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Consulting Finance
Consulting Finance

Get Ready for Brainteasers of Any Kind

Bouncing Ball
Brainteaser: Bouncing Ball
A rubber ball keeps on bouncing back to 2/3 of the height from which it is dropped. Can you calculate the fraction of its original height that the ball will bounce after it is dropped and it has bounced four times without any hindrance?
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The Devotee
Brainteaser: The Devotee
A devotee visits 9 temples when he visits India. All these nine temples have one thing in common - there are 100 steps in every temple. The devotee puts Re.1 coin after climbing up every step. He does the same while climbing down every step. At each temple, the devotee offers half of his money from his pocket to god. In this way, his pocket becomes empty after his visit to the 9th temple. Can you calculate the total amount he had initially?
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Dimension
Brainteaser: Dimension
There is a box. The area of its top is 240 square units, the area of the front is 300 square units and the area of the end is 180 square units. Can you calculate the dimensions of this box with the given data?
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Salary
Brainteaser: Salary
You and your two friends are working in a multinational company. How can you three find out the average salary of you all without disclosing your own salary to the other two?
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Brainteasers are a helpful exercise to train your logical thinking.
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Question mark
Brainteaser: Question mark
If we tell you that there is a relation between the numbers and letters in the given figure, can you analyze it and find the missing letter in the last box?
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Birthday Bash
Brainteaser: Birthday Bash
Lisa engaged in a strange activity. Her birthday was approaching and she decided to collect money for her birthday bash. On the first day of the month, she kept a dollar in her piggy bank, on the second, she kept two dollars and on the third, she kept three dollars and so on. On her birthday, she had a total of 276 dollars in her piggy bank. Can you calculate on which day of the month was her birthday?
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Seven Sisters
Brainteaser: Seven Sisters
There are seven sisters in a house in a village where there is no electricity or any gadget. Sister 1: Reading Novel Sister 2: Cooking Sister 3: Playing Chess Sister 4: Playing Sudoku Sister 5: Washing clothes Sister 6: Gardening What is sister 7 doing?
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The Clock
Brainteaser: The Clock
At a certain point of time someone observes a clock and finds out that the hour hand is exactly at the minute mark and the minute hand is six minutes ahead of it. The clock is observed again to find out that the hour hand is exactly on a different minute mark but the minute hand is seven minutes ahead of it this time. Can you calculate the time that has elapsed between the two observations?
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Handshake
Brainteaser: Handshake
At a party, everyone shook hands with everybody else. There were 66 handshakes. How many people were at the party?
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Socks
Brainteaser: Socks
There is a dressing drawer that contains the following colored socks in pairs: Purple, Magenta, Crimson, White, Yellow and Turquoise. Now, the socks are paired and each pair is together in the matching set. There is no light in the room and you open the drawer and pick up a pair. Then, without noticing any color, you keep them back and pick up again. Can you calculate the probability that the pair of socks was Yellow both the times?
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The Solo Dice Game
Brainteaser: The Solo Dice Game
A solo dice game is played. In this game, upon each turn, a normal pair of dice is rolled and the score is calculated not by adding the numbers but multiplying them. It is observed that in a particular game, the score for the second roll is five more than what was achieved in the first roll. The score for the third roll is six less than what was achieved in the second roll. The score for the fourth roll is eleven more than what was achieved in the third roll. The score for the fifth roll is eight less than what was achieved in the fourth roll. Can you calculate the score for each of the five throws?
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Math Operator Riddle
Brainteaser: Math Operator Riddle
Can you get a sum of 1000 using sixteen 4s and only using addition operators?
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What is it?
Brainteaser: What is it?
What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?
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How many rungs does the ladder have?
Brainteaser: How many rungs does the ladder have?
A firefighter is standing on the middle rung of a ladder, spraying water on a burning house. He climbs up 6 rungs before the heat of the flames causes him to come down 10 rungs. After a few minutes he is able to climb 18 rungs to the very top of the ladder. How many rungs does the ladder have?
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Hats
Brainteaser: Hats
There are 4 people sitting in a line, trying to win a riddle. The one sitting at the front of the line is wearing a red hat. The second in line is wearing a blue hat. The third in line is wearing a red hat. The last person is wearing a blue hat and he is blind-folded. Each of them is informed that they are all wearing a hat, that the last person is blind-folded and that there are 2 red and 2 blue hats. Each person can only see the people in front of them. They are not allowed to turn around and look behind them. The one who guesses the color of his hat wins the prize. Who will it be?
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Bartender
Brainteaser: Bartender
There are two old men that are twins and that go into the same bar every day. The bartender at the bar hates one of the twins, but there is only one way he can tell the difference between them: The one that he hates drinks very slowly and the one that he likes drinks fast. One day the bartender decides to kill the one that he hates. So when they come in that day he puts the same amount of the drink in their cups, the same amount of ice, and the same amount of poison. When they are both done with their drinks the one that the bartender hates dies, but the one he likes lives. How is this possible?
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Marbles
Brainteaser: Marbles
There are 8 marbles that weigh 1 ounce each, and 1 marble that weighs 1.1 ounces. The marbles are all uniform in size, appearance, and shape. You have a balance that contains 2 trays. You are only able to use the scale 2 times. How do you determine which marble is the heaviest using only the scale and marbles in 2 weighings.
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What am I?
Brainteaser: What am I?
I have an end but no beginning, a star but no moon, a home but no family and a space without room. I never speak but there is no word I cannot make. What am I?
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Across the river
Brainteaser: Across the river
A farmer has a sack of grain, a chicken and a fox. He has to get them across the river and he can’t go around or fly but he does have a boat. He can only take one thing at a time across the river. However he can not leave the fox with the chicken alone and the chicken with the grain. How can he get them across?
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Exit
Brainteaser: Exit
A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?
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A glass water
Brainteaser: A glass water
A man in a restaurant asked a waiter for a juice glass, a dinner plate, water, a match, and a lemon wedge. The man poured enough water onto the plate to cover it. "If you can get the water on the plate into this glass without touching or moving this plate, I will give you $100," the man said. "You can use the match and lemon to do this." A few minutes later, the waiter walked away with $100 in his pocket. How did the waiter get the water into the glass?
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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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