Puzzle Solving/Questions Answered by Expert Surajit Basu
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Age old problems | 5/18/2011 |
| Q: My Mumwas 27 when I was born. 8 years ago she was twice as old as I shall be in 5 years' time. How ... A: you are U years old; Mum is U + 27 years old. 8 years ago, she was U+27 - 8 = U +19. In 5 years' ... | |
| Problem | 4/8/2011 |
| Q: The childern in a family comprise both boys and girls. Each boy has as many brothers as sisters, but ... A: Suppose there are B boys and G girls. Each boy has B-1 brothers and G sisters. Each girl has S-1 ... | |
| Rubik Cube | 4/6/2011 |
| Q: I would like to know if the center pieces localization in a cube matter in solving it. To make ... A: It can be. You need to find the colours on your cube first. Which colour will be opposite to what in ... | |
| mathematics | 2/4/2011 |
| Q: if 5+3+2=151022,9+2+4=183652,8+6+3=482466,5+4+5=202541 then 7+2+5= what A: 5+3+2..=151022 5*3 = 15 5*2 = 10 that explains the first 4 , how do we explain 22? 9+2+4=183652 9*2 ... | |
| Analytical Question | 6/7/2010 |
| Q: Price of 1 Parrot is Rs.1.00 20 Sparrow is Rs.1.00 1 Eagle is Rs.5.00 Please get equal 100 birds ... A: We need 100 birds for Rs.100.00. average is Re 1/ bird. so, one way is get 100 parrots ( which cost ... | |
| 3 people and the waiter | 6/1/2010 |
| Q: Three friends went to a hotel. The bill was Rupee 75/- Each one contributed Rs.25/-. The waiter took ... A: You are adding the wrong way. If you add the nett payments (72) to the receipts (2), it is ... | |
| Number Puzzle | 5/14/2010 |
| Q: I have been trying to solve the following puzzle and need the help of an expert. If: 2 + 3=10 ... A: 2 + 3=5... why does it show 10? it is 2 times that 7 + 2=9... why does it show 63? it is 7 times ... | |
| Time | 2/2/2010 |
| Q: If it were two hours later than right now, it would be half as long until midnight as it would be if ... A: If it were two hours later than right now, it would be half as long until midnight as it would be ... | |
| puzzle | 1/30/2010 |
| Q: three friends go to a restaurant..the bill comes to Rs. 75...each paid Rs. 25, manager gave discount ... A: this is a famous puzzle, the problem is because we are adding the wrong things. three friends go to ... | |
| word play | 1/22/2010 |
| Q: what is the 9 letter word that teachers hate, monkeys eat and cows like? A: its a bit vague but the accepted answer is a type, not a single thing: tautonyms - the clues all ... | |
| light bulbs | 1/20/2010 |
| Q: Imagine 2 rooms, one with 3 switches and the other with three light bulbs. Each switch controls one ... A: Tough. took some time here is my solution. first thought: Turn on the first 2 switches. Go through ... | |
| Math brain teaser | 12/7/2009 |
| Q: I was watching a show and the had this problem for viewers to solve and it was: 4 girls are ... A: i agree. or maybe the "quizmaster" saw this page: ... | |
| Math brain teaser | 12/5/2009 |
| Q: I was watching a show and the had this problem for viewers to solve and it was: 4 girls are ... A: No. Legs per Total legs Driver 1 1 2 2 Girls 4 4 2 8 Baskets 3 12 0 0 Cats 4 48 4 192 ... | |
| mathmatics | 11/22/2009 |
| Q: There is a shepherd who has three sons. the man has thirty sheep in three categories. the first ... A: one son gets: second category 10 mothers +20 baby = 30 one son gets: 5 of first category and 5 of ... | |
| brainteaser | 11/13/2009 |
| Q: What number goes into the empty bracket? 441 ( 14736) 144 625 ( 12516) 96 756 ( 10832 ) 256 108 ( ... A: Factorise the Problem 1st col Middle 2nd col 1st col factors 2nd col factors 441 ( 14736) ... | |
| Unusual Sentence | 11/5/2009 |
| Q: What is so unusual about the setence below? (Aside from the fact tht t doesn't make a lot of sense.) ... A: aha! it's odd. "unusual" has to do with what's usual. Whats the most common button to push on your ... | |
| math puzzle | 9/29/2009 |
| Q: there were 840 pumpkins in a pumpkin patch,but it was difficult for farmer Joe to find the perfect ... A: I shall solve some similar problems, and leave you to solve the given one. The problem I shall ... | |
| It's driving me insane.... | 9/4/2009 |
| Q: Ok, I was helping my daughter with her homework the other night. She had one problem I could not ... A: i shall assume that you shall in futre get several such "jane"s in your daughter's homework, so i ... | |
| brain teasers | 9/2/2009 |
| Q: I have a square with 9 dots inside and you can draw 2 boxeas inside the 1st box to make all nine ... A: interesting this problem has a different angle. that is your first clue. try drawing 1 box at a ... | |
| career counselling | 5/24/2008 |
| Q: scope, prospects, and future of having msc (masters in mathematics & statistics). where can i aplly ... A: hmmm this is not the kind of question i expect to answer in this group. i will do my best on this. ... | |
| maths | 5/15/2008 |
| Q: My son gave me this puzzle to do help. using the numbers 0 to 9 what is the lowest integer that ... A: My son gave me this puzzle to do help. using the numbers 0 to 9 what is the lowest integer that ... | |
| mathlogic puzzle | 4/19/2008 |
| Q: in one family there are several children in which each boy has as many sisters as he has brothers ... A: A little girl sells oranges door to door one day on her rounds. Suppose she had A oranges. .. and ... | |
| riddle | 4/15/2008 |
| Q: you have a scale of justice and eight balls. seven balls weigh the same and one is heavier. you can ... A: take any three on one side; three others on the other side. There are two possibilities: A and B. ... | |
| mathlogic puzzle | 4/13/2008 |
| Q: in one family there are several children in which each boy has as many sisters as he has brothers ... A: n one family there are several children in which each boy has as many sisters as he has brothers but ... | |
| math( probability) | 4/4/2008 |
| Q: You are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IHI Insurance and last week one of your major ... A: Let's solve a similar problem. The chance that it will rain tomorrow where I stay is 0.25 ( once in ... | |
| alphabet pattern | 3/28/2008 |
| Q: My son has written down the alphabet in a certain way and asked me to find the pattern. I can't!! ... A: you should not ask this .. as the solution and the expert is there with you :-) ask him to join all ... | |
| Rebus question | 3/19/2008 |
| Q: I have been informed that an answer to my previous question is available in All Experts pages. I ... A: Made me think a lot. I thought it had something to do with Dr.Crippen, heard of him? a murderer ... | |
| Rebus Question | 3/18/2008 |
| Q: What does Dr. Cri__en mean? A: Dr.Crippen, heard of him? a murderer he is supposed to be... search for him on the web Ok, that ... | |
| LOGICAL PUZZLE | 3/17/2008 |
| Q: FIVE PEOPLE ARE QUEUING AT THE CHECKOUT.EACH SHOPPING CART HAS ONLY ONE TYPE OF PRODUCT.FOR EXAMPLE, ... A: Number the statements 1) $3,$4,$5,$8 AND $10 ARE THE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS SPENT. 2) THE ONE WHO SPENT ... | |
| geo puzzle has me stumped | 3/13/2008 |
| Q: Each letter corresponds to one single digit, 0-9. Each digit corresponds to only one letter. Solve ... A: MATH TEST ----- CACHE ----- C must be 1; assume it is not 0.. and it cant be anything else. ... | |
| Need Missing Numbers | 3/3/2008 |
| Q: Put the digits 1 through 9, each used exactly once, into the circles so that the total of numbers ... A: A------B------6 C------D------E X------3------Y where can 9 be: not at A and B where can 9 be: ... | |
| maths problem | 2/12/2008 |
| Q: February is month 2. use six 2's to write an expression for each day of the month. e.g ... A: ( (2/2) + (2/2) ) * (2/2) = 2 (2/2) + (2/2) + (2/2) = 3 ( (2/2) * (2/2) ) * (2*2)=4 ( (2/2) * (2/2) ... | |
| Puzzle | 2/3/2008 |
| Q: ABC+ACB=CBA Each letter is a different digit A: ABC ACB ---- CBA ---- Looking at the first digits, A+A (+any carryovers here) = C. So, C>A ... | |
| spellling scrambles | 1/10/2008 |
| Q: Is there a website for unscrambling letters to make words? A: There are some; I am not sure how good they are. Try these: ... | |
| next numbers | 12/19/2007 |
| Q: what's next in the series, and how did you get it? Thanks 110, 20, 12, 11, 10, , , , I don't ... A: i think it is 6. lets try the different numbers with different bases 110 in base 2 = 6 20 ... | |
Surajit Basu
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions which are mathematical, logical, or wordplay related. I am not good at highly creative problems, or riddles.
Experience
I regularly do puzzles, and help out friends, teenagers. I read books written by Martin Gardener. I love the puzzles and Easter eggs in Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach: an enternal golden braid.
Publications
A few examples of my writing:
http://surajitbasu.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/04/the-journey-down-the-number-line.htm
Education/Credentials
B. Tech. ( Computer Science), IIT Kanpur, India
MBA ( Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management), (Finance, Systems), IIM Calcutta, India
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