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Consulting Finance
Consulting Finance

Get Ready for Brainteasers of Any Kind

Couch
Brainteaser: Couch
Your mother’s brother’s only brother-in-law is asleep on your couch. Who is asleep on your couch?
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Bricks
Brainteaser: Bricks
One brick weighs 1kg + 0.5 bricks. How heavy is one brick in kilograms?
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Car Race
Brainteaser: Car Race
If in a car race the man who came two places in front of the last man finished one ahead of the man who came fifth. How many contestants were there?
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Delicious Meal
Brainteaser: Delicious Meal
Stacey went to a restaurant for dinner last night. She paid with a £50 note. Her change consisted of one of every denomination of currency under £50. How much did the meal cost?
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Brainteasers are a helpful exercise to train your logical thinking.
Can you solve our brain teasers? Try it out!
Can you Count Them?
Brainteaser: Can you Count Them?
You walk into a room where there are seven girls. Each girl has seven bags. Inside each bag are seven adult cats, each adult cat has seven kittens. Assuming there are no missing limbs, how many are in the room?
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Lily Pads Patch
Brainteaser: Lily Pads Patch
In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch of lily pads doubles in size. It takes 48 days for the lily pads to cover the entire lake. How many days did it take to cover half of the lake?
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Safe Transport
Brainteaser: Safe Transport
You have a fox, a chicken, and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it. If you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?
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Elevator Secrets
Brainteaser: Elevator Secrets
A man who lives on the tenth floor takes the elevator down to the first floor every morning and goes to work. In the evening, when he comes back; on a rainy day, or if there are other people in the elevator, he goes to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment. Can you explain why?
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Mouse and Earth
Brainteaser: Mouse and Earth
The circumference of the earth is approx. 40,000km. If we made a circle of wire only 10 meters (0.01km) longer than the circumference of the globe, could a mouse fit under it?
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Speed Speed Speed
Brainteaser: Speed Speed Speed
I am traveling 60km to the next town. For the first 30km, I traveled at 30km/h. How fast do I have to travel for the second 30km to average 60km/h?
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Travelling Fly
Brainteaser: Travelling Fly
Two trains, 200km apart, are moving towards each other at the speed of 50km/h each. A fly takes off from one train flying to the other at 75km/h. As soon as it reaches the front of the other train it returns to the first train at the same speed. The fly repeats the trip until the trains collide. How far will the fly travel before the trains collide?
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Swimming Pool
Brainteaser: Swimming Pool
A pool has 4 taps. Tap 1 can fill the entire pool in 2 days, Tap 2 in 3 days, Tap 3 in 4 days, and Tap 4 in 6 hours. How long will it take to fill a pool using all 4 taps together?
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White Flowers
Brainteaser: White Flowers
In a bouquet, there are three times as many white flowers as blue flowers. There are eight more pink flowers than blue and four less purple than pink. There are nine purple flowers. How many white flowers are there?
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Stick or Switch?
Brainteaser: Stick or Switch?
You are taking part in a quiz show and are presented with three doors. Behind one door is a car and behind the other two is nothing. You select a door and then the host opens one of the other two doors, it does not reveal the car. You are then given the opportunity to switch doors or stick with your original choice. Should you stick or switch?
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1 to 100
Brainteaser: 1 to 100
What is the sum of the numbers from 1 to 100?
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The Heaviest Ball
Brainteaser: The Heaviest Ball
You are given 12 balls and a scale. 11 of the balls are identical and 1 is heavier. How do you find the heavier ball if you only use the scale no more than 3 times?
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The Hands on the Clock
Brainteaser: The Hands on the Clock
What is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand if the time is 10 minutes past 12?
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Red Cubes
Brainteaser: Red Cubes
You’ve got a 10 x 10 x 10 cube made up of 1 x 1 x 1 smaller cubes. The outside of the large cube is painted red. How many of the smaller cubes have red paint on them?
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Investment Banker Meeting
Brainteaser: Investment Banker Meeting
Four investment bankers need to cross a bridge at night to get to a meeting. They have only one flashlight and 17 minutes to get there. The bridge must be crossed with the flashlight and is only strong enough for two bankers at a time. It takes the analyst 1 minute to cross, the associate 2 minutes, the VP 5 minutes, and the MD 10 minutes. How can they all make it to the meeting in time?
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Light Bulb Switches
Brainteaser: Light Bulb Switches
There is a room with three light bulbs inside. Outside there are three switches, one for each light bulb. You are standing outside. How can you determine which switch controls which light bulb if you can only enter once?
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The Forbidden City
Brainteaser: The Forbidden City
You are walking to a forbidden city and reach a fork in the road. On one of the forks is a man who only tells the truth, on the other side is a man who only tells lies. Both men know which road leads to the forbidden city but you can’t tell which man is which. With only one question, how can you ensure you know which path leads to the forbidden city?
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1 2 5 9 15
1 2 3 5 9 15

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions
We are happy to answer the most frequently asked questions.

Brain teasers in the form of math problems and logic puzzles can still appear in interviews, but they are quite rare. More common now are market sizing guesstimates, such as “How many tennis balls can fit into a smart car?” These questions may also be referred to as brain teasers. In general, brain teasers test your creativity and ability to think outside the box.

Brain teasers are uncommon in interviews, and there is no specific rule regarding when an interviewer may choose to use one. However, they are more typical in final rounds and can be asked either before or after the main case discussion.

Market sizing guesstimates are often referred to as brain teasers as well. They are more common in interviews and consist of questions that ask you to determine a specific quantity, such as “How many golf balls can you fit into a passenger Boeing 747?” These questions test your ability to define a problem, break it down into assumptions, and use math to solve it.

Always prioritize case studies and the personal fit portion in your interview preparation, as these are the crucial aspects of your interview! Once you feel more comfortable with those, you can integrate some brain teaser practice into your preparation. This may give you the advantage you need to stand out among other candidates! You can use our brain teaser library to challenge your creative thinking. Have fun!

Brain Teaser – Challenge Your Logical and Numerical Thinking

A brain teaser is a riddle or puzzle designed to challenge your logical thinking. In interviews, interviewers may use them to gain insights into your logical and creative thinking skills, which are valuable in various careers. The most important aspect here is not just the answer but how you approach the problem. Practice our brain teasers to prepare yourself for any interview situation!

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