• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 03:22
CET 08:22
KST 16:22
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT29Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Vitality ends partnership with ONSYDE13Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice6Weekly Cups (Feb 23-Mar 1): herO doubles, 2v2 bonanza1Weekly Cups (Feb 16-22): MaxPax doubles0Weekly Cups (Feb 9-15): herO doubles up2
StarCraft 2
General
Vitality ends partnership with ONSYDE How do you think the 5.0.15 balance patch (Oct 2025) for StarCraft II has affected the game? Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT Nexon's StarCraft game could be FPS, led by UMS maker
Tourneys
PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar) RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $5,000 WardiTV Winter Championship 2026 Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond)
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 515 Together Forever Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year Mutation # 513 Attrition Warfare
Brood War
General
BSL 22 Map Contest — Submissions OPEN to March 10 battle.net problems Are you ready for ASL 21? Hype VIDEO BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Flash's ASL S21 & Future Plans Announcement
Tourneys
ASL Season 21 Qualifiers March 7-8 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues BWCL Season 64 Announcement [BSL22] Open Qualifier #1 - Sunday 21:00 CET
Strategy
Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
No Man's Sky (PS4 and PC) Path of Exile PC Games Sales Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Mexico's Drug War Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine YouTube Thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Gaming-Related Deaths
TrAiDoS
ONE GREAT AMERICAN MARINE…
XenOsky
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1594 users

[SFW] Riddles / Puzzles / Brain Teasers - Page 22

Forum Index > General Forum
Post a Reply
Prev 1 20 21 22 23 24 38 Next All
NTTemplar
Profile Joined August 2011
609 Posts
May 06 2012 19:31 GMT
#421
On May 07 2012 01:22 amd098 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2012 00:29 frogrubdown wrote:
On May 06 2012 23:53 NTTemplar wrote:
How about this:

What is the largest natural number you can create with only two 9's you are not allowed any more digits, but you can use any mathematical symbols.


No upper bound. You can just keep adding parentheses and factorials likes so: 9(9!), 9((9!)!), 9(((9!)!)!), ...


or repeat the factorials in (9!)^(9!)


+ Show Spoiler +
Pretty much it, wanna give the actual number though? ;P
"Between Tomorrow's dream and yesterday's regret, is today's opportunity"
ninjafetus
Profile Joined December 2008
United States231 Posts
May 06 2012 19:44 GMT
#422
On May 07 2012 03:23 annul wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 01 2012 07:06 ninjafetus wrote:
RE: Marbles
+ Show Spoiler +
[image loading]



+ Show Spoiler +
this is wrong because it is NOT 1/2 to get the first orange ball. it is 1/1. 100%. the question has given it already. you do not multiply here for two events because there are not two events. there is only one event.


+ Show Spoiler +
Yes, that's the point of conditional probability. The question is "What's the probability of the other ball in the pocket being orange?" The tree takes into account the different ways the first ball can be orange, and then sees is the second ball would also be orange.

But fine, let's look at it your way. The first event already happened. The orange ball was chosen. How many ways could that happen? Three. (circled in orange on the chart). So the first event already happened, and it's one of those three positions. Good! Now, of those three, how many would lead to the second ball being orange? Two. (boxed in blue)

Two out of three. 2/3.
soccerdude
Profile Joined May 2011
United States54 Posts
May 06 2012 19:47 GMT
#423
On the marbles question: Many of you have already closed your mind to the fact that the other side might be right. You have stopped reading what your counterpart might be saying, and instead post the same off-topic response countless times. + Show Spoiler +
In the problem does it specifically state that you draw an orange ball from the pocket? Yes! Therefore, drawing the orange ball out of the pocket has a 1/1 chance. It is given in the problem, and as I said before, will happen 100% of the time. Try solving from this point, knowing this information, and see what the answer is.
soccer
lithiumdeuteride
Profile Joined June 2011
96 Posts
May 06 2012 19:48 GMT
#424
In case anyone was wondering:
(9!)^(9!) = 6.447187947948624*10^2017526
Sweet bacteria of Liberia!
Mr. Wiggles
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada5894 Posts
May 06 2012 19:54 GMT
#425
Here's some for you guys.

Riddle 1: Chocolate Bars

You have a rectangular chocolate bar marked into m x n squares, and you wish to break up the bar into its constituent squares. At each step, you may pick up one piece and break it along any of its marked vertical or horizontal lines. However, you must not stack two pieces and break them together. Prove that every method finishes in the same number of steps. How many steps?

+ Show Spoiler [Solution] +
It takes mn-1 steps to break apart the bar. Each time you break the bar, you increase the number of pieces by one. The method you use is irrelevant, since you always increase the number of pieces by one with each step, and you stop when you finish breaking up the bar.


Riddle 2: Infection

Nine 1x1 squares of a 10x10 board are infected. In one time unit, the cells with at least two infected neighbour cells (having a common side) become infected. Can the infection spread to the entire board?

+ Show Spoiler [Hint] +
What "measure" of infected cells does not increase?


+ Show Spoiler [Solution] +
No, the entire board cannot be infected. The perimeter of all infected areas on the board is invariant. The maximum perimeter achievable with an arrangement of 9 infected cells is 36, whereas the perimeter of the board itself is 40. So, the board cannot become completely infected no matter the arrangement of the starting infected cells.


Riddle 3: Who wins?

A row of minuses are written on a piece of paper. Two players take turns in replacing either a single minus or two adjacent minuses by pluses. The one who cannot make a move loses. Is there a winning strategy?

+ Show Spoiler [Hint] +
Think of symmetry.


+ Show Spoiler [Solution] +
Yes, there is a winning strategy. The player who has the first move will always win if they play optimally. The strategy is as follows: First turn either the middle minus, if the total number is odd, or the middle two minuses if the total number is even. Now the row of minuses is divided into two sections. To win, exactly copy you opponent's moves onto the opposite section from where he makes them. When he takes the final move in one section, you take the final move in the other, and he will be left with no available moves on his next turn. You win.
you gotta dance
minitelemaster
Profile Joined May 2011
United States95 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-05-06 20:05:44
May 06 2012 19:54 GMT
#426
Here's one:

You have 10 bottles of unmarked, visually identical pills and a scale. In 1 of the 10 bottles, the pills are lethal. A lethal pill weighs slightly more than a regular pill (1.1g opposed to 1.0g). How do you determine which bottle contains the deadly pills with only one measurement?

Hint:
+ Show Spoiler +
There are several ways to do this, some don't even require use of the scale. Think density.


Answer:
+ Show Spoiler +
Take 1 pill from bottle 1, 2 pills from bottle 2, etc., then weigh the total amount. The amount of additional weight above what the the total should be, assuming all regular pills, will tell you which bottle contains the lethal pills.
Bite my shiny metal @$$
frogrubdown
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
1266 Posts
May 06 2012 19:59 GMT
#427
On May 07 2012 04:48 lithiumdeuteride wrote:
In case anyone was wondering:
(9!)^(9!) = 6.447187947948624*10^2017526


I'll take your word for it, but it's already been pointed out that that's not the biggest. There isn't an upper bound.
blubbdavid
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Switzerland2412 Posts
May 06 2012 20:06 GMT
#428
+ Show Spoiler [marbles] +

I also thought that it was 50/50 for a long time, but in reality it is 2/3
god I suck with probability

because: There is a 2/3 probability that the first chosen orange ball is from the bag with two orange balls
What do you desire? Money? Glory? Power? Revenge? Or something that surpasses all other? Whatever you desire - that is here. Tower of God ¦¦Nutella, drink of the Gods
Zato-1
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Chile4253 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-05-06 20:08:03
May 06 2012 20:07 GMT
#429
Edit: Nvm
Go here http://vina.biobiochile.cl/ and input the Konami Code (up up down down left right left right B A)
soccerdude
Profile Joined May 2011
United States54 Posts
May 07 2012 01:39 GMT
#430
On May 07 2012 05:06 blubbdavid wrote:
+ Show Spoiler [marbles] +

I also thought that it was 50/50 for a long time, but in reality it is 2/3
god I suck with probability

because: There is a 2/3 probability that the first chosen orange ball is from the bag with two orange balls

+ Show Spoiler +
On the marbles question: Many of you have already closed your mind to the fact that the other side might be right. You have stopped reading what your counterpart might be saying, and instead post the same off-topic response countless times. + Show Spoiler +
In the problem does it specifically state that you draw an orange ball from the pocket? Yes! Therefore, drawing the orange ball out of the pocket has a 1/1 chance. It is given in the problem, and as I said before, will happen 100% of the time. Try solving from this point, knowing this information, and see what the answer is.
soccer
insectoceanx
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States331 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-05-07 02:05:27
May 07 2012 01:59 GMT
#431
On May 07 2012 10:39 soccerdude wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2012 05:06 blubbdavid wrote:
+ Show Spoiler [marbles] +

I also thought that it was 50/50 for a long time, but in reality it is 2/3
god I suck with probability

because: There is a 2/3 probability that the first chosen orange ball is from the bag with two orange balls

+ Show Spoiler +
On the marbles question: Many of you have already closed your mind to the fact that the other side might be right. You have stopped reading what your counterpart might be saying, and instead post the same off-topic response countless times. + Show Spoiler +
In the problem does it specifically state that you draw an orange ball from the pocket? Yes! Therefore, drawing the orange ball out of the pocket has a 1/1 chance. It is given in the problem, and as I said before, will happen 100% of the time. Try solving from this point, knowing this information, and see what the answer is.



So we have 2 pockets A and B and each has two balls, A has 2 oragne 1 and 2 and B has white and orange 1 and 2.

That means of the two possible pockets there are these outcomes.

Pocket A Ball 1 = Second ball will be orange
Pocket A Ball 2 = Second ball will be orange
Pocket B Ball 2 = Second ball will be white

2/3 Ball will be orange
1/3 Ball will be white
frogrubdown
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
1266 Posts
May 07 2012 02:01 GMT
#432
On May 07 2012 10:39 soccerdude wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2012 05:06 blubbdavid wrote:
+ Show Spoiler [marbles] +

I also thought that it was 50/50 for a long time, but in reality it is 2/3
god I suck with probability

because: There is a 2/3 probability that the first chosen orange ball is from the bag with two orange balls

+ Show Spoiler +
On the marbles question: Many of you have already closed your mind to the fact that the other side might be right. You have stopped reading what your counterpart might be saying, and instead post the same off-topic response countless times. + Show Spoiler +
In the problem does it specifically state that you draw an orange ball from the pocket? Yes! Therefore, drawing the orange ball out of the pocket has a 1/1 chance. It is given in the problem, and as I said before, will happen 100% of the time. Try solving from this point, knowing this information, and see what the answer is.


I can't imagine what compelled you to copy and paste this nonsense a mere 8 posts below its original location.

But what do I know? My mind has probably just been "closed" by actually understanding math and conditional probabilities.
xxpack09
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States2160 Posts
May 07 2012 05:44 GMT
#433
soccerdude, you should look up the "Monty Hall Problem," and why the solution is to switch. Open your mind; you might learn something.
rrdz
Profile Joined February 2011
United States20 Posts
May 07 2012 06:17 GMT
#434
On May 07 2012 03:16 annul wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2012 03:03 Zato-1 wrote:
On April 21 2012 03:07 TanGeng wrote:
A friend packed six ping pong balls for you, 3 orange, 3 white. He's placed them in three pockets of your sports bag. One pocket has two orange balls. One pocket has two white balls. One pocket has one white and one orange. You reach into one random pocket and pull out an orange ping pong ball. What's the probability of the other ball in the pocket being orange?

+ Show Spoiler +

The probability is 2/3.

Consider: You reach into one random pocket and pull out a ping pong ball. What is the probability that the other ball in the pocket is the same color?

+ Show Spoiler +
I didn't get this explanation. If the sports bag had 100 pockets, 98 of which had two white balls, 1 of which had an orange ball and a white ball, and 1 of which had two orange balls, and you reach into a pocket and pull out an orange ball- does the problem change in the least bit? Clearly not- the pockets with no orange balls are irrelevant once we know that the pocket that was picked has at least 1 orange ball.

In order to answer "What's the probability of the other ball in the pocket being orange?", the real question that must be answered is, "What is the probability that the pocket with two orange balls was chosen, given that an orange ball was picked at random from a random pocket?"

Let the event of choosing the pocket with 2 orange balls be known as X, the event of choosing the pocket with an orange ball and a white ball be known as Y, the event of picking out an orange ball be known as A, and the event of picking out a white ball be known as B.

P(X|A) = P(X∩A)/P(A)

If we only consider pockets X and Y,

P(X∩A) = 1/2, P(A) = 3/4

Therefore, P(X|A) = P(X∩A)/P(A) = 2/3

So the probability of the other ball in the pocket being orange is, in fact, 2/3.



i disagree.


+ Show Spoiler +
once you KNOW you drew an orange ball, the math changes.

it does not matter which orange ball you have drawn. the question says only "you drew an orange ball."

so, if you drew an orange ball in the O-O pocket, it's a 100% chance to draw another orange. if you drew an orange ball in the O-W pocket, it's a 0% chance to draw another orange. you cannot ever draw an orange ball in the W-W pocket, so this is discounted for math purposes.

because you have already given the outcome of event #1, you don't multiply two events for probability. it's only one event, and in the given situation, only two outcomes: O-O or O-W pocket. 50/50.


You are wrong because you are only considering 1 orange ball from the pocket that has two. Once you know you get an orange ball as you said.... There are only three possible outcomes..... 1 ) orange ball from orange-white pocket.... (which will result in the other ball being white)... 2) orange ball from orange orange pocket... which will result in orange being the other ball...... AND 3) the one you forgot............ you get the other ball from the orange orange pocket.... which results on the other ball being orange....

so as many have said 2/3 is the answer


MercilessMonkey
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada150 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-05-07 07:21:25
May 07 2012 07:18 GMT
#435
On May 07 2012 14:44 xxpack09 wrote:
soccerdude, you should look up the "Monty Hall Problem," and why the solution is to switch. Open your mind; you might learn something.


Very true. There is only one right answer, and how you get to it will be logically demonstrated by this problem. Warning: said problem might blow your mind if you don't understand conditional probabilities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem

Link since everyone should read Said logic and way of thinking can help with a lot of riddles
MercilessMonkey
Profile Joined August 2010
Canada150 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-05-07 07:18:38
May 07 2012 07:18 GMT
#436
double post fail
soccerdude
Profile Joined May 2011
United States54 Posts
May 08 2012 03:28 GMT
#437
Rather than lurk in the shadows I have decided to come out and say it: My post was idiotic and wrong.

I was wrong about the problem, and because of the complete sense of hierarchy I compelled through my word choice I definitely understand the backlash. Hopefully in the future I take a little more time reading the problem before posting some radical response.

On a side note, I had already heard and understood the Monty Hall problem before I saw the marbles question, I just made a pretty big error in solving the marbles question that was unrelated to the Monty Hall problem. I also like the responses on opening my mind; they were very creative.
soccer
frogrubdown
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
1266 Posts
May 08 2012 04:35 GMT
#438
On May 08 2012 12:28 soccerdude wrote:
Rather than lurk in the shadows I have decided to come out and say it: My post was idiotic and wrong.

I was wrong about the problem, and because of the complete sense of hierarchy I compelled through my word choice I definitely understand the backlash. Hopefully in the future I take a little more time reading the problem before posting some radical response.

On a side note, I had already heard and understood the Monty Hall problem before I saw the marbles question, I just made a pretty big error in solving the marbles question that was unrelated to the Monty Hall problem. I also like the responses on opening my mind; they were very creative.


Thanks for being so mature about this (certainly more than I was). You should have a bright future here.
Chronos.
Profile Joined February 2012
United States805 Posts
May 09 2012 00:17 GMT
#439
This thread seems to have progressed from logic based riddles to math puzzles... I miss the riddles =/
frietjeman
Profile Joined February 2012
Netherlands26 Posts
May 09 2012 12:03 GMT
#440
Make this sum right by using a single straight line in any way.
5+5+5=550

I don't know the answer Saw this on a children's drawing plate and I was a bit amazed that I actually couldn't figure it out.
Maybe the makers made a mistake or I'm just missing something really obvious here.
Prev 1 20 21 22 23 24 38 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
00:00
LiuLi Cup Grand Finals Playoff
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ProTech165
SortOf 32
mcanning 15
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 42740
Britney 8876
Bisu 7696
Horang2 6190
Jaedong 322
Larva 238
Dewaltoss 140
Sharp 130
ToSsGirL 116
Shine 93
[ Show more ]
scan(afreeca) 43
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm143
ROOTCatZ10
League of Legends
JimRising 640
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox657
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor173
MindelVK10
Other Games
summit1g12140
C9.Mang0301
RuFF_SC282
Mew2King37
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
Afreeca ASL 3251
UltimateBattle 246
Other Games
BasetradeTV207
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream151
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 11 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH294
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2h 38m
RSL Revival
2h 38m
Classic vs TriGGeR
Cure vs Cham
WardiTV Winter Champion…
4h 38m
Solar vs Clem
Cure vs Bunny
herO vs MaxPax
OSC
5h 8m
BSL
12h 38m
Replay Cast
16h 38m
Replay Cast
1d 1h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 9h
OSC
1d 16h
Replay Cast
3 days
[ Show More ]
The PondCast
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 21: Qualifier #1
PiG Sty Festival 7.0
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
Spring Cup 2026
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #2
RSL Revival: Season 4
WardiTV Winter 2026
Nations Cup 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
NationLESS Cup
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.