October puzzles round-up
This month we posted a selection of puzzles on our social media feeds. How many did you manage to solve? If you were looking for answers, you’ve come to the right place! If you have puzzles to share, please let us know!
Puzzle 1
Puzzle 2
Puzzle 3
So what are the solutions? Read on…
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Puzzle 1: The idea with this puzzle is that our adventurer is supposed to end up back where she started as is hinted by the references to campsite and tent. There are, in fact, an infinite number of places where our intrepid adventurer could return to the same place if she followed these directions (explained here) but the reference to a bear suggests it must be the North Pole. The puzzle is therefore alluding to polar bears which are white!
Puzzle 2: It is important to realise with this puzzle that we are after a precise answer rather than seeking to estimate e.g. “the 5-litre bucket looks about 80% full”. Here is a solution:
| Step no. | Step | Quantity in 3-litre bucket after step | Quantity in 5-litre bucket after step |
| 1 | Fill the 5-litre bucket completely | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Fill the 3-litre bucket using water from the 5-litre bucket | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Empty the 3-litre bucket | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Fill the 3-litre bucket using water from the 5-litre bucket | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Fill the 5-litre bucket completely | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | Fill the remaining capacity of the 3-litre bucket using water from the 5-litre bucket | 3 | 4 |
Can you think of any other solutions?
Puzzle 3: In this puzzle, we get a hint about which of the animals to take over first as the puzzle states the problems of taking either the mouse or the dog first. So we can cross the river with the cat first and leave it on the opposite side and return alone. We can then take the mouse across but as we cannot leave it alone with the cat, we leave the mouse on the opposite side of the river and return with the cat. We leave the cat at our starting point and take the dog across to leave with the mouse. We return alone to collect the cat for our final journey across the river to where we had left the dog and the mouse.
If you missed any of these puzzles, don’t forget to follow us on your social media platform of choice. There are links at the very bottom of this page in the footer section!
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