations, and solve problems under pressure.

Brain teasers used to be important

According to former consultant of Accenture , brain teasers were used to be an important part of consulting interviews as they are not placed in a business setting so it can provide the company with insights regarding how applicants apply logic and creative thinking to solve problems outside of expertise areas. 

This can be necessary when assessing freshmen without much work experience, hence, it also allowed the employer to see how the candidates responded under pressure when confronted with a novel problem

Another reason is they provide a means of testing a candidate's analytical and problem-solving skills which is a critical skill for a consultant as they are often called upon to solve difficult business problems for their clients. They often involve a complex scenario or ambiguous problem that requires candidates to think outside the box or use data to make informed decisions. 

Additionally, brain teasers can also provide insights into a candidate's communication skills . Consulting firms tend to look for candidates who can not only solve complex problems but also communicate their thought process and reasoning successfully. 

As consultants must be able to convey their ideas to customers, coworkers, and stakeholders so the capacity to explain a solution succinctly and clearly is a requirement.

Examples of brain teasers used in consulting interviews

Examples of brain teasers used in consulting interviews vary in complexity and can range from simple math problems to more intricate logic puzzles. 

One example of a brain teaser is the "Three Light Bulbs Problem." In this scenario, a candidate is presented with a room containing three light bulbs and a single switch outside the room. 

The challenge is to determine which light bulb corresponds to which switch, using only one entry into the room.

Consulting firms may also present situational challenges as brain teasers.

For example, the "Airline Seating Problem" involves an airline flight with 100 seats and 100 passengers. The first passenger has lost their boarding pass and decides to sit in a random seat. Each subsequent passenger will either sit in their assigned seat or take a random unoccupied seat. 

The candidate must determine the probability that the last passenger will sit in their assigned seat.

Types of brain teasers you might face in consulting interviews  

problem solving interview riddles

There are seven common types of brain teasers that consulting firms may use in interviews.

Illusion question : 

Generating false impressions and focusing your attention on unimportant details and can lead you to miss the crucial information

Question 1:

Is it possible for a man in California to marry his widow's sister?

Question 2:

A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 die. How many are left?

Question 3:

How many two-cent stamps are there in a dozen?

Question 4:

If a doctor gives you three pills, telling you to take one every half hour, how many minutes will pass from taking the first pill to the last pill?

Question 5:

Two U.S. coins add up to 30 cents. If one of them is not a nickel, what are the two coins?

No. The word “his widow” signifies that the man has died.

9 sheeps. The question tries to lure you into calculating “17-9=8” when the answer is right there.

12 stamps. You didn't try to multiply 12 with 2, did you?

60 minutes. There are only 2 30-minute intervals, not 3.

A nickel (5 cents), and a quarter (25 cents). This question tricks you into thinking neither coin is a nickel.

Draw-explanation question : 

Providing you with a peculiar and improbable situation, and you have to develop an answer that fully explains the circumstances

A doctor's son's father was not a doctor. How is this possible?

A woman and daughter walked into a restaurant. A man walked past and the women both said “Hello, Father”. How is this possible?

Donald brought his wife to the hospital because she was suffering from appendicitis. The doctors removed her appendix. Five years later, the very same Donald brings his wife in, again for appendicitis. How is this possible?

A horse jumps over a castle, then lands on a man. The man disappears. What's happening?

A man was born in 1945, but he's only 30 years old now. How is this possible?

The doctor is the mother.

The man is a priest, or his name is Father.

Donald divorced and remarried.

1945 was the number of the hospital room.

Wording question : 

Including at least one word that can be interpreted into multiple meanings as well as misleadingly suggested by the context, usually different from the default interpretation in your mind, makes the question inexplicable 

What two words, when combined, hold the most letters?

People who smoke are much more likely to develop lung cancer than those who do not smoke. What research would possibly show that cigarette smoking does not cause cancer?

Make one word from all the following jumbled letters: R E O D N O W

What kind of cheese is made backwards?

What has four legs but only one foot?

“Post” and “office”.

One that shows an indirect relationship between smoking and lung cancer, i.e “smoking causes X, X causes lung cancer”. The key here is to look at “cause” as a direct relationship.

“One word”.

Edam cheese.

Pattern/trend questions : 

Involve a series of numbers or letters with a certain pattern or trend and your task is to either identify the following thing or fill in the gap.

What is the next number in the following sequence: 0 0 1 2 2 4 3 6 4 8 5 ?

What is the next letter in the following series: Y Z V W S T P Q ?

Which verb does not belong with the others in this set?

BRING BUY CATCH DRAW FIGHT SEEK TEACH THINK

MUSIC : VIOLIN is similar to:

(a) notes : composer / (b) sound : musical instrument / (c) crayon : drawing / (d) furniture : carpentry tools / (e) symphony : piano

What is the next number in the following sequence: 125, 64, 27, 8?

Number “10”

The sequence alternates between two different patterns:

Pattern 1: Incrementing by 1 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 

Pattern 2:  Incrementing by 2 (0, 2, 4, 6, 8)

Letter “R”

The series alternates between two different patterns:

Pattern 1: Moving two letters forward in the alphabet (Y, V, S, P ...) Pattern 2: Moving one letter forward in the alphabet (Z, W, T, Q ...)

“THINK” is a mental process rather than a physical action

(b) sound : musical instrument

The next number in the sequence is 1=3^1.

125 = 5^3 

64 = 4^3 

27 = 3^3 

Logical questions : 

The least mind-bending format of them all, these questions typically don't include any creativity, illusions, or tricks, so you can solve them with just your pure math skills and logical reasoning.

A boy and a girl are sitting on a bench. “I’m a girl,” says the child with brown hair. “I’m a boy,” says the child with blond hair. If at least one of them is lying, which one is lying?

An explorer found a silver coin marked 7 BC. He was told it was a forgery. Why?

A bus can hold x people. It was half full from the start, and at the first stop, y people got off. How many people can now get on the bus?

What day follows the day before yesterday if two days from now will be Sunday?

During lunch hour a group of boys from Mr. Bryant’s homeroom visited a nearby grocery store. One of the five took an apple.

Jim said, “It was Hank or Tom”.

Hank said, “Neither Eddie nor I did it.”

Tom said, “Both of you are lying.”

Don said, “No, one of them is lying, the other is speaking the truth.”

Eddie said, “No, Don, that is not true.”

When Mr. Bryant was consulted, he said, “Three of these boys are always truthful but two will lie every time.”

Who took the apple?

Both are lying. If any of them told the truth, they would deliver one same answer.

At the start, the number of vacant seats on the bus was x/2. After the first bus stop it becomes x/2 + y.

Thursday. Today is Friday because “two days from now will be Sunday”. “day follows the day before yesterday” is just yesterday, so it’s Thursday.

Tom took the apple

Jim Hank, and Eddie were telling the truth

Tom and Don were lying

Letter-trick question:

These questions are twisted which plays with the organization demonstration and composition of letters, forcing us to consider them from a variety of perspectives.

What does this mean? “GGES EGSG SEGG ESGG”

What does this mean? “ROFORKAD”

What does this mean? “CCCCCCC”

What does this mean? “F AST”

What does this mean? “GR 12” AVE”?

Scrambled eggs.

Fork in the road.

Seven seas.

One foot in the grave.

Market-sizing and guesstimate questions : 

Guesswork questions that require respondents to make predictions about a topic in a given area using data to make informed decisions, and  effectively convey their thought process. 

This is one of the most popular types of brain teaser questions and is still widely used by recruiters. To gain a better understanding of this particular queries, you might read the article: Market-sizing & estimate questions.

→ You can also learn more about these 7 types of questions and how to solve them in the video: Solving ANY Brain Teasers After This Video. For Real!

Why Consulting Firms rarely use Brain Teasers in Interviews now?

Unfortunately, a lot of consulting firms have shifted away from using brain teasers in their interview processes for a number of reasons. Firstly, brain teasers may test a candidate's analytical and problem-solving abilities, they do not necessarily reflect the types of problems that consultants face in their day-to-day work .

Secondly, brain teasers can be intimidating for candidates and may not provide an accurate representation of their abilities . Candidates who are perfectly capable of solving complex business problems may struggle with brain teasers simply due to the pressure of the interview environment. This can result in an inaccurate assessment of a candidate's abilities and potential, leading to missed opportunities for both the candidate and the consulting firm.

Lastly, consulting firms have recognized the importance of diversity and inclusivity in their recruitment processes. Brain teasers may disadvantage candidates who have not had the opportunity to develop specific skills or who come from non-traditional backgrounds. 

By focusing on case interviews, which present candidates with real-world business problems that they may encounter as a consultant, consulting firms can provide a more level playing field for all candidates, regardless of their background or previous experience. This type of assessment is more reflective of the skills and abilities required for success as a consultant.

How to succeed in Consulting Interviews' Brain Teasers section?

Five ways to practice for brain teasers in consulting interviews.

Preparing for brain teasers in consulting interviews can be challenging, as they require a unique set of skills and abilities. However, with the right approach and practice, candidates can improve their performance and increase their chances of success. Below are some ways to practice for brain teasers in consulting interviews:

  • Start with basic brain teasers: Before tackling more complex brain teasers, it's essential to start with basic puzzles and problems. This will help you develop your problem-solving skills and build confidence in your abilities.
  • Focus on different types of brain teasers : There are many various types of brainteasers, such as word-based challenges, logical inquiries, and mathematics puzzles. Working on a number of different brainteasers to prepare yourself for the types of problems you may encounter in a consulting interview.
  • Practice online resources: There are many online resources available that offer practice brain teasers and puzzles. Websites like  BrainDen and Mentalup offer a variety of riddles and mental challenges, practicing in conjunction with Case Interview Programs will help you to be more equipped to handle a great situation during the interview.
  • Time management: In a consulting interview, time is often a factor, and candidates are expected to solve problems quickly and efficiently. Practice timing yourself when solving brain teasers to improve your speed and accuracy.
  • Practice under pressure: Consulting interviews can be high-pressure situations, and candidates may feel anxious or stressed during the interview process. Practice solving brain teasers under pressure to simulate the interview environment and prepare yourself for the real thing.

Five tips for solving brain teasers in consulting interviews

Similar to other tests and examinations, the brain teaser in consulting interviews also has some helpful tips to use. Some resharpers that may improve candidates' performance include:

  • Read the problem carefully:  The key to solving brain teasers is to understand the problem fully. Read the problem carefully, and make sure you understand what is being asked before attempting to solve the problem.
  • Break the problem down: Brain teasers can be complex and challenging, but breaking the problem down into smaller parts can help make it more manageable. Identify the key elements of the problem and work on solving each element individually before putting them together.
  • Use logic and reasoning: Try to use reasoning and creativity as you go through the brainteaser to come up with solutions. This may involve attempting different approaches, speculating, or using your understanding of science, math, or other disciplines to assist in solving the issue.
  • Draw diagrams and visualize the problem: Drawing diagrams and visualizing the problem can help you understand the problem better and find a solution. Use it in a way that helps you see the problem from different angles and perspectives.
  • Think outside the box: Brain teasers are designed to be challenging and require creative thinking to solve. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and explore unconventional solutions to the problem.

Four common mistakes when solving brain teasers during interviews

Nevertheless, there are some common mistakes that inexperienced candidates often have, preventing them from performing to their full potential. Here are a few things to steer clear of during the interview:

  • Making assumptions : Brain teasers often require candidates to make assumptions, but it's essential to make only necessary assumptions and not make assumptions that are not supported by the problem.
  • Explaining your thought unclearly: In a consulting interview, showing your thought is just as important as getting the right answer. Show your work and explain your thought process to demonstrate your problem-solving skills.
  • Rushing to a solution: Time is often a factor in consulting interviews, but rushing to a solution without fully understanding the problem can lead to mistakes and errors.
  • Overcomplicating the problem: Don't overcomplicate the problem by adding unnecessary complexity. Stick to the basics and use common sense to arrive at a solution.

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8 Tough Brain Teaser Interview Questions from Google, Apple and Facebook

By Biron Clark

Published: November 16, 2023

Silicon Valley tech companies are famous for asking some pretty crazy brain-teaser interview questions… I wanted to find out exactly what these questions involve. And how difficult they are to answer. So I spent a day on Glassdoor.com and a few other sites to come up with the 8 hardest and most interesting logical interview questions out there. And not just from any companies…We’re going to look at 4 tech giants known for having the toughest interviews:

Time to see how many you can answer!

Facebook Brain Teaser Interview Questions and Answers:

Question 1:.

A Russian gangster kidnaps you. He puts two bullets in consecutive order in an empty six-round revolver, spins it, points it at your head and shoots. *click* You’re still alive. He then asks you, “do you want me to spin it again and fire or pull the trigger again right away?” For each option, what is the probability that you’ll be shot?

Answer…

The key hint here is that the bullets were loaded adjacent to each other.

There are 4 ways to arrange the revolver with consecutive bullets so that the first shot is blank. These are the possible scenarios:

The other two scenarios would have meant you got shot on the first attempt. (BBxxxx) or (BxxxxB)

Now look at the second slot in those 4 possible scenarios above. Your odds of getting shot are 1/4 or 25%. (Only #1 would get you shot)

But if you respin… there are 2 bullets remaining and 6 total slots. 2/6 or 33%.

Question 2:

You’re about to get on a plane to Seattle. You want to know  if it’s raining. You call 3 random friends who live there and ask each if it’s raining. Each friend has a 2/3 chance of telling you the truth and a 1/3 chance of messing with you by lying. All 3 friends tell you that “Yes” it is raining. What is the probability that it’s actually raining in Seattle?  

You only need 1 of your friends to be telling the truth for it to be raining in Seattle.

It’s fastest just to calculate the odds that all 3 are lying, and it’s not raining.

Each friend has a 1/3 chance of lying. Multiply the odds together… you get 1/27 (1/3 * 1/3 * 1/3).

We’re not done yet though… 1/27 is the probability that all 3 friends lied at the same time.

The probability that at least 1 told you the truth? 26/27 or around a 96% that it’s raining in Seattle.

Google Brain Teaser Interview Questions and Answers:

Question 3:.

You have a 3 gallon jug and 5 gallon jug, how do you measure out exactly  4 gallons?  

We know we can’t get the final result in the 3 gallon jug. It’ll overflow. We need to end up with 4 gallons in the 5 gallon jug.

First fill the 3 gallon jug.

Then pour the 3 gallons into the 5 gallon jug.

Now the 3 gallon jug is empty, and the 5 gallon jug has 3 gallons in it.

Fill the 3 gallon jug again. Slowly pour into the 5 gallon jug. Only 2 gallons will fit because it already has 3. Now it’s full.

Exactly 1 gallon is left in the 3 gallon jug.

Dump out the 5 gallon jug.

Pour your 1 gallon into the 5 gallon jug.

Fill up the 3 gallon jug one more time and pour it into the 5 gallon jug! You have exactly 4 gallons (and possibly a job at Google)

Question 4:

Why are manhole covers round?

Good news: If you’re tired of math questions this one will give you a break. Manhole covers are round because it’s the only shape that cannot fall through itself. The cover can never accidentally fall down the hole. Microsoft has been known to ask this question and according to Glassdoor.com, Google is asking this too now.

Apple Brain Teaser Interview Questions and Answers:

Question 5:  .

There are three boxes, one contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled such that no label identifies the actual contents of its box. Opening just one box, and without looking in the box, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly?  

So, you know all 3 boxes are incorrectly labeled.

Go to the box labeled “Apples + Oranges.” Since the label is wrong, it must have one or the other.

This is the box to take one piece of fruit from. Whichever comes out is what that box contains. If you took out an apple, the box has only apples. If you took out an orange, vice versa.

Here’s where it gets tricky a bit tricky. But we’re almost done…

Let’s say you grabbed an apple. Move the “Apples” label over to that box. Now it’s correctly labeled.

You know the “Oranges” box is still labeled wrong (because all 3 were labeled wrong to start and you haven’t touched it). And you know it’s not “Apples”.

So it has to be “Apples + Oranges”.

The last box is “Oranges”.

The same process above would work if you had pulled out an orange at the start.

Question 6: 

You have 100 coins laying flat on a table, each with a head side and a tail side. 10 of them are heads up, 90 are tails up. You can’t feel, see or in any other way find out which 10 are heads up. Your goal: split the coins into two piles so there are the same number of heads-up coins in each pile.  

By pure coincidence… this is a trick my friend Mike showed me last summer. It blew my mind back then but hopefully it’ll make sense as I write it out.

You want an equal number of heads in each pile. There are currently 10 of them. You don’t know which but it doesn’t matter. All you have to do… take any 10 coins out of the 100, put them into a separate pile, and flip those 10 over.

That’s pile #1.

Pile #2 is the remaining 90 coins, unflipped. Just leave them.

You’re done. Seriously.

You can do this with any number of coins. If you had 20 coins, and 18 were heads, you’d need to take 18 of them (it doesn’t matter which) into a separate pile and flip those 18. That’s pile #1.

If you had 10 coins and 3 were heads, you’d take 3 random coins into a new pile and flip those 3 for your first pile, and the rest are your second pile.

Crazy right?

If you don’t believe me just grab some pennies and try it. There are no exceptions and it doesn’t need to be an even amount of “heads” to begin with either. It can also be zero. Or all.

LinkedIn Brain Teaser Interview Questions and Answers:

Question 7: .

You’re in a room with three light switches, each of which c ontrols one of three light bulbs in the next room. You need to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are off to begin, and you can’t see into one room from the other. You can inspect the other room only once. How can you find out which switches are connected to which bulbs?  

Let’s call the switches 1, 2, and 3.

Leave switch 1 off.

Turn switch 2 on for ten minutes.

Now turn it off and quickly turn on switch 3.

Go into the room and inspect…

The bulb that is still warm but not lit up is controlled by switch 2. The one that’s currently lit up is switch 3. The last one is switch 1.

Question 8: 

How many golf balls would fit into a Boeing 747?

This last one is tough, but they don’t expect you to get an accurate answer. If you get a question like this (and there are a ton of variations- basketballs in a room, cellphones in Manhattan, etc.) they want to see your thought process. The hiring manager is going to look at how you work your way through it and attempt to figure it out.

If you can break a problem down into smaller pieces, stay calm, and get an answer that’s not perfect but reasonably close, you’ve done great.

They might not even know the answer. They just want to see how you approach something that’s very difficult.

On a Practical Note, What Can You Take Away From This?

Question 8 above highlights a pretty good point to remember in your interviews…

There are a lot of questions in an interview where the hiring manager values your thought process… sometimes even more than a correct answer. So if you’re stumped, talk out loud a bit and explain what you’re thinking. Ask a question if you need to. Try to break it down into smaller pieces. Specific knowledge can be taught but they can’t teach you problem-solving. That’s why they ask logical questions in a job interview, and why they ask questions where they  expect you to struggle or be unsure.

If you hear questions like this, it doesn’t mean you’re doing badly. Just stay calm, walk them through your thought process, show you take a logical approach, and you’ll have a great shot at getting hired (even if you don’t come up with the perfect answer in the end!)

You Can Get Hired Even if You Give “Wrong” Answers to These Questions

Here’s a quick story: My degree is in Finance, which means I took a good amount of Accounting classes too. Early in my career, I had a phone interview for an Accounting position. To make the story short, I could not answer even the most basic accounting questions. Really simple stuff that you learn your first year in college.

It had just been too long since college and I had forgotten even the basics. And I didn’t prepare well for the interview obviously! But I tried to stumble through it and remember what I could, talking about what I was thinking. Saying things like, “well, this can’t be right because ___. So it must be related to ___.” I made some progress. But I definitely didn’t arrive at the right answer, even after three minutes of walking myself and the interviewer through it out loud.

But I still got invited to the next round in the interview process (a full day, on-site interview).

Why? Because the hiring manager liked my approach to breaking down a problem that I didn’t immediately know how to solve. That’s why being transparent and showing your thought process is one of the tips for interviews that you’ll see me say over and over. And that’s the biggest takeaway that I hope you gain from reading these brain teaser questions above (along with entertainment). You can do the same thing I did and get more job offers… even if you give a few wrong answers to difficult questions like these!

The bottom line is: Don’t panic when you get a question you don’t know; use it as an opportunity to show exactly how you work through things. Be confident with it, relax, and smile. Remember… you’re giving the hiring manager what they want! If you have interviews coming up and want to prepare further, read the top 20 interview questions here.

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8 toughest brain teaser job interview questions from google apple facebook

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I believe #1 is incorrect. I think it’s 1/5… am I missing something???

Question 3 can be done much more efficiently. All you have to do is to fill both jugs halfway. 3/2=1.5, 5/2=2.5, 1.5+2.5=4. It’s easier to estimate a half filled jug than filling a 3 gallon jug by one third. The only downside to this solution is that uncertainty is higher.

This is old: the research found brain teaser questions don’t do anything to evaluate job candidates other than stressing out the interviewee. Google has stopped using brain teasers.

Really interesting and good questions

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but your answer to Q2 is not correct. You should be trying to solve the conditional probability problem P(Rain | YYY), and NOT 1 – P(lie, lie, lie).

The tricky part here is that you are not given all of the information you need to apply Bayes rule and solve the problem. Specifically, you additionally need to have a prior estimate of P(Rain). The interviewer/question purposefully withholds this information to see if you are able to identify how the problem should be solved, and if you can ask the right clarifying questions.

The solution, using Bayes Rule, is;

P(Rain | YYY) = P(Rain) * P(YYY | Rain) / P(YYY)

P(Rain) must come from the interviewer P(YYY) = P(Rain) * P(YYY | Rain) + P(~Rain) * P(YYY | ~Rain) P(YYY | Rain) = (2/3)^3 # All 3 friends tell the truth when it rains P(YYY | ~Rain) = (1/3)^3 # All 3 friends lie when it’s not raining

I hope this helps. Check out the following link for an excellent explanation and some further discussion of Bayesian vs frequentist approaches:

#3 is a correct solution but more complex than it needs to be. These companies also look for efficiency and not doubling your efforts.

Your Solution: 1. Fill up 3gal Bucket > Dump into 5gal bucket 2. Fill up 3gal Bucket > Dump 2gal into the remaining 2gal of area within the 5gal bucket 3. Empty 5gal Bucket > Dump 1gal within the 3gal bucket into the empty 5gal bucket 4. Fill up 3gal Bucket > Dump 3gal bucket completely into 5gal bucket that currently has 1gal within it.

This solution requires you to empty a bucket down the drain 1 time, fill a bucket from the faucet 3 times, and pour a bucket into a bucket 4 times.

Efficient Answer

1. Fill up 5gal bucket completely > Pour 3gal from 5gal bucket into the 3gal bucket to fill it up completely 2. Empty full 3gal bucket > Pour remaining 2gal from the 5gal bucket into the empty 3gal bucket 3. Fill up the 5gal bucket completely > Pour 1gal from the full 5gal bucket into the remaining 1gal of volume within the 3gal bucket.

This solution requires you to empty a bucket down the drain 1 time, fill a bucket from the faucet 2 times, and pour a bucket into a bucket 3 times.

If they ask you to solve the same problem, but dumping as little as possible down the drain, solution 2 is still your best bet. (1=5gal dumped, 2=3gal dumped because the problem is solved at the precise time you would need to dump it again for another step)

The only way that solution 1 is more efficient is if they ask you to solve the same problem USING as little water as possible. (1=9gal, 2=10gal)

Interesting. Thanks for the detailed reply.

The solution to Question 2 is incorrect.

You argue that the probability that at least one friend tells the truth is one minus the probability that all three friends are lying. This is correct. But you then say that we only need one friend to tell the truth for it to actually be raining. This may be true, but it takes into account scenarios where one friend is lying and the the other two are telling the truth, and vice versa. However, this is ignoring a key element: we already know that this has not happened! If all three friends are claiming that it is raining, then it is impossible that one is lying and two are telling the truth (analogously, it is impossible that two are lying and one is telling the truth) because they all said the same thing (and they know whether or not it is raining!).

One of two situations is possible: either it is raining in Seattle, or it is not. If (and only if) it is raining, then they are all telling the truth. If (and only if) it is not, then they are all lying. The probability that they are all telling the truth is 8/27; the probability that they are all lying is 1/27. The probability that they are telling the truth given that they all said the same thing is (8/27)/(1/27 + 8/27) = 8/9.

You are right. I also came to the answer 8/9 and wanted to comment that the given solution is wrong. I came across your comment and decided to just reply here :)

You’re right that the solution is incorrect, and you’re on the right track, but there’s actually not enough information, as the answer is dependent on the prior probability of it raining. If you let this prior probability be p, and apply Bayes’ rule, you should get that the probability that it’s actually raining, given that all three friends said yes, is 8p/(7p+1). If (and only if) you let p=1/2, then you recover an answer of 8/9.

This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Cheers!

Are they asking questions to everyone or just software developers?? It seems geared toward developers mostly

It’s everyone, although you’ll expert more of these if your position involves analytical thinking, logic, problem solving, etc. Many Product Managers will face these questions. Also corporate lawyers! And many others along with software developers.

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How to Nail your next Technical Interview

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Top 20 Interview Puzzles for Software Engineers

Utkarsh Sahu

Puzzles are a realistic way of testing your lateral thinking in software engineer interviews. It shows the interviewer your real-world problem-solving and creative thinking skills. These puzzles are mostly popular among Tier-1 companies, which look for candidates with more than basic programming skills.

All the puzzles might not have a single solution. There may be multiple solutions, and the interviewer wants to see how you find the most efficient solution and how you think through the problem.

In this article, let’s discuss some popular puzzles asked in interviews. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Common Puzzle Questions

Coding puzzle questions.

  • Tips to Solve Puzzle Problems in Interviews
  • FAQs About Interview Puzzles for Software Engineers

Top 20 Puzzle Questions Asked in Interviews

Most of the puzzles asked in interviews are meant to test how well you can think “different.” They usually don’t have one correct answer to refer to. You can solve it using your own logic.

So, looking at 100s of puzzles online and checking their answers won’t be enough. You need to THINK on your own and actually develop an approach to solving these puzzles.

We’ve covered 20 sample puzzles to get your prep started.

Common puzzles are those types of puzzles where you might not require your programming skills. It’s based on your reasoning and logical skills.

Let’s look at some common puzzles asked in interviews.

1. Crossing the Bridge Puzzle

Four people need to cross a bridge. It’s nighttime and pretty dark. There’s only one flashlight; it’s dangerous to cross the bridge without one. The bridge can only support two people at a time. Each person will take a different amount of time to cross the bridge: 1 min, 2 mins, 7 mins, and 10 mins. What is the shortest possible time for all four people to cross the bridge?

Crossing the Bridge Puzzle

2. The Man in the Elevator Puzzle

A man who lives on the tenth floor of a building takes the elevator every day to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns in the evening, he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to the tenth floor to reach his apartment. Why does he do this? Note that if it’s a rainy day, or if there are other people in the elevator, he goes to his floor directly. Also, he hates walking.

The Man in the Elevator Puzzle

3. Heaven or Hell Puzzle

You have two doors in front of you. One door leads to heaven, and the other to hell. There are two guards, one by each door. One guard always tells the truth, and the other always lies, but you don’t know who is who. You can only ask one question to one guard to find the door to heaven. What question would you ask?

Heaven or Hell Puzzle

4. Three Mislabeled Jars

You have three mislabeled jars. The first jar contains apples, the second contains oranges, and the third contains a mix of apples and oranges. You need to label the jars. You can pick as many fruits as you want from each jar. What is the least number of fruits you have to pick from each jar to label them correctly?

Three Mislabeled Jars

5. Gold Bar Cut Puzzle

You have hired someone to work for you for seven days, and you have a gold bar to pay him. You must give him a piece of gold every day. What is the least number of cuts you can make to the gold bar such that you can pay them 1/7th of it each day?

Gold Bar Cut Puzzle

6. Man Fell in Well Puzzle

A man fell in a well. The well is 30 meters deep. In a day, he can climb 4 meters, but he slips down 3 meters. How many days would he take to come out of the well?

Man Fell in Well Puzzle

7. Bag of Coins Puzzle

You have 10 bags full of infinite coins. But one bag is full of fake coins, and you can’t remember which one. You know that a genuine coin weighs 1 gram, and a fake coin weighs 1.1 grams. How do you identify the bag containing forged coins in minimum readings?

Bag of Coins Puzzle

8. Horses on a Race Track Puzzle

There are 25 horses and five race tracks. Find the fastest three horses among the 25 in the least number of races.

Horses on a Race Track Puzzle

9. Batteries Puzzle

There are eight batteries, but only four of them work. You have to use them for a flashlight, which needs two working batteries. What is the minimum number of battery pairs you need to test to ensure that the flashlight is turned on?

Batteries Puzzle

10. Birthday Cake Puzzle

A birthday cake has to be cut into eight equal pieces in exactly three cuts. Find a way to make this cut possible.

Birthday Cake Puzzle

11. Clock Angle Puzzle

If the time is 3:15 when you look at a clock, what’s the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?

Clock Angle Puzzle

12. Tomato Soup Puzzle

You have a glass of tomato soup. You have one other empty glass of a different size and shape. You have to give the soup to two children. How would you divide the soup into two glasses so that both of them are satisfied that they have got an equal share of soup?

Tomato Soup Puzzle

Coding Puzzles are those types of puzzles where you require a programming language to solve. Let’s look at some Coding Puzzles asked in interviews .

1. Addition Puzzle

Add two numbers without using the addition operator.

2. Determine the If Condition Puzzle

What should be the if condition in the following code snippet to print ‘Hello World’?

if "condition"    printf ("Hello"); Else    printf("World");

3. Swap 2 Numbers Puzzle

Swap 2 numbers without using a third variable.

4. Print Numbers From 1 to N Puzzle

Print numbers from 1 to N without using any looping construct.

5. Print Semicolon Puzzle

Print a semicolon without using a semicolon in the program

6. Equal Integers Puzzle

Determine if 2 integers are equal without using comparison and arithmetic operators.

7. Minimum Number Puzzle

Given 2 numbers. Find the minimum number without using conditional statements or ternary operators.

8. Spotting a Truck Puzzle

The probability of spotting a truck on a highway in an hour is 0.999. What is the probability of spotting a track on that highway in 20 minutes?

Head over to the Learn and Problem pages for more.

3 Key Tips to Solve Puzzle Problems in Interviews

Yes, these puzzles are tricky. Following are 3 key tips that will ensure that you will not stumble during the interview:

Tips to Solve Puzzle Problems in Interviews

1. Clarify Everything Before you Start

Don’t jump into the solution, and do not make any assumptions. If any information seems missing, ask and clarify.

2. Explain Your Process

While solving the puzzle, explain your thought process to the interviewer. It allows your interviewer to see how you plan, think, reason, and solve complex problems under pressure. Always remember — these puzzles are more about showcasing your analytical skills than finding the right solution.

3. Provide a Solution to the Puzzle — One or More!

Use your reasoning and logical skills to deduce a solution to the puzzle, even if it’s not the correct solution. You can also discuss alternate methods. It’s more about your reasoning and deducing the solution, than finding the right solution.

FAQs on Puzzles for Software Engineers

Q. Do we get asked only programming puzzles in interviews ?

A. No. Interviewers test your ability to answer programming as well as common puzzles, which don't require programming skills.

Q. How to prepare for puzzle questions for an interview?

A. Practice multiple puzzles online, and try to solve them on your own without looking for answers. Interviewers will test your thinking abilities and insist more than getting the correct answer.

Q. Are puzzle interviews effective for employee selection?

A. Some of these calculations require significant approximations and come with unclear instructions regarding constraints. Due to their unconnected skill concentration, potential prejudice, and inability to accurately predict work performance, puzzle interviews are typically ineffective in the selection of employees.

Q. How many rounds of interviews do software engineers have?

A. There are generally four to five rounds of interviews for senior roles.

Preparing for a Tech Interview ?

Interview Kickstart can help you with coding puzzles and more! With IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from and engage with FAANG tech leads and hiring managers .

Here’s what Aliya Mussina, IK alum and Software Engineer at Apple , has to say about IK’s program: Interview Kickstart's Program Met All My Expectations. Want to know more? Sign up for our FREE webinar .

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Great Brain Teaser Interview Questions (With Answers)

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Interviewers will often ask brain teaser interview questions because they will help assess your workplace skills. Answering brain teasers correctly can involve critical thinking , problem-solving , creativity , and close listening skills . For these reasons, they’re commonly used during interviews to see how well and how quickly a candidate can think on his or her feet.

Whether you’re thinking about using brain teaser questions to test a candidate’s skills or you’re preparing for an interview yourself, this article will go over what brain teaser questions are, some examples of open and closed brain teaser questions, and the pros and cons of brain teasers for interviews.

Key Takeaways:

Brain teaser questions test your analytical and problem-solving skills in real time.

Some brainteaser interview questions only have one right answer, while others are more open-ended.

Listen closely when asked a brain teaser question and clarify all information.

Do your thinking out loud. It is just as important for the interview to see how you think as it is to get the right answer.

Brain teaser questions are not great for evaluating visual learners.

[Great Brain Teaser Interview Questions (With Answers)

What are brain teasers?

Close ended brain teaser question examples, open ended brain teaser question examples, why interviewers ask brain teaser questions, tips for answering brain teaser interview questions, brain teaser question pros and cons, brain teaser interview question faq.

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Brain teasers are a form of puzzle that tests one’s thinking and problem-solving abilities. With brain teasers, the answer is never straightforward. Instead, brain teasers require a creative thought process known as lateral thinking, or arriving at answers in unconventional ways. They may also involve the creative use of mathematics and formal logic.

Brain teaser questions can reveal a lot about how a person thinks, which is why they are such a popular option for job interviews. Often, your answer ends up being less important than how you arrived at your answer – the hiring manager values being able to see your thought process.

There are many different kinds of brain teasers, all involving various types of intelligence and thinking to solve. Some might require math skills, others may test your close listening abilities, and others might rely on creativity and boldness.

A brain teaser might have one right answer, it may have multiple solutions, or it may be open-ended with no definite correct answer. Let’s take a look at some examples to give you a better idea.

Close ended brain teaser questions have a “right” answer that you arrive at through creative problem-solving. Here are some examples of this type of brain teaser question:

“You have a three-gallon bucket and a five-gallon bucket. How do you measure out exactly four gallons?”

Answer: The three-gallon bucket is too small, and the five-gallon bucket is too large. This is a given fact, and along with it comes the assumption that our final four gallons will end up in the five-gallon bucket. The first step is to fill the three-gallon bucket. Then, pour all three gallons into the five-gallon bucket. Now the five-gallon bucket has three gallons in it, and the three-gallon bucket is empty. Because 5-3=2, we know that only two more gallons can fit into the five-gallon bucket before it is full. So we’d fill the three-gallon bucket again and slowly pour it into the five-gallon bucket until it’s full. 3-2=1, so there is one gallon in the three-gallon bucket. We dump out the five-gallon bucket completely, then pour the one-gallon into it. Finally, we fill up the three-gallon bucket and pour it into the five-gallon bucket. We end up with precisely four gallons.

“The Beatles need to cross a bridge at night to get to a concert. They only have one flashlight, and they have seventeen minutes to get there. The bridge must be crossed with the flashlight and can only support two people at a time. John can cross in one minute, Paul can cross in two minutes, George can cross in five minutes, and Ringo takes ten minutes to cross. How can they all make it to the concert on time?”

Answer: First, John takes the flashlight and crosses the bridge with Paul. This takes two minutes. John then returns across the bridge with the flashlight taking one more minute (three minutes have passed so far). John gives the flashlight to George, and George and Ringo cross together, taking ten minutes (thirteen minutes have passed so far). George gives the flashlight to Paul, who recrosses the bridge taking two minutes (fifteen minutes have passed at this point). John and Paul now cross the bridge together, taking two more minutes. All end up across the bridge at the concert in exactly seventeen minutes.

“You are standing outside of a room that has no windows. The room has three light bulbs and three switches outside of the room. Each switch controls one of the light bulbs. You can only enter the room one time. How do you find out what switch goes to which light bulb?”

Answer: Turn on the first light switch and wait five minutes or so. After this time, turn off the first light switch and turn on the second switch. At this point, one light bulb (corresponding to the second switch) will be on, and one light bulb (corresponding to the first switch) will be turned off but warm from being on previously. Walk into the room, and feel the two turned-off light bulbs. The warm light bulb belongs to the first switch, the turned-on light bulb belongs to the second switch, and the remaining light bulb belongs to the third switch.

“There are three boxes, one box labeled “bananas,” another labeled “strawberries” and the last labeled “mixed.” All the boxes are labeled incorrectly. You’re only allowed to reach into a single box and take out one piece of fruit. Without looking into the box, how will you fix the labels?”

Answer: The first step is to open the box labeled “mixed” first. Since none of the boxes are labeled correctly, it’s guaranteed that this box doesn’t contain a mix of fruits. Say I picked a banana. This lets me know that the box labeled “mixed” is actually the “bananas” box. Now that the box labeled “mixed” is actually bananas, I can deduce that the box originally labeled “bananas” must be the “strawberries” box and the remaining box must be the “mixed” box. I would then label each box with their correct label.

Open ended brain teaser questions have no single right answer that you have to figure out. Instead, these questions can be answered in any way that makes sense to you and are meant to show off your unique approach to making sense of what’s asked of you.

“How many people are using Instagram in San Francisco at 1:30 pm on a Thursday?”

How to answer: This question not only tests your knowledge of certain crucial pieces of data (e.g., knowing how many people use Instagram at a given time throughout the day, knowing how many people live in San Francisco), but it also tests how you combine these different pieces of knowledge (or educated guesses). This question may also take the form of “How many [things] are there in [place]? To answer this and similar questions, utilize educated guesses about the various parts involved and develop a formula that makes sense to you.

“How would you describe a sunset to a blind person?”

How to answer: This question tests your knowledge and grasp of a given concept, as well as being an opportunity to display tremendous amounts of creativity in your answer. This question might also take the form of “Explain [a difficult concept] to [someone it would be difficult to explain it to].” Dig deeply into your powers of creative description, as well as everything you know about the concept or thing you are meant to describe. Remember that being able to teach a concept at varying levels is a mark of understanding it very well, so lean heavily on your knowledge of the subject.

“Sell me my iPhone.”

How to answer: This is a brain teaser as well as a practical test of your skills as a salesperson. The interviewer will pick an object around the room close by, such as their phone or a pen, and ask you to convince them to buy it. It may seem like a difficult, nerve-wracking task at first, but remember that they already own this item, so there are already a wealth of reasons for you to work with. The best strategy is to emphasize the need – why does this person need this thing? What value does it serve? However, rather than simply stating the facts, try and paint a vivid picture. Stimulate the interviewer’s imagination, perhaps, by describing in detail a time when this object may be a lifesaver.

“How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?”

How to answer: This answer can be answered in a different way but it provides you an opportunity to give a simple answer of one number. A popular response to this question would be that there is no need to wash the windows in Seattle because it rains so much that they’re washed naturally. Another way to answer this is to estimate the number of buildings and thus windows. How you answer this question will reveal how you approach thinking about abstract questions. It will test your quick thinking, your creative problem-solving, and your mathematical thinking.

Interviewers use brain teaser questions during interviews as an alternative way of getting to know a candidate and getting a deeper insight into how they might solve an unexpected problem. Brain teasers are asked alongside more typical interview questions and help form a more complete understanding of a candidate.

As mentioned earlier, asking brain teaser questions isn’t about seeing whether a potential employee has the right answers, but seeing how they think about and approach difficult problems.

Brain teasers can be used to reveal a candidate’s skills and abilities. They give crucial insight into how someone assesses and utilizes information and how they solve problems. They can also provide a good look into how well a potential employee deals with stress , how attentively they listen, and how well they can eloquently present their solutions.

When answering brain teaser questions, make sure you are prepared by reviewing some common brain teaser questions and then listening to the interviewer closely. Here are some more tips to keep in mind when answering brain teaser interview questions:

Come prepared. First things first, you’ll want to understand the underlying aims of asking these types of questions. Questions like these can provoke our inner test anxiety but understand that the interviewer is simply trying to get a picture of how you work through and communicate difficult issues.

Take a couple of deep breaths before your interview (and remember to stay breathing during the process) to help your nerves settle and bring about a state of mind that’s ready to take on challenging tasks. Bring a pen and paper to your interview to take notes or work out calculations.

Listen closely. One of the most important things you can do to accurately and cleverly solve a brain teaser is to listen attentively to the words. Many brain teasers rely on small but crucial pieces of information getting past you, so close listening is always the best first step in answering these questions.

Don’t try to answer the questions as they’re being asked to you or immediately after. With this strategy, you’re sure to become attached to certain pieces of information while ignoring other (potentially vital) pieces of information. Sometimes the answer can even be hidden within the question, so pay attention.

Do all your thinking out loud. Remember that brain teaser questions are asked to get insight into your thinking. State every thought you have in regard to answering this question out loud. Any assumptions or estimations that you make should be stated to the interviewer.

Make sure you have a methodical approach to answering the question. Come up with a working strategy that you can use and take the interviewer along for the ride. Come up with a formula for mathematical questions.

Brain teaser questions are very useful in a job interview. However, they are not perfect. The advantages and drawbacks of brain teaser questions reveal how hiring the right employee takes a lot of effort.

Pros of brain teaser questions include:

Shows how someone deals with pressure. Being put on put on the spot to solve a problem is a great way to analyze how someone thinks on their feet.

Reveals an ability to analyze information. One of the key components of a brain teaser question is taking the information that is given to solve a problem. This requires well-developed analytical skills.

Shows an ability to communicate solutions. Not only do you need to come up with a correct answer for a brain teaser, you need to communicate that answer effectively. A proper response to a brain teaser question shows that you can organize your thoughts.

Cons to brain teaser questions include:

The candidate might already know the answer ahead of time. Consider how this article gives you some example answers. If you are asked these questions in an interview, then the point of the question is unfulfilled.

Difficult for visual learners. Following verbal instructions (as opposed to written instructions) is more challenging for visual learners, and this may translate to an incorrect assessment of their skills.

The answer doesn’t reveal many skills. Although a correct answer to a brain teaser question reveals some skills, it does not reveal every skill needed in the workplace.

What if I get the brain teaser wrong in an interview?

Most of the time the answer to the brain teaser isn’t the main reason the interviewer is asking the question. Interviewers will ask brain teaser questions to gain insight into your use of logic and how you are able to answer questions under pressure. Brain teasers will also often test your analytical, active listening, and problem-solving skills, which are skills interviewers want to know about.

Why do interviewers ask brain teaser questions?

Interviewers will ask brain teaser questions to get an understanding of your critical thinking skills. It will also give them a deeper understanding of how you solve problems and who you are as a candidate. The questions are often asked not to get the correct answer but to see how the candidate comes up with their answer.

MConsulting Prep – 30 Brain Teaser Interview Questions & Detailed Answers

U.S. Department of Labor – Interview Tips

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Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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problem solving interview riddles

The Most Common Interview Puzzles and How to Answer Them

Did you know that you have only seven seconds to make a good first impression in a job interview? One of the most daunting experiences during the job hunting process is the interview. Not only do you have to sell yourself to the company, but you also have to be prepared for any questions they might throw your way.

To help you prepare, we've compiled a list of some of the most common interview puzzles and how to answer them. With these tips in mind, you'll be one step closer to landing your dream job.

Keep reading and stop puzzling over whether or not you'll be prepared.

Table of contents

What is a puzzle question.

A puzzle question is a type of question that's designed to test your problem-solving skills. Puzzle questions are often used in job interviews, especially for technical positions.

Puzzle questions can be difficult to answer, but there are some strategies you can use to solve them. First, take a few deep breaths and relax.

Then, try to break the problem down into smaller pieces. Once you have a better understanding of the problem, start brainstorming possible solutions.

If you're still having trouble solving the puzzle, don't be afraid to ask for help from the interviewer or other people you know who are good at solving puzzles. With a little patience and effort, you should be able to find a solution to any puzzle question you're faced with.

Why Do Interviewers Ask Puzzle Questions?

Puzzle questions are often used in interviews as a way to gauge a candidate's problem-solving abilities. They can be tricky, and sometimes there is no single "right" answer. However, interviewers are looking to see how you approach and solve problems.

When it comes to hiring, employers are looking for a few key qualities in potential employees. First and foremost, they want to see that you have the skills and qualifications necessary to do the job. They'll also be looking for qualities like motivation, determination, and the ability to work well under pressure.

In general, employers are looking for three things in potential employees: technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit. Technical skills are the specific abilities and knowledge required to do the job.

Soft skills are interpersonal skills that enable you to interact effectively with others. Cultural fit is a match between an applicant's values and the organization's values.

Puzzles can test all three of these areas. For example, a word puzzle can test an applicant's verbal reasoning ability, which is a form of intelligence that is important for many jobs. A spatial puzzle can test an applicant's ability to think creatively and come up with new solutions to problems. A puzzle that requires teamwork can test an applicant's ability to work well with others.

Thus, puzzles can be a helpful tool for employers in screening potential employees. However, it is important to keep in mind that no one type of assessment is perfect and that multiple measures should get used in order to get a complete picture of an applicant.

Here are some of the skills that puzzles can help test.

Logical Thinking

This is the most obvious skill that puzzles test. Do you have strong analytical and reasoning skills ?

Can you see patterns and relationships between things? You need to be able to think logically and systematically in order to solve most puzzles.

Some puzzles require you to think outside the box in order to find the solution. This is a great way to test your creative problem-solving skills.

Some puzzles can be quite challenging and require a lot of patience to solve. This is a good way to see how well you handle frustration and how long you are willing to persevere when faced with a difficult task.

There will be times when you need to focus intently on the puzzle in front of you in order to solve it. Can you stay focused on a task even when there are distractions?

Do you have an excellent attention span? This is a good way to see how well you can maintain focus and concentration under pressure.

Attention to Detail

Do you pay close attention to detail? Are you able to catch errors that others might miss?

The ability to pay attention to detail is a highly sought-after trait in many job descriptions. These employers are looking for candidates who can read and comprehend information, notice errors, and follow instructions correctly.

Problem-Solving Skills

Puzzles are often used as a means of testing problem-solving skills . This is because they require the individual to use a variety of skills in order to solve them.

These skills include creative thinking, logical reasoning, and pattern recognition. By testing these skills, employers can get a good idea of an individual's ability to solve problems.

How Do You Prepare for an Interview With Puzzles?

When you are preparing for an interview with puzzles, there are a few things that you can do to make sure that you are ready. First, you will want to familiarize yourself with the most common types of puzzles that get asked in interviews. This way, you will know what to expect and will be able to better prepare your responses.

Next, it is important to practice solving puzzles. This will help you to better understand how to approach them and will also give you a chance to see what types of clues or hints you may need in order to solve them.

Finally, make sure that you are comfortable with the format of the interview itself. This way, you will be less likely to get nervous and will be able to focus on solving the puzzles.

What Kind of Puzzles Are in Interviews?

When it comes to interview puzzles, there are a few different types that are commonly used. The most common type of puzzle is the brainteaser. Brainteasers test your problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

They typically involve a mix of logic, math, and wordplay. Other common types of interview puzzles include riddles, logic problems, and pattern recognition exercises.

Riddles during Job Interviews

Riddles during job interviews are becoming increasingly popular. Many companies believe that they can help potential employers gauge a candidate's intelligence, problem-solving ability, and creativity. Riddles are often more straightforward than brainteasers, but they can still be challenging.

To solve a riddle, you need to be able to think logically and deductively. Pay close attention to the wording of the riddle, as this can often give you clues about the answer.

While there is no guarantee that you will be asked a riddle during your next job interview, it is always helpful to be prepared. Here are some example riddle questions and answers that may get used in a job interview.

Boat Filled With People

You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again, you don't see a single person on the boat. Why?

What's the solution?

This is a classic riddle that has been around for centuries. It's one that can easily stump people; you might assume that the boat is filled with ghosts; however, there's a more logical explanation.

The answer to this riddle is that everyone on the boat is married. That's why you don't see a "single" person on board.

Egg vs. Concrete

How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without it breaking?

This riddle could leave you stuck. Your first thought will probably be that you can't drop a raw egg on the floor without breaking it.

However, remember, riddles test your ability to think outside of the box and creatively. Notice that in the riddle, it says "without it breaking."

The egg may crack, but the concrete floor won't break. This tests your ability to think critically and your listening skills.

Brainteasers

When it comes to interviewing, there are a few different types of questions you may be asked. One popular type is the brainteaser.

A brainteaser is a question that is designed to test your problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. They are often used in technical interviews but can also be found in other types of interviews as well.

To answer a brainteaser, you need to be able to think creatively and out of the box. Once you've identified the key information and relationships in the puzzle, you can start brainstorming possible solutions. It's often helpful to approach the problem from multiple angles and to consider all of the possible implications of your solution.

While they may seem daunting at first, with a little practice, you will be able to answer them with ease. In this article, we will go over some common brainteasers and how you can answer them.

While these questions may seem difficult, there are ways to approach them so that you can find the correct answer quickly and confidently.

How Would You Weigh a Plane Without Using Any Scales?

This brainteaser is a bit more complicated. However, there are several approaches you could take to answer it.

If you wanted to take a more scientific approach, your answer would focus on the facts. Here are some samples of a scientific approach:

One way would be to estimate the weight of the plane by its size and the materials it is made of. Another way would be to use the density of the air to calculate the weight of the plane.

To estimate the weight of the plane by its size, you would need to know the dimensions of the plane. You could then use these dimensions to calculate the volume of the plane. Once you have the volume, you could multiply it by the density of aluminum or other materials used in construction to get an estimate of the weight of the plane.

You could use the dimensions of the plane to calculate its volume. Once you have the volume, you could multiply it by the density of air to get an estimate of the weight of the plane.

However, maybe you know nothing about planes. Maybe you want to take more of a problem-solving approach. You could talk about the steps you would take to find the answer.

For example, you might research the solution online or ask a supervisor for help.

A more interpersonal approach would be to talk about checking company manuals and consulting coworkers or a supervisor. When you're answering this brainteaser, think about the job you're applying for and the skills you need.

This will help you give the best answer possible.

Michelle's Mom

Michelle's mom has four kids. Her first daughter is named April, followed by May and then June. What is the name of her fourth child?

The answer to this question is Michelle. However, many interview candidates will say July. This correct answer will show that the candidate has listening skills, uses logic, and is a quick thinker.

Strawberries and Bananas

There are three boxes in front of you. One box is labeled "STRAWBERRIES," another is labeled "BANANAS," and the third is labeled "MIXED."

Suddenly, you realize that all the labeling is wrong. You can only take out one piece of fruit from any one box without looking inside. How will you fix it?

Solving this brain teaser involves using listening skills, logic, and problem-solving skills. So what's the solution?

Note that the brainteaser states that all of the labels are wrong. That means the Mixed box will not be mixed. It will be either strawberries or bananas.

If you pull out a strawberry from the mixed box, you will move the strawberry label to that box. You then know that the banana box is still labeled incorrectly, but it can't be strawberries. That means it must be the mixed box, and the other box will be your banana box.

The Gallon Jugs

How do you measure four gallons of water using two container sizes that only come in three and five gallons?

The answer to this brainteaser requires you to use mathematical skills, logic, and problem-solving skills. While this one may leave you thinking for a minute, there are some possible solutions.

Here's one:

The first thing you want to do is fill up your three-gallon jug. You'll take that and pour it into your five-gallon jug.

Next, fill up your three-gallon jug again. Pour what you can into your five-gallon jug.

You will now have one-gallon left in the three-gallon jug. Pour out the five-gallon jug, then pour what's left in your three-gallon jug into your empty five-gallon jug.

Finally, fill up the three-gallon jug again and add it to the one-gallon that's already in your five-gallon jug. You now have four gallons in your five-gallon jug.

Math Problems

Answering math problems during an interview can be daunting, but it's important to remember that interviewers aren't looking for you to get the answer right. They're looking to see how you think and approach problem-solving.

With that in mind, here are some tips for answering math problems in an interview and some examples of math puzzles interviewers use.

Listen Carefully

Listen to the question carefully and make sure you understand what is being asked. If you're unsure, ask for clarification.

Take a Few Moments

Take a few moments to think about the problem before beginning to work on it. This will help you organize your thoughts and approach the problem in a logical way.

Go Step-by-Step

Work through the problem step-by-step, explaining your thought process as you go. This will help the interviewer understand how you're thinking about the problem and whether your approach is sound.

Ask for Help

If you get stuck, don't hesitate to ask for hints or clues from the interviewer. They'll likely be happy to provide guidance so that you can continue working on the problem.

Double Check Your Answer

Once you've arrived at a solution, take a moment to check it for accuracy and verify that it makes sense in the context of the problem. If it does, great! If not, try retracing your steps and see if you can identify where things went wrong.

Example One: How Would You Solve a Rubik's Cube?

This is a classic puzzle question that has been asked in interviews for years. To answer it, you need to demonstrate your ability to think logically and methodically.

The key is to break the problem down into smaller steps and then work through each one systematically. For example, you could start by solving one face of the cube, then move on to the next face, and so on.

Example Two: What Is the Next Number in This Sequence?

This type of question tests your mathematical skills and your ability to spot patterns. The best way to approach it is to look for any clues or patterns in the sequence that you can identify.

Once you've done that, try to work out what the underlying rule is that governs the sequence. From there, you should be able to work out what the next number will be.

Example Three: Two Trains Are Approaching Each Other from Opposite Directions

This is another classic puzzle question that commonly comes up in interviews. It tests your ability to think about problems in a three-dimensional way and to visualize complex scenarios.

The key here is not to get too bogged down in the details. Instead, focus on the big picture and try to work out a general solution that would apply in any situation.

Example Four: You Are on a Deserted Island with Nothing but a Knife

This is another question that tests your ability to think about problems in a three-dimensional way. The key here is to use your imagination and think about all the possibilities that are available to you.

For example, you could use the knife to make a fire, which would then allow you to signal for help. Or, you could use the knife to catch fish, which would provide you with food and water.

Example Five: There Are Three Points on a Line

This is a classic geometry problem that is often used in interviews. The key here is to visualize the problem in your head and then work out what information you need in order to solve it. Once you've done that, the answer should be relatively straightforward.

Example Six: You Are Given a Bag of Marbles

This is another classic puzzle question that tests your ability to think about problems in a three-dimensional way. The key here is to visualize the problem in your head and then work out what information you need in order to solve it. Once you've done that, the answer should be relatively straightforward.

Logical Questions

Logical questions are designed to test your problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. They are usually presented as a scenario or puzzle that you must figure out. For example, you may be asked to determine how many different ways there are to arrange a group of people given certain constraints.

To answer these types of questions, it is important to take your time and think through the problem carefully. Read the question carefully and identify all of the information that is given.

Then, start brainstorming possible solutions. Once you have a few potential solutions, try to eliminate any that are obviously incorrect. From there, you should be able to narrow down the possibilities and arrive at the correct answer.

If you get stuck, don't worry! These types of questions often have more than one correct answer.

The interviewer is looking to see how you think through problems and arrive at a solution, not necessarily whether or not you get the "right" answer.

The Classic '9 Dots' Puzzle

This is a classic puzzle that has been used in interviews for years. The challenge is to connect all nine dots using just four straight lines without lifting your pen from the paper.

The key to this puzzle is to think outside of the box. Most people assume that the lines must stay within the confines of the nine dots, but that is not the case.

If you draw lines that extend beyond the dots, you will be able to connect all nine dots with just four lines.

The Tower of Hanoi Puzzle

This puzzle is named after a temple in Vietnam where it is said that if you can solve it, you will achieve enlightenment.

The puzzle consists of three pegs and a set of disks of different sizes. The disks are stacked on one of the pegs, with the largest disk at the bottom and the smallest disk at the top.

The goal is to move all of the disks from one peg to another, following these rules:

You can only move one disk at a time.

You can only move a disk to an empty peg or onto a larger disk.

There are many different ways to solve this puzzle, but there is a specific strategy that will allow you to do it in the fewest number of moves.

Here's one way to do it:

  • Move the small disk from the first peg to the third
  • Move the medium disk from the first peg to the second peg
  • Move the small disk from the third peg to the second peg
  • Move the large disk from the first peg to the third
  • Move the small disk from the second peg to the first
  • Move the medium disk from the second peg to the third

Now you have successfully moved all disks from the first peg to the third while staying within the rules of the game.

The Bridge Crossing Puzzle

This puzzle is also known as the 'River crossing puzzle.' The challenge is to get all four people across a river using only one flashlight and two planks of wood. Each person can only cross the river once, and the flashlight can only be carried by one person at a time.

One potential solution is to have two people cross the river first, carrying the flashlight and one plank of wood. The two people can then use the plank of wood to help the other two people across.

The Knight's Tour Puzzle

The challenge here is to move a knight chess piece around an empty chess board, touching each square only once. This is actually quite difficult to do!

There are a few different ways that you could approach this problem. One is to use a brute force method, where you try every possible move until you find a solution. This is not very efficient, but it will eventually find a solution if one exists.

Another approach is to use something called backtracking. This is where you start with a knight on some square on the board and then try every possible move from there. If you ever get stuck, then you go back to the last square that you moved to and try a different move. You keep doing this until you either find a solution or determine that there is no solution for the given starting position.

Yet another way to solve this problem is with something called constraint satisfaction. This is where you have a list of constraints that the solution must satisfy, and you try to find a configuration of the knight that satisfies all of those constraints.

Which method do you think would be most efficient? Try implementing all three and see which one works best!

How to Answer Interview Puzzles

If you're preparing for an interview, you've likely heard that you should expect to be asked some brainteasers. While these types of questions can be daunting, there are some strategies you can use to prepare for them.

Before we get into how to answer interview puzzles, let's first understand what they are and why employers ask them. Interview puzzles are often used to test a candidate's problem-solving skills, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking. They also give the employer a chance to see how the candidate responds under pressure.

With that being said, here are some tips on how to answer interview puzzles:

Take Your Time

Interviews are time-limited, but that doesn't mean you need to rush your thinking. Pause and think for a few moments when you see the question.

It's ok to ask the interviewer if they can give you a few minutes to formulate an answer. They will usually say yes, as it makes them look good too!

Be Creative

There is usually more than one correct answer to an interview puzzle, so don't be afraid to think outside the box. Employers want people who can problem-solve creatively and think in different ways.

Don't Get Stuck

If you really get stuck, explain to the interviewer what technique you are using and ask whether there are any other hints or suggestions they have. Most interviewers will be happy to help out as long as you are making earnest efforts yourself.

And don't forget: there is no harm in admitting that a certain puzzle is beyond your ability. Some interview puzzles cannot get solved with pure logic alone; they may require lateral thinking or even intuition.

Everybody has different strengths and abilities, so if it turns out that a particular puzzle is outside of yours, then so be it. You can still perform well in an interview by how you handle these situations!

As mentioned earlier, these types of questions are designed to test how you respond under pressure. It's important that you stay calm and don't let the puzzle stress you out.

The best way to prepare for interview puzzles is to practice them! There are many resources available online that provide sample questions and answers.

Familiarizing yourself with the types of puzzles employers may ask will help you feel more confident when it comes time for your interview.

Ace Your Interviews

Interview puzzles test a variety of skills, from problem-solving abilities to creative thinking. If you're looking for a job that requires these skills, then puzzles may be a good way to assess your fit for the role.

However, not all puzzles are created equal, so be sure to choose ones that test the specific skills you want to highlight. And if you get stuck, don't hesitate to ask for help - after all, teamwork is another important skill that employers value.

 Are you ready to continue testing your puzzling skills? Check out some unique puzzles and answers here. 

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Top 20 Problem Solving Interview Questions (Example Answers Included)

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

problem solving interview riddles

By Mike Simpson

When candidates prepare for interviews, they usually focus on highlighting their leadership, communication, teamwork, and similar crucial soft skills . However, not everyone gets ready for problem-solving interview questions. And that can be a big mistake.

Problem-solving is relevant to nearly any job on the planet. Yes, it’s more prevalent in certain industries, but it’s helpful almost everywhere.

Regardless of the role you want to land, you may be asked to provide problem-solving examples or describe how you would deal with specific situations. That’s why being ready to showcase your problem-solving skills is so vital.

If you aren’t sure who to tackle problem-solving questions, don’t worry, we have your back. Come with us as we explore this exciting part of the interview process, as well as some problem-solving interview questions and example answers.

What Is Problem-Solving?

When you’re trying to land a position, there’s a good chance you’ll face some problem-solving interview questions. But what exactly is problem-solving? And why is it so important to hiring managers?

Well, the good folks at Merriam-Webster define problem-solving as “the process or act of finding a solution to a problem.” While that may seem like common sense, there’s a critical part to that definition that should catch your eye.

What part is that? The word “process.”

In the end, problem-solving is an activity. It’s your ability to take appropriate steps to find answers, determine how to proceed, or otherwise overcome the challenge.

Being great at it usually means having a range of helpful problem-solving skills and traits. Research, diligence, patience, attention-to-detail , collaboration… they can all play a role. So can analytical thinking , creativity, and open-mindedness.

But why do hiring managers worry about your problem-solving skills? Well, mainly, because every job comes with its fair share of problems.

While problem-solving is relevant to scientific, technical, legal, medical, and a whole slew of other careers. It helps you overcome challenges and deal with the unexpected. It plays a role in troubleshooting and innovation. That’s why it matters to hiring managers.

How to Answer Problem-Solving Interview Questions

Okay, before we get to our examples, let’s take a quick second to talk about strategy. Knowing how to answer problem-solving interview questions is crucial. Why? Because the hiring manager might ask you something that you don’t anticipate.

Problem-solving interview questions are all about seeing how you think. As a result, they can be a bit… unconventional.

These aren’t your run-of-the-mill job interview questions . Instead, they are tricky behavioral interview questions . After all, the goal is to find out how you approach problem-solving, so most are going to feature scenarios, brainteasers, or something similar.

So, having a great strategy means knowing how to deal with behavioral questions. Luckily, there are a couple of tools that can help.

First, when it comes to the classic approach to behavioral interview questions, look no further than the STAR Method . With the STAR method, you learn how to turn your answers into captivating stories. This makes your responses tons more engaging, ensuring you keep the hiring manager’s attention from beginning to end.

Now, should you stop with the STAR Method? Of course not. If you want to take your answers to the next level, spend some time with the Tailoring Method , too.

With the Tailoring Method, it’s all about relevance. So, if you get a chance to choose an example that demonstrates your problem-solving skills, this is really the way to go.

We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview. After all, hiring managers will often ask you more generalized interview questions!

Click below to get your free PDF now:

Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!

FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you " word-word sample answers to the most common job interview questions you'll face at your next interview .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CHEAT SHEET

Top 3 Problem-Solving-Based Interview Questions

Alright, here is what you’ve been waiting for: the problem-solving questions and sample answers.

While many questions in this category are job-specific, these tend to apply to nearly any job. That means there’s a good chance you’ll come across them at some point in your career, making them a great starting point when you’re practicing for an interview.

So, let’s dive in, shall we? Here’s a look at the top three problem-solving interview questions and example responses.

1. Can you tell me about a time when you had to solve a challenging problem?

In the land of problem-solving questions, this one might be your best-case scenario. It lets you choose your own problem-solving examples to highlight, putting you in complete control.

When you choose an example, go with one that is relevant to what you’ll face in the role. The closer the match, the better the answer is in the eyes of the hiring manager.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

“While working as a mobile telecom support specialist for a large organization, we had to transition our MDM service from one vendor to another within 45 days. This personally physically handling 500 devices within the agency. Devices had to be gathered from the headquarters and satellite offices, which were located all across the state, something that was challenging even without the tight deadline. I approached the situation by identifying the location assignment of all personnel within the organization, enabling me to estimate transit times for receiving the devices. Next, I timed out how many devices I could personally update in a day. Together, this allowed me to create a general timeline. After that, I coordinated with each location, both expressing the urgency of adhering to deadlines and scheduling bulk shipping options. While there were occasional bouts of resistance, I worked with location leaders to calm concerns and facilitate action. While performing all of the updates was daunting, my approach to organizing the event made it a success. Ultimately, the entire transition was finished five days before the deadline, exceeding the expectations of many.”

2. Describe a time where you made a mistake. What did you do to fix it?

While this might not look like it’s based on problem-solving on the surface, it actually is. When you make a mistake, it creates a challenge, one you have to work your way through. At a minimum, it’s an opportunity to highlight problem-solving skills, even if you don’t address the topic directly.

When you choose an example, you want to go with a situation where the end was positive. However, the issue still has to be significant, causing something negative to happen in the moment that you, ideally, overcame.

“When I first began in a supervisory role, I had trouble setting down my individual contributor hat. I tried to keep up with my past duties while also taking on the responsibilities of my new role. As a result, I began rushing and introduced an error into the code of the software my team was updating. The error led to a memory leak. We became aware of the issue when the performance was hindered, though we didn’t immediately know the cause. I dove back into the code, reviewing recent changes, and, ultimately, determined the issue was a mistake on my end. When I made that discovery, I took several steps. First, I let my team know that the error was mine and let them know its nature. Second, I worked with my team to correct the issue, resolving the memory leak. Finally, I took this as a lesson about delegation. I began assigning work to my team more effectively, a move that allowed me to excel as a manager and help them thrive as contributors. It was a crucial learning moment, one that I have valued every day since.”

3. If you identify a potential risk in a project, what steps do you take to prevent it?

Yes, this is also a problem-solving question. The difference is, with this one, it’s not about fixing an issue; it’s about stopping it from happening. Still, you use problem-solving skills along the way, so it falls in this question category.

If you can, use an example of a moment when you mitigated risk in the past. If you haven’t had that opportunity, approach it theoretically, discussing the steps you would take to prevent an issue from developing.

“If I identify a potential risk in a project, my first step is to assess the various factors that could lead to a poor outcome. Prevention requires analysis. Ensuring I fully understand what can trigger the undesired event creates the right foundation, allowing me to figure out how to reduce the likelihood of those events occurring. Once I have the right level of understanding, I come up with a mitigation plan. Exactly what this includes varies depending on the nature of the issue, though it usually involves various steps and checks designed to monitor the project as it progresses to spot paths that may make the problem more likely to happen. I find this approach effective as it combines knowledge and ongoing vigilance. That way, if the project begins to head into risky territory, I can correct its trajectory.”

17 More Problem-Solving-Based Interview Questions

In the world of problem-solving questions, some apply to a wide range of jobs, while others are more niche. For example, customer service reps and IT helpdesk professionals both encounter challenges, but not usually the same kind.

As a result, some of the questions in this list may be more relevant to certain careers than others. However, they all give you insights into what this kind of question looks like, making them worth reviewing.

Here are 17 more problem-solving interview questions you might face off against during your job search:

  • How would you describe your problem-solving skills?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you had to use creativity to deal with an obstacle?
  • Describe a time when you discovered an unmet customer need while assisting a customer and found a way to meet it.
  • If you were faced with an upset customer, how would you diffuse the situation?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to troubleshoot a complex issue.
  • Imagine you were overseeing a project and needed a particular item. You have two choices of vendors: one that can deliver on time but would be over budget, and one that’s under budget but would deliver one week later than you need it. How do you figure out which approach to use?
  • Your manager wants to upgrade a tool you regularly use for your job and wants your recommendation. How do you formulate one?
  • A supplier has said that an item you need for a project isn’t going to be delivered as scheduled, something that would cause your project to fall behind schedule. What do you do to try and keep the timeline on target?
  • Can you share an example of a moment where you encountered a unique problem you and your colleagues had never seen before? How did you figure out what to do?
  • Imagine you were scheduled to give a presentation with a colleague, and your colleague called in sick right before it was set to begin. What would you do?
  • If you are given two urgent tasks from different members of the leadership team, both with the same tight deadline, how do you choose which to tackle first?
  • Tell me about a time you and a colleague didn’t see eye-to-eye. How did you decide what to do?
  • Describe your troubleshooting process.
  • Tell me about a time where there was a problem that you weren’t able to solve. What happened?
  • In your opening, what skills or traits make a person an exceptional problem-solver?
  • When you face a problem that requires action, do you usually jump in or take a moment to carefully assess the situation?
  • When you encounter a new problem you’ve never seen before, what is the first step that you take?

Putting It All Together

At this point, you should have a solid idea of how to approach problem-solving interview questions. Use the tips above to your advantage. That way, you can thrive during your next interview.

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  • What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
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  • Tell Me About Yourself
  • Why Should We Hire You?

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problem solving interview riddles

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Mike simpson.

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Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

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Puzzles for interviews

Puzzles for Interviews | 5 common puzzles and how to solve them

Some job interviews may include puzzle questions. such questions are often rather simple but can be very confusing, especially in high-pressure scenarios like an interview. it is essential to prepare for such questions beforehand. so, here are 5 common puzzles for interviews with their solutions, and some bonus tips and tricks for facing them., table of contents, what are puzzles for interviews, 1. do not rush, 2. ask for clarification, 3. keep an open mind, 4. explain your answer, 5. always answer, sample answer 1, sample answer 2, sample answer, 1. keep pen and paper handy, 2. practice well, 3. keep calm, what’s next.

Did you know that often, you get asked puzzles for interviews? It may sound surprising, but it is rather common among interviewers to ask you questions that are puzzles and riddles to assess your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Such questions are trendy in interviews for positions in the IT sector, such as software engineer, developer, programmer, etc. You may also face them in interviews for critical positions which require quick analytical thinking and decision making, including law enforcement, armed forces, and several administrative jobs.

Puzzles are logical thinking problems like brain teasers that allow the interviewer to judge your deductive reasoning skills, wit, creativity, and ability to perform in high-pressure situations. Let’s look at how you should prepare for puzzle interview questions, some common questions asked with their answers, and some tips and tricks for when you face the interviewers.

Answering puzzle interview questions

While these interview questions may seem confusing, they are often not too difficult to answer. Here are a few things you can do to help you answer puzzles for interviews-

The most basic mistake candidates make is trying to answer as quickly as possible. Try to avoid this even if you can respond quickly. Instead, take a few seconds to think about the question and understand the problem you need to solve. If you think it may take some time, ask your interviewer to give you a minute. 

Puzzles and riddles are designed to be challenging to understand so that they can confuse you. So before starting to solve, ensure that you understand the question thoroughly. Ask your interviewer to clarify the question if necessary. Do not worry about making a poor impression; the interviewer will instead appreciate your seriousness in attempting. 

Puzzles for interviews

Even if you are some kind of genius with puzzles, remember that there will always be that one puzzle that is more difficult than others and may require a different approach. Do not get stuck on whatever you have practiced. Try it from all angles possible, even experiment, if you must. The interviewer from these attempts will gauge your analytical thinking.

Interviewers usually seek crisp and to-the-point answers from candidates. However, with puzzle questions, it is always a good idea to not just answer but to explain how you arrived at your conclusion. This helps the interviewer gauge your reasoning and deduction skills and your systematic approach to solving problems.

With puzzle questions, your logical reasoning in the attempt to arrive at an answer is more important than the actual answer itself. Therefore, when asked for puzzles for interviews, always respond, even if you think it is wrong. Sometimes, the interviewer may even ask questions that will have wrong answers only.  

5 common puzzle interview questions

Many puzzles may be asked in an interview, and it is practically impossible to prepare for all of them. However, most of them have some common themes and solving techniques. Here are 5 of the commonest puzzles that are asked in interviews, along with their solutions, so that you are aware of how to approach solving them.

1. You are stuck in a closed room with two doors. One of them is the right exit, and the other wrong. The doors are being protected by two guards, one for each door. The correct exit door will lead to freedom while the incorrect door leads you to eternal prison. You are allowed to ask each guard one question to help you find the correct door. But there is a catch. One of the guards will always lie, and the other will alway tell the truth. You do not know which of them tells the truth & which of them lies. What question can you ask the guards to find the correct door & escape to freedom?

There are a couple of different solutions to this problem-

I shall ask both the guards the same question: “If I were to ask the other guard to point out the right door, which door would they indicate?”

Both the guards will indicate the wrong door in response. So, I will skip that one and take the other one out.

Puzzles for interviews

I shall ask the guards to open the doors. Since I did not open a door myself, I shall technically not have to bear its consequences. With this, I will be able to see what is beyond each door, after which I will choose the right door.

2. You have a race track with five lanes. From out of 25 horses, you have to find the 3 fastest horses. How many races will you have to conduct to find the three fastest horses?

This question tests your thinking abilities and approach. Here is how you can answer it.

Conduct 5 separate races with 5 horses in each race. Then, conduct a sixth race between the winners of each of the previous 5 races. The winner of this race is the first fastest horse.

After this, conduct another race between the 4 remaining horses from the sixth race. This race’s 1st and 2nd horses are the second and third fastest horses of the entire set.

3. Three ants are sitting on three corners of an equilateral triangle. All of the ants can move in a random direction only along the triangle edges. Calculate the probability of the ants not colliding along the triangle?

According to the given conditions, there is a 50-50 probability of the ants never meeting and a 50-50 chance that at least two do.

As a result, all the ants must travel either in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction, thereby reducing the initial 50% chance of them meeting to 25% since half of 50 is 25.

4. Two trains are travelling towards each other, both at the speed of 40 km/h, from a distance of 80 km. A bird flies at 100 km/h from train 1 to train 2. After reaching train 2, the bird turns and flies along the same path back to train The bird keeps flying back and forth until the trains finally collide with each other. How much distance does the bird cover in total?

Since the trains are both moving, calculating the distance will not work. This is a mathematical problem designed to test your arithmetic abilities. The solution is as follows:

Velocity of the trains while approaching each other = 40 km/h + 40 km/h = 80 km/h.

Time taken till collision = distance/velocity = 80 km/80 km/h = 1 hour.

Therefore, total distance travelled by bird = Speed of the bird/time to collision = 100 km/h / 1hr = 100 km.

5. You come upon 100 closed doors arranged one after another in a straight line. You decide to pass 100 times through all the doors starting from the first. On each of your passes, you open the closed doors and close the open ones. You visit the doors according to the number of the pass you are making, starting from the door of that number and subsequently the door of that number. So you visit all the doors one by one during your first pass. On your 2nd pass, you start from the second door and visit every second door, in the third round every 3rd door, every 4th door on the 4th round, and so on. After you reach the 100th door during your last 100th round, which of the doors are open and which ones are closed?

The solution to this lies in a simple formula. The number of the doors you visit on each pass will be the same as the divisors of the door’s number. For example, the divisors of the number 27 are 1, 3, 9, and 27. So you will visit this door on the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 27th passes only.

Since all the doors are closed at the beginning, and you will open closed doors and close open doors each time you visit a door, you open the initially closed 27th door on the first visit, close it on the third visit, open it again on the ninth visit, and close it finally on your 27th visit.

Whether a door will remain open or closed will depend on the number of its divisors. If it has an even number of divisors, it will remain closed, and if it has an odd number of divisors, it will remain open. Only perfect square numbers have an odd number of divisors. Therefore, only the doors, which are perfect squares, will remain open, while all the rest will be closed.

Tips and tricks for preparing puzzle interviews

Puzzles for interviews

Now that you know how to answer puzzle questions and some of the common questions with their solutions, you are almost ready to go and face your interview. Before you go, here are a few quick tips and tricks that will help you ace your interview. 

Puzzle questions are often long drawn and confusing, making it easy to miss out on crucial information. Always keep paper and pen close at hand so that you never miss out on any critical point.

They say “practice makes perfect,” and they are correct. Read up on as many puzzle types as possible and understand how to solve them. This will not guarantee that you will be able to solve any puzzle thrown at you, but you will undoubtedly be more confident if you come across a tough one.

Interviews are high-pressure situations, and it is very easy to panic and rush into making mistakes. Always keep a calm mind and stay collected when facing puzzle questions.

Interviews can be challenging, but none of them are impossible with the proper practice and right tools. We hope this article has given you all of the tips. So go out there, face your interview, and land your dream job! All the best!

We hope you liked this blog. For any more questions connect with us or drop a comment below.

Liked this Blog? Read more: Frequently asked interview questions | A guide to preparing well!

Q1. Will puzzles always be asked in interviews?

Answer- While most interviewers don’t always ask puzzles for interviews, they are relatively common, and some interviews may even have dedicated sections to puzzle solving. It is always a good idea to be prepared for them just in case.

Q2. I am terrible with puzzles. What to do?

Answer- The first thing you must do is relax and not panic. You must remember that puzzles are asked to test your reasoning and problem-solving abilities, both of which are inherently present in human beings in varying degrees, regardless of age. Practice solving puzzles beforehand and understand the various approaches you can take to solve these. Try to think analytically and out of the box, ask the interviewers for clarification, and explain your approach whatever answer you arrive at.

Q3. Are puzzles asked in software companies?

Answer- Since problem-solving is a big part of programming, interviewers usually test all recruits to software companies for this skill with puzzle questions. So it is relatively common in software companies to ask new recruits puzzles for interviews.

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Top 100 Puzzles Asked In Interviews

Puzzles are asked in Interviews to check our problem-solving skills. Here we are providing you with the top 100 puzzles that are asked in Interviews. The main aim of puzzles is entertainment. Puzzles can be of many types:- picture puzzles, logical puzzles, mathematical puzzles, etc. It is very helpful for the development of young minds and growth. The solver of a puzzle must arrive at the correct answer, or answers, by thinking or putting pieces together in a logical way.

Below is the list of the top 100 puzzles that are asked in Interviews:

Logical Puzzles:

Mathematical and analytical puzzles:, arrangement puzzles:, shape puzzles:, other puzzles:, conclusion:  .

Puzzles are very helpful to improve logical thinking day by day.  Start practicing puzzles to crack interviews. These days puzzles are asked too frequently in top product-based companies. By solving the above puzzles you are enough prepared to solve the similar type of puzzles asked in your upcoming interviews.

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  • Last updated November 26, 2021
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10 standard puzzles asked during Analytics Interviews

  • by Amit Paul Chowdhury

problem solving interview riddles

Design by Analytics puzzles on the top of an interviewer's mind

problem solving interview riddles

The analytics industry predominantly relies on professionals and analysts who not only excel in extensive use of statistics and Data handling tools but also exhibit excellent problem-solving skills. However, a fresher entering the domain doesn’t necessarily have to know all these skills in advance. So, most of these interviews entail puzzles, logical reasoning problems, and questions that help in testing a candidate’s lateral thinking. This assessment enables the interviewer to assert the candidate’s logical reasoning problems and questions to test lateral thinking, which is an important part of most analytics job interviews.

Most of the puzzles asked during analytics-based interviews can be generalized into 3 sections – technical, straightforward, and the ones unsolvable. It’s advisable for aspiring candidates to practice these puzzle sets in advance, so as to gain more proficiency. The most ideal approach to solving these puzzles is to focus on the data provided while developing a structured approach. Most importantly, you must be able to explain your approach to the interviewer. Let us glance through some of the most common puzzles that baffle candidates appearing for analytics interviews.

You can also test yourself on data science interview puzzles at the mock assessment in MachineHack.

problem solving interview riddles

1. There are 5 lanes on a race track. One needs to find out the 3 fastest horses among total of 25. Find out the minimum number of races to be conducted in order to determine the fastest three.

problem solving interview riddles

This is one of the most common interview puzzles asked by analytics interviewers . This puzzle tests interviewee’s approach to solving the problem. The approach entails conducting 5 races where each race group would involve 5 horses. In the ensuing step, a sixth race is conducted between winners of first 5 races to determine the 3 fastest horses (marked A1, B1, A=and C1). The seventh race is conducted between horses B1, C1, second and third horse from the horse A1’s group (A2, A3), second horse from horse B1’s group (B2). The horses that finish 1 st and 2 nd in the seventh race, are actually the 2nd and the 3rd fastest horses among all horses.

2. There are 3 mislabeled jars, with apple and oranges in the first and second jar respectively. The third jar contains a mixture of apples and oranges. You can pick as many fruits as required to precisely label each jar. Determine the minimum number of fruits to be picked up in the process of labeling the jars.

problem solving interview riddles

This is another tricky puzzle where you must really churn your brain. A noticeable aspect in this puzzles is the fact that there’s a circular misplacement, which implies if apple is wrongly labelled as Apple, Apple can’t be labelled as Orange, i.e., it has to be labeled as A+O. We are acquainted with the fact that everything is wrongly placed, which means A+O jar contains either Apple or Orange (but not both). The candidate picks one fruit from A+O, and let’s assume he gets an apple. He labels the jar as apple, however, jar labelled Apple can’t have A+O. Thus, the third jar left in the process should be labelled A+O. Basically, picking only one fruit helps in correctly labeling the jars.

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Join our editors every weekday evening as they steer you through the most significant news of the day, introduce you to fresh perspectives, and provide unexpected moments of joy, your newsletter subscriptions are subject to aim privacy policy and terms and conditions., 3. there are 8 batteries, but only 4 of them work. you have to use them for a flashlight which needs only 2 working batteries. to guarantee that the flashlight is turned on, what is the minimum number of battery pairs you need to test.

problem solving interview riddles

To solve this problem, the first step involves naming the batteries, for instance, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. In this problem, you can’t compare 2 items directly. If a combination of two batteries fail to turn the light on, it means either one or both the batteries aren’t working. The candidate has to approach the puzzle in a circular manner.

The batteries are put test consecutively in the order AB, BC, and AC. At most, one of the three batteries between A, B, And C is working, only if none of the pairs work. This also implies that at least three batteries between D, E, F, G, and H must be functional. DE combination is tried next. If they don’t work, at least 2 out of F, G, and H must work. Similarly, try the combinations FG, GH, and FH to positively asset which batteries really work.

4. 10 coins are placed before you on a table, while you stay blindfolded. The candidate is permitted to touch the coins, however conditions to the puzzle dictates that he can’t really determine which way up they are by feel. 5 coins are placed heads up, while the other 5 are kept tails up, without the interviewee knowing which ones are which. If you’re allowed to flip the coins any number of times, how would you build two piles of coins each with the same number of heads up.

problem solving interview riddles

This is another common analytics puzzle revolving around coins. This problem can be solved by initially creating two piles of coin, with 5 randomly selected coins in each pile. Let’s assume the first pile looks like H, H, H, H, T and the other pile can be imagined as T, T, T, T, H. The final bit in solving the puzzle involves flipping all coins in the second pile to finally obtain same number of heads. This common coin puzzles tends to pose confusion in the candidates mind.

5. Two trains, separated by a distance of 80km, are running towards each other on the same track at a speed of 40kmph. A bird takes its flight from train X and flies towards train Y at a constant speed of 100kmph. Once it reaches train Y, it turns and start flying back toward strain X. The bird keeps flying to and forth till both the trains collide. Determine the distance travelled by the bird.

problem solving interview riddles

This is another common analytics-based puzzle where the candidate has to use his quick thinking and mathematical skills to find the answer. Ideally the problem should take a minute for solving. The problem can be solved mathematically in the following few steps:

Velocity of approach for two trains = (40+40)km/hr

Time taken for the trains to collide = 80km/80km/hr = 1hour

The total distance travelled by the bird = 100km/hr * 1hr = 100km

Through this puzzle, the interviewer is testing your approach. Consider yourself rejected if the approach you took involves calculating distance from X to Y, and then Y to X, and so on.

6. A birthday cake has to be equally divided into 8 equal pieces in exactly 3 cuts. Determine the way to make this division possible.

problem solving interview riddles

This puzzle is not really difficult to solve if you really put your mind to work. The approach entails slicing the cake horizontally down the centre, followed by making another division vertically through the centre. The two divisions made across horizontal and vertical directions will give you 4 equal pieces of the cake.

In the final step, simply stack the 4 pieces one above the other, and then make the third division, splitting the stack into half. This gives you the 8 equal pieces of cake, along with answer to your puzzle.

7. You pull out 2 balls, one after another, from a bag which has 20 blue and 13 red balls in total. If the balls are of similar colour, then the balls are replaced with a blue ball, however, if the balls are of different colours, then a red ball is used to replace them. Once the balls are taken out of the bag, they are not placed back in the bag, and thus the number of balls keep reducing. Determine the colour of last ball left in the bag.

problem solving interview riddles

This puzzle usually seems like a tough one to answer, but solving it once makes one realize that the procedure was actually simple. If the candidate pulls out 2 red balls, he replaces them with a blue ball. On the other hand, if he draws one red and one blue, it is replaced with a red one. This implies that the red ball would always be in odd numbers, whether the candidate removes 2 together, or removes 1 while adding 1. This also indicates that the last ball to stay in the bag would be a red one. The interviewer is merely testing the approach the candidate applies in solving this common analytics puzzle.

8. There are 2 jugs with 4 litres and 5 litres of water respectively. The objective is to pour exactly 7 litres of water in a bucket. How can it be accomplished?

problem solving interview riddles

This question can be rated of medium difficulty and shouldn’t ideally take more than 2 minutes to answer. The approach here is to initially fill the 5L jug with water and empty the same into the 4L jug. The 5L jug will be left with 1L of water, which is poured into the bucket. Meanwhile, empty the 4L jug.

The above step is repeated, so that the bucket now is filled with 2L of water. Finally, fill the 5L jug with water and empty the same into the bucket. The bucket will now have 7L of water, as you add % L directly to the previously collected 2L of water in the bucket.

9. There are 10 stacks of 10 coins each, where each coin weighs 10gms. However, one of the stacks is defective, and that stack contains coins which weigh 9gms. Determine the minimum number of weights needed to identify the defective stack.

problem solving interview riddles

This is another tricky puzzle, asked commonly during analytics-based interviews . To solve this problem, the trick lies in creating a weighted stack for measurement, which will enable the candidate to identify the defective stack in one measurement.

A coin is taken from the first stack, 2 from the second, 3 from the third, and so on. This will give a total of 55 coins in hand. If none of them are defective, they would weigh 550gms together. However, if stack 1 turns defective, the total weight would stand at 549gms; defect in stack 2 would result in a total weight of 548gms; and so on. Therefore, just one measurement can help the candidate identify the faulty stack.

10. There are 3 switches in a room, where one of them is assigned for a bulb in the next room. You can’t see whether the bulb is on or off, until you leave the room. Find the minimum number of times you have to go into the room to identify which switch corresponds to the bulb in the other room.

problem solving interview riddles

This question has been asked several times during different analytics-based interviews . The person has to initially turn on the first switch and keep it on for 2-3 minutes. Next, turn off the first switch and turn on the second one. Rush to the other room as soon as you turn on the second switch.

If the bulb is glowing, the second switch corresponds to the light bulb; however, if the bulb doesn’t glow, but touching it feels warm, the first switch is the one that turns the bulb on. If it’s neither lit, nor warm, then the third switch is the desired switch. So, a person must go only once to the other room to find out the accurate switch.

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20 Tough Riddles for Adults That Will Have You Scratching Your Head

Put your logic and math skills to the test. No cheating!

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So go grab a pencil and a piece of scratch paper and prepare to rip your hair out (and we really do mean that in the best way possible). When you think you’ve got the right answer, click the link at the bottom of each riddle to find the solution. Got it wrong? No worries, you have 19 other riddles to test out.

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Puzzmo / The King’s Orders / How Many Eggs? / The Gold Chain / Pickleball / Circuit Breaker / Two Trains, Two Grandmas / Ant Math / Peppermint Patty / Great American Rail Trail / A Cruel SAT Problem / Movie Stars Cross a River / Tribute to a Math Genius / One Belt, One Earth / Elbow Tapping / Whiskey Problem / Doodle Problem / Stumping Scientists / What ’ s On Her Forehead? / Keanu for President / Who Opened the Lockers?

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Riddle No. 1: The King’s Orders Make for One Hell of a Brain Teaser

Difficulty: easy.

King Nupe of the kingdom Catan dotes on his two daughters so much that he decides the kingdom would be better off with more girls than boys, and he makes the following decree: All child-bearing couples must continue to bear children until they have a daughter!

But to avoid overpopulation, he makes an additional decree: All child-bearing couples will stop having children once they have a daughter! His subjects immediately begin following his orders.

After many years, what’s the expected ratio of girls to boys in Catan?

The likelihood of each baby born being a girl is, of course, 50 percent.

Ready for the solution? Click here to see if you’re right .

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Riddle No. 2: How Many Eggs Does This Hen Lay?

This problem is in honor of my dad, Harold Feiveson. It’s due to him that I love math puzzles, and this is one of the first problems (of many) that he gave me when I was growing up.

A hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half. How many eggs does one hen lay in one day?

Riddle No. 3: The Gold Chain Math Problem Is Deceptively Simple

Difficulty: moderate.

You’re rummaging around your great grandmother’s attic when you find five short chains each made of four gold links. It occurs to you that if you combined them all into one big loop of 20 links, you’d have an incredible necklace. So you bring it into a jeweler, who tells you the cost of making the necklace will be $10 for each gold link that she has to break and then reseal.

How much will it cost?

Riddle No. 4: Try to Solve This Pickleball Puzzle

Difficulty: 🚨hard🚨.

Kenny, Abby, and Ned got together for a round-robin pickleball tournament, where, as usual, the winner stays on after each game to play the person who sat out that game. At the end of their pickleball afternoon, Abby is exhausted, having played the last seven straight games. Kenny, who is less winded, tallies up the games played:

Kenny played eight games

Abby played 12 games

Ned played 14 games

Who won the fourth game against whom?

How many total games were played?

Riddle No. 5: Our Circuit Breaker Riddle Is Pure Evil. Sorry.

The circuit breaker box in your new house is in an inconvenient corner of your basement. To your chagrin, you discover none of the 100 circuit breakers is labeled, and you face the daunting prospect of matching each circuit breaker to its respective light. (Suppose each circuit breaker maps to only one light.)

To start with, you switch all 100 lights in the house to “on,” and then you head down to your basement to begin the onerous mapping process. On every trip to your basement, you can switch any number of circuit breakers on or off. You can then roam the hallways of your house to discover which lights are on and which are off.

What is the minimum number of trips you need to make to the basement to map every circuit breaker to every light?

The solution does not involve either switching on or off the light switches in your house or feeling how hot the lightbulbs are. You might want to try solving for the case of 10 unlabeled circuit breakers first.

Riddle No. 6: Two Trains. Two Grandmas. Can You Solve This Tricky Math Riddle?

Jesse’s two grandmothers want to see him every weekend, but they live on opposite sides of town. As a compromise, he tells them that every Sunday, he’ll head to the subway station nearest to his apartment at a random time of the day and will hop on the next train that arrives.

If it happens to be the train traveling north, he’ll visit his Grandma Erica uptown, and if it happens to be the train traveling south, he’ll visit his Grandma Cara downtown. Both of his grandmothers are okay with this plan, since they know both the northbound and southbound trains run every 20 minutes.

But after a few months of doing this, Grandma Cara complains that she sees him only one out of five Sundays. Jesse promises he’s indeed heading to the station at a random time each day. How can this be?

The trains always arrive at their scheduled times.

Riddle No. 7: Here’s a Really F@*#ing Hard Math Problem About Ants

Max and Rose are ant siblings. They love to race each other, but always tie, since they actually crawl at the exact same speed. So they decide to create a race where one of them (hopefully) will win.

For this race, each of them will start at the bottom corner of a cuboid, and then crawl as fast as they can to reach a crumb at the opposite corner. The measurements of their cuboids are as pictured:

ant riddle

If they both take the shortest possible route to reach their crumb, who will reach their crumb first? (Don’t forget they’re ants, so of course they can climb anywhere on the edges or surface of the cuboid.)

Remember: Think outside the box.

Riddle No. 8: This Peppermint Patty Riddle Is Practically Impossible

You’re facing your friend, Caryn, in a “candy-off,” which works as follows: There’s a pile of 100 caramels and one peppermint patty. You and Caryn will go back and forth taking at least one and no more than five caramels from the candy pile in each turn. The person who removes the last caramel will also get the peppermint patty. And you love peppermint patties.

Suppose Caryn lets you decide who goes first. Who should you choose in order to make sure you win the peppermint patty?

First, solve for a pile of 10 caramels.

Riddle No. 9: Can You Solve the Great American Rail-Trail Riddle?

This problem was suggested by the physicist P. Jeffrey Ungar.

Finally, the Great American Rail-Trail across the whole country is complete! Go ahead, pat yourself on the back—you’ve just installed the longest handrail in the history of the world, with 4,000 miles from beginning to end. But just after the opening ceremony, your assistant reminds you that the metal you used for the handrail expands slightly in summer, so that its length will increase by one inch in total.

“Ha!” you say, “One inch in a 4,000 mile handrail? That’s nothing!” But … are you right?

Let’s suppose when the handrail expands, it buckles upward at its weakest point, which is in the center. How much higher will pedestrians in the middle of the country have to reach in summer to grab the handrail? That is, in the figure below, what is h ? (For the purposes of this question, ignore the curvature of the Earth and assume the trail is a straight line.)

great american rail trail riddle

Pythagoras is a fascinating historical figure.

Riddle No. 10: This Riddle Is Like an Especially Cruel SAT Problem. Can You Find the Answer?

Amanda lives with her teenage son, Matt, in the countryside—a car ride away from Matt’s school. Every afternoon, Amanda leaves the house at the same time, drives to the school at a constant speed, picks Matt up exactly when his chess club ends at 5 p.m., and then they immediately return home together at the same constant speed. But one day, Matt isn’t feeling well, so he leaves chess practice early and starts to head home on his portable scooter.

After Matt has been scooting for an hour, Amanda comes across him in her car (on her usual route to pick him up), and they return together, arriving home 40 minutes earlier than they usually do. How much chess practice did Matt miss?

Consider the case where Amanda meets Matt exactly as she’s leaving their house.

Riddle No. 11: Can You Get These 3 Movie Stars Across the River?

Three movie stars, Chloe, Lexa, and Jon, are filming a movie in the Amazon. They’re very famous and very high-maintenance, so their agents are always with them. One day, after filming a scene deep in the rainforest, the three actors and their agents decide to head back to home base by foot. Suddenly, they come to a large river.

On the riverbank, they find a small rowboat, but it’s only big enough to hold two of them at one time. The catch? None of the agents are comfortable leaving their movie star with any other agents if they’re not there as well. They don’t trust that the other agents won’t try to poach their star.

For example, Chloe’s agent is okay if Chloe and Lexa are alone in the boat or on one of the riverbanks, but definitely not okay if Lexa’s agent is also with them. So how can they all get across the river?

There isn’t just one way to solve this problem.

Riddle No. 12: This Ludicrously Hard Riddle Is Our Tribute to a Late Math Genius. Can You Figure It Out?

On April 11, John Horton Conway , a brilliant mathematician who had an intense and playful love of puzzles and games, died of complications from COVID-19. Conway is the inventor of one of my favorite legendary problems (not for the faint of heart) and, famously, the Game of Life . I created this problem in his honor.

Carol was creating a family tree, but had trouble tracking down her mother’s birthdate. The only clue she found was a letter written from her grandfather to her grandmother on the day her mother was born. Unfortunately, some of the characters were smudged out, represented here with a “___” . (The length of the line does not reflect the number of smudged characters.)

“Dear Virginia,

Little did I know when I headed to work this Monday morning, that by evening we would have a beautiful baby girl. And on our wedding anniversary, no less! It makes me think back to that incredible weekend day, J___ 27th, 19___ , when we first shared our vow to create a family together, and, well, here we are! Happy eighth anniversary, my love.

Love, Edwin”

The question: When was Carol’s mother born?

This problem is inspired by Conway’s Doomsday Rule .

Riddle No. 13: To Solve This Twisty Math Riddle, You Just Need One Belt and One Earth

Imagine you have a very long belt. Well, extremely long, really … in fact, it’s just long enough that it can wrap snugly around the circumference of our entire planet. (For the sake of simplicity, let’s suppose Earth is perfectly round, with no mountains, oceans, or other barriers in the way of the belt.)

Naturally, you’re very proud of your belt. But then your brother, Peter, shows up—and to your disgruntlement, he produces a belt that’s just a bit longer than yours. He brags his belt is longer by exactly his height: 6 feet.

If Peter were also to wrap his belt around the circumference of Earth, how far above the surface could he suspend the belt if he pulled it tautly and uniformly?

Earth’s circumference is about 25,000 miles, or 130 million feet … but you don’t need to know that to solve this problem.

Riddle No. 14: This Elbow Tapping Riddle Is Diabolical. Good Luck Solving It.

In some future time, when the shelter-in-place bans are lifted, a married couple, Florian and Julia, head over to a bar to celebrate their newfound freedom.

They find four other couples there who had the same idea.

Eager for social contact, every person in the five couples enthusiastically taps elbows (the new handshake) with each person they haven’t yet met .

It actually turns out many of the people had known each other prior, so when Julia asks everyone how many elbows they each tapped, she remarkably gets nine different answers!

The question: How many elbows did Florian tap?

What nine answers did Julia hear?

Riddle No. 15: You’ll Need a Drink After Trying to Solve This Whisky Riddle

Alan and Claire live by the old Scottish saying, “Never have whisky without water, nor water without whisky!” So one day, when Alan has in front of him a glass of whisky, and Claire has in front of her a same-sized glass of water, Alan takes a spoonful of his whisky and puts it in Claire’s water. Claire stirs her whisky-tinted water, and then puts a spoonful of this mixture back into Alan’s whisky to make sure they have exactly the same amount to drink.

So: Is there more water in Alan’s whisky, or more whisky in Claire’s water? And does it matter how well Claire stirred?

The size of the spoon does not matter.

Riddle No. 16: The Doodle Problem Is a Lot Harder Than It Looks. Can You Solve It?

This week’s riddle is relatively simple—but sinister all the same.

The question: Can you make 100 by interspersing any number of pluses and minuses within the string of digits 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1? You can’t change the order of the digits! So what’s the least number of pluses and minuses needed to make 100?

Text, Font, Logo, Graphics, Smile,

For instance, 98 - 7 - 6 + 54 - 32 shows one way of interspersing pluses and minuses, but since it equals 107, it’s not a solution.

I call this a “doodle problem”: one that’s best worked on during meetings where you might be doodling otherwise.

You might want to start looking for solutions that use a total of seven pluses and minuses (although there are ways to use fewer).

Ready for the solution? Click here to see if you’re right.

Riddle No. 17: This Math Puzzle Stumped Every Scientist but One. Think You Can Crack It?

Difficulty: hard.

In honor of Freeman Dyson, the renowned physicist who died last month , here’s a legendary tale demonstrating his quick wit and incredible brain power.

One day, in a gathering of top scientists, one of them wondered out loud whether there exists an integer that you could exactly double by moving its last digit to its front. For instance, 265 would satisfy this if 526 were its exact double—which it isn’t.

After apparently just five seconds , Dyson responded, “Of course there is, but the smallest such number has 18 digits.”

This left some of the smartest scientists in the world puzzling over how he could have figured this out so quickly.

So given Dyson’s hint, what is the smallest such number?

My second grader has recently learned how to add a 3-digit number to itself using the classic vertical method:

Font, Text, Calligraphy, Line, Art, Writing,

18-digit numbers, of course, can be added in the same way.

Riddle No. 18: Figure Out What’s on Her Forehead

Cecilia loves testing the logic of her very logical friends Jaya, Julian, and Levi, so she announces:

“I’ll write a positive number on each of your foreheads. None of the numbers are the same, and two of the numbers add up to the third.”

She scribbles the numbers on their heads, then turns to Jaya and asks her what her number is. Jaya sees Julian has 20 on his forehead, and Levi has 30 on his. She thinks for a moment and then says, “I don’t know what my number is.” Julian pipes in, “I also don’t know my number,” and then Levi exclaims, “Me neither!” Cecilia gleefully says, “I’ve finally stumped you guys!”

“Not so fast!” Jaya says. “Now I know my number!”

What is Jaya’s number?

Jaya could be one of two numbers, but only one of those numbers would lead to Julian and Levi both not knowing their numbers. Why?

Riddle No. 19: Can You Get Keanu Reeves Elected As President?

It’s 2024, and there are five candidates running in the democratic primary: Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Cuban, Keanu Reeves, and Dwayne Johnson. (Hey, it could happen.) As usual, the first primary is in Iowa.

In an effort to overcome its embarrassment after the 2020 caucus debacle , the Iowa Democratic Party has just announced a new, foolproof way of finding the best candidate: there will be four consecutive elections.

First, candidate 1 will run against candidate 2. Next, the winner of that will run against candidate 3, then that winner will run against candidate 4, and finally the winner of that election will run against the final candidate. By the transitive property, the winner of this last election must be the best candidate ... so says the Iowa Democratic Party.

Candidate Keanu has been feeling pretty low, as he knows he is ranked near the bottom by most voters, and at the top by none. In fact, he knows the Iowa population is divided into five equal groups, and that their preferences are as follows:

Text, Font, Line, Organism, Document, Number, Handwriting, Calligraphy, Smile, Art,

Keanu is childhood friends with Bill S. Preston, Esq., the new head of the Iowa Democratic Party. Preston, confident that the order of the candidates doesn’t matter for the outcome, tells Keanu he can choose the voting order of the candidates.

So what order should Keanu choose?

How would Keanu fare in one-to-one races against each candidate?

Riddle No. 20: Who Opened All These Damn Lockers?

There are 100 lockers that line the main hallway of Chelm High School. Every night, the school principal makes sure all the lockers are closed so that there will be an orderly start to the next day. One day, 100 mischievous students decide that they will play a prank.

The students all meet before school starts and line up. The first student then walks down the hallway, and opens every locker. The next student follows by closing every other locker (starting at the second locker). Student 3 then goes to every third locker (starting with the third) and opens it if it’s closed, and closes it if it’s open. Student 4 follows by opening every fourth locker if it’s closed and closing it if it’s open. This goes on and on until Student 100 finally goes to the hundredth locker. When the principal arrives later in the morning, which lockers does she find open?

Make sure you pay attention to all of the factors.

Headshot of Laura Feiveson

Laura Feiveson is an economist for the government, a storyteller, and a lifelong enthusiast of math puzzles.  She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two daughters. 

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  • 41 of Google’s Toughest Interview Questions

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Google is one of the best companies to work for in the world. Google employees have perks that are unheard of in other companies.

They get to enjoy free gourmet cafeterias, massage rooms, free health checkups, nap pods and so on. If they want to take a break, Google employees can relax by playing billiards, swimming in the company pool, enjoying some video games or giving the rock climbing wall a try.

Consequently, the company gets a lot of applications from job seekers.

To help it find the best employees from all these applicants, Google is known to have a very rigorous interviewing process, with difficult, brainteaser questions that require you to think outside the box.

These questions are thrown in between practical interview questions with the aim of testing how prospective employees act under pressure.

Many of these questions do not have any definite answer. Instead, they are meant to provide the interviewer with a glimpse into the interviewee’s problem solving skills and thought processes.

Below are the 41 toughest questions you might have to answer if you ever find yourself invited to an interview at Google.

1. How many golf balls can be fitted inside a school bus?

The aim of this question is to find out your approach to solving problems. Therefore, what matters is not the exact answer, but rather the thought process you follow to arrive at the answer.

To answer this question, you can guestimate the dimensions of an average school bus and then use these dimensions to calculate the volume of the bus.

From there, guestimate the volume of a golf ball and then divide the volume of the school bus by the volume of a golf ball to find out the number of golf balls that can fit inside the bus.

By explaining this process, you will have provided the interviewer with an insight into how you solve problems.

2. You need to confirm that your friend Bob has your correct phone number…

However, you cannot ask Bob directly. You have to write down the question on a piece of paper and give it to Eve, who will pass the paper to Bob and then pass back Bob’s answer to you. What should you write on the paper to ensure that Bob gets your message while making it impossible for Eve to find out your phone number?

This question is meant to test your creativity and your ability to think outside the box. A simple answer would be to ask Bob to give you a call.

If he makes the call, you will be certain that he has your correct number. If he doesn’t, then that means that he doesn’t have your number.

If you want to give an even more geeky answer, you can ask Bob to write down the sum of all the digits that make up your phone number. This is known as a check-sum.

If Bob doesn’t have your correct number, his answer will not be equal to the sum of all the digits of your number. In addition, since Bob will only write down the sum, it will be impossible for Eve to find out your number.

3. If you were asked to wash all the windows in Seattle, how much would you charge?

This is a trick question meant to test whether you can find simple solutions to complex problems. Instead of trying to guess the number of windows in Seattle, you can answer the question simply by stating the price you would charge per window, for example, $8 per window.

4. You are given eight balls which are equal in size…

Seven of these balls have an equal weight, while one ball is slightly heavier. You have also been provided with a weighing balance. How do you find the heavier ball in only two weighings?

The aim of this question is to test your ability to be creative in the face of limited resources. In this case, the answer is to first take 6 balls and place them on the weighing balance, three on each side.

If the balls balance each other, then you know that the heavier ball is not part of this group, and is therefore one of the remaining two balls. You can then put these two remaining balls on the balance to determine the heavier one. If the heavier ball is part of the six balls, one side of the balance will be heavier, and you will have narrowed down to the three balls on the heavier side.

You can now pick two balls from this group and place them on the balance. If the heavier ball is among the two balls on the balance, you will know which one it is. If the two balls balance each other, then the third ball is the heavier one.

5. Come up with an evacuation plan for this city.

This is another question that is meant to provide the interviewer with a glimpse into your thought processes while solving problems.

The best response to this question would be to first ask the kind of disaster you are planning for.

6. How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?

Once again, this question is meant to test your thought processes when solving problems. What matters is not giving an exact answer, but rather explaining the thought process that led you to the answer.

To answer this question, you should start by making a guestimate of the total population of Chicago.

From the total population, you can come up with an estimate of the number of households within the city.

Next you need to make an estimate of the number of households that own a piano.

From there, estimate the number of times that a piano is tuned each year. From this, you can come up with an estimate of the number of piano tunings that are done each year.

From there, make an estimate of the average time it takes for a piano tuner to tune the piano.

Assuming that each piano tuner works 8 hours a day for 5 days a week, it is possible to calculate the number of piano tuners within the city.

7. There are four people stranded at night on one side of a cliff who need to go across a rickety rope bridge…

Unfortunately, the group has only one flashlight, and the batteries on the flashlight can only keep it powered for 17 minutes. Crossing the bridge without a flashlight is too dangerous, and the bridge can only support two people at a time. The four people have different speeds of going across the bridge. The first person can cross the bridge within a minute. The second one needs two minutes to cross the bridge. The third person needs 5 minutes to cross the bridge, while the last person needs 10 minutes to go across the bridge. How can the group make it across the bridge before the batteries on the flashlight die?

This question is simply a riddle meant to test your creativity. The correct answer is to have person one and two cross the bridge together, taking two minutes.

Person one goes back with the flashlight, with three minutes spent so far. Person three and four then cross together in ten minutes, taking the total time spent to 13 minutes.

Person two would then go back with the flashlight, taking total time spent to 15 minutes.

Person one and two would then cross the bridge together in the two minutes remaining before the flashlight goes off.

8. Assume you are the captain of a pirate ship and you have just stolen some loot from another ship…

As the captain, you get to decide how the loot will be divided. However, the crew will have to vote on your decision. If more than half of the crew vote against your plan, you will be killed. How will you recommend that the loot be divided in such a way that you stay alive and still get a good share of the loot?

This question aims to test your ability to come up with solutions for problems that deal with consensus in computing. This question is usually directed to engineering managers.

The answer to this question is to divide the loot evenly between 51% of the crew.

9. Your body is reduced in size to the height of a nickel and then you are thrown into an empty blender. The blender will be turned on in 60 seconds. What will you do?

This is another question that is meant to test your creativity. Like many of the questions, there is no definite answer to this question.

You could try and tamper with the electric motor before the blades start moving.

10. Explain a database to your 8 year old nephew in three sentences

The aim of this question is to test your understanding of complex ideas and your ability to explain these ideas in simple language.

A simple answer to this question would be: “ A database is a machine where you can store lots of information about something. You can then go to this machine whenever you want to remember that information.”

11. How much money does Google make from Gmail ads daily?

This question is meant to test your knowledge of Google’s different revenue systems as well as your analytical skills. What matters here is not the exact answer, but your explanation of how you arrive at your answer.

For instance, you might start your answer by stating the number of ads that Google places in each opened Gmail email. You can then estimate the average amount advertisers pay for each click on the ads.

F rom this, you can calculate the amount of money Google makes daily from Gmail ads by multiplying the number of Gmail users by the average number of emails each user receives each day by the average rate paid per clicked ad, divided by the multiple of email open rate and click through rate.

12. What is the weight of the empire state building?

This is another question that is meant to test your thought processes.

Once again, the aim here is not to give the exact weight of the empire state building. Unless you had anticipated the question and googled the question, it would be impossible to know the exact weight.

What you want to do in case this question is asked is to explain how you would go about calculating the weight of the building.

13. If the time on a wall clock is 3:15, what is the angle between the minute hand and the hour hand?

This is a trick question that whose aim is to test your attention to detail. Many people are likely to say the angle is zero since 3 o’clock and 15 minutes past the hour are both represented by the number 3 on a clock.

However, you should keep in mind that the hour hand gradually moves to the next number as the hour progresses. Therefore, while the minute hand will be pointing at 3, the hour hand will be a quarter way between 3 and 4.

Since there are 60 minutes in one revolution of the minute hand, we can say that each minute is equal to 6 degrees.

Therefore, the angle between two numbers on the clock is 30 degrees. Since the hour hand is ¼ way between 3 and 4, while the minute hand is at 3, the angle between them will be ¼ of 30 degrees, which is 7.4 degrees.

14. What should we have for dinner tonight?

Yes, this is actually a question that has been asked during a Google interview. The aim of this question is to test your ability to be a leader.

Therefore, you should give a definite answer, instead of saying something like “Depends on what you like” or “what do you have in mind?”

15. What is the significance of “dead beef”?

This question is usually asked to computer engineers with the aim of testing your knowledge of the industry.

Don’t respond by saying that beef is always dead.

Instead, you should be aware that DEADBEEF is a computing term that refers to a hexa-decimal value that was used to debug mainframe computers.

16. Is your IQ more than 130?

This is a trick question that is meant to assess your intellectual humility and how you view yourself.

Avoid answering this question with a yes even if you know your IQ is above 130.

People who take IQ tests and remember the results are likely to be insecure and prone to self-aggrandizement.

17. There are months with 30 days and others with 31 days. How many months have 28 days?

This is another trick question. Don’t be tempted to give “February” as your answer, because all months have 28 days or more.

18. You are presented with six glasses arranged in a row…

The first three glasses are empty, while the next three glasses are full of juice. You are required to arrange these glasses such that empty glasses alternate with full glasses. You are only allowed to move one glass. How do you do it?

This question is meant to test your creativity. The correct answer is to take the fifth glass, which is full, and pour its contents into the second glass.

19. You want to bring your dog to the office but one of your colleagues is allergic to dogs. What will you do?

The aim of this question is to assess how you would deal with potentially conflicting situations between you and your colleagues. A good answer would be to either leave your dog at home or ask to work remotely.

20. Between a flower shop and a funeral home, which has greater advertising potential?

Advertising is one of Google’s main sources of revenue, so this question tests your understanding of the company’s business model.

When answering this question, you should explain why you think one has greater potential than the other.

For instance, you could say that the funeral home has greater advertising potential because it has a well-defined target audience and buyer intent keywords.

21. What do you think the term being Googley means?

This question is meant to test whether you have a good understanding of company culture at Google. Google looks for crazy but innovative nerds. T

herefore, being Googley would mean being a crazy nerd who would fit at Google.

22. If you got this job, what prank would you pull on your manager?

This is another question that is meant to test your personality and your knowledge of company culture.

Most Googlers are a fun lot to work around, therefore the company wants to know if you are the kind of person who would fit in such a group.

However, I don’t think pulling a prank on your manager is such a good idea.

23. You have a piece of paper that is 1mm thick. How many times would you need to fold the piece of paper in half for it to be high enough to reach the moon?

This is a trick question that is meant to test how you react when faced with an unexpected question, as well as to assess how well you understand situations that involve exponential growth.

While it would be really difficult to come up with the correct answer during an interview, the answer is 42. Folding a 1mm thick piece of paper in half 42 times will make the paper 4,398,046 km in height, which is more than the distance from the earth to the moon.

24. Why are manhole covers round?

This is a pretty common question in Google interviews, and it’s surprising that many people do not know the answer. Manhole covers are round because a circle is the only shape that cannot fall through itself.

25. If you had to remove ads from YouTube, how would you continue making money from the platform?

This question is meant to test your knowledge of monetization options available in the digital space. Here, you can talk about options like creating a premium version of the platform, or charging content creators to post on the platform.

26. How would you explain the internet to someone who has absolutely no clue what it is?

This question is meant to test your knowledge of the internet – the chief space in which Google operates – as well as your communication skills.

27. You are at a party where there are 10 people, including you and a friend…

Your friend proposes a wager where you get $1 for every person in the party who shares their birthday with you, while he gets $2 for every person who has a different birthday from you. Would you take up the wager?

Unless there’s a seasonal increase in births around the month you were born, you should avoid this wager, since the probability of someone sharing the same birthday as you is 1/365.

28. What would you spend your time doing if working was not necessary?

If you did not have to work to earn a living, you would definitely spend time doing the things you love. This question is meant to give the interviewer some insight into your passions.

29. What would I learn about you by opening your browser history?

This question is similar to the previous question in that it tries to understand your passions and interests. Of course, most people spend the highest percentage of their time online on things that interest them.

30. Assume an advertiser makes $0.10 every time an ad is clicked. Only 20% of visitors click on this ad. How many people does the advertiser need to visit the site in order for him to make $20?

Such a question might seem easy, but it can be pretty confusing when you are sitting nervously before a panel. The answer to this question is 1000 people.

31. Which is your favorite product from Google, and how would you make it better?

This question is meant to test your understanding of Google’s products. If you are going for an interview at Google, you definitely need to know how most of their products work.

32. How many ways are there for finding a needle in a haystack?

The aim of this question is to test your ability to be creative and to think outside the box. The answers to this question are as many as you can think of.

You might opt to use a metal detector, you might choose to burn the haystack at a temperature that leaves the needle intact while reducing the hay into ashes, or you might decide to painstakingly go over each straw of hay, though this might take you several months to find the needle.

33. What changes do you think will happen in the digital advertising space in the next 3 years?

Advertising is one of Google’s core sources of revenue, and therefore you need to have a good understanding of digital advertising if you want to work at Google.

This question is meant to test your understanding of digital advertising and to test whether you are up to date with the trends in the industry.

34. How would you describe AdWords to a 7 year old?

This question is meant to test your understanding of how AdWords works and your ability to explain a complex feature in simple language.

35. How many haircuts are made annually in the United States?

Yes, this is another of those seemingly impossible questions that will pop up during an interview at Google. Here, the aim is to find out your thought processes, rather than the actual number of haircuts that are made in the US every year.

Here you can make a guestimate by making some assumptions.

For instance, you might assume that the average American gets a haircut every two months, which is a total of about six times every year. Multiplying this by America’s population will give you a ball park figure of the number of the number of haircuts that happen in the country every year.

36. If you had to explain the importance of HTML to Sergey Brin and then to your grandmother, how would you do it?

The aim of this question is to test your communication skills. It tests your ability to explain a complex concept both in technical terms and in layman’s language.

When explaining to Sergey Brin, you would use technical language because he is a computer scientist.

However, when explaining to your grandma, you would have to use layman’s language because she probably would not understand the technical terms.

37. Do you prefer learning or earning?

This question tries to assess whether you care more about improving your skills or making money. If you want to work at Google, you have to show a commitment to continuous improvement of your skills.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should pay zero attention to your income. A good answer would be: “I prefer a position that allows me to work (earn some money) while learning new things.

38. If you had $10 million in your account, how would you spend it?

Ever heard of the saying ‘show me where you spend your money and I will tell you what your values are’? This question is meant to give the interview an insight into what your greatest priorities are.

39. If you are given a spacecraft and $1 billion, how would you solve mankind’s biggest problem?

Google X’s moonshot projects are aimed at using technology to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. If you answer this question properly, you might end up getting sent to Google X’s top secret research lab in California.

40. How many times do the hands of a clock overlap each day?

This question is asked to simply present you with an unexpected question and see how you react under pressure. Don’t stare at the interviewer in bewilderment. The hands of a clock overlap 22 times every day.

41. Would it be a good idea for Google to start charging Gmail users $1 per month?

The aim of this question is to test your knowledge of the dynamics of monetizing a service like Gmail. Charging users $1 per month would probably not be a very good idea, since the cost of introducing and processing the payments would keep the venture from being profitable.

The fee would also lead to a decrease in the number of Gmail users.

WRAPPING UP

These are some of the tough questions that might get thrown your way in case you find yourself interviewing at Google.

Knowing the kind of questions that are asked will help you prepare for all kinds of scenarios so you don’t find yourself bewildered once you are asked to state the weight of the empire state building.

However, many of the big companies are abandoning these kinds of questions because they are not accurate predictors of job performance, and hopefully, Google will also have abandoned them by the time you get invited for an interview.

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  1. 10 Interview Puzzles || 10 Interview Riddles || commonly asked interview puzzles

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  2. Problem-Solving Riddles That Only Smart People Can Solve

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  4. 8 Problem-Solving Interview Questions You Should Ask

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  5. 30+ Problem Solving Riddles With Answers To Solve

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  6. Problem-Solving Interview Questions And Answers (With Examples)

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