RI Class of 63-65

Monday, October 09, 2006

Quiz

Apparently this is a quiz to test your "cognitive bias" -whatever that is.

1. A bat and ball cost $1.10. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

2. It takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets. How long does it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

3. A patch of lilypad on a lake doubles to size every day. It takes 48 days to cover the entire lake. How long would it take to cover half the lake? (chemical engineers disqualified from this one)

Leong Yu Kiang will provide the answers no doubt.

posted by KMK at 8:37 pm

3 Comments:

  • 1. A bat and ball cost $1.10. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
    Ans: The ball cost $.05

    2. It takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets. How long does it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
    Ans: Five minutes

    3. A patch of lilypad on a lake doubles to size every day. It takes 48 days to cover the entire lake. How long would it take to cover half the lake? (chemical engineers disqualified from this one)
    Ans: 47 days

    QED
    David Leong

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 16 October, 2006  

  • Full marks, David, from me anyway. I don't know what Yu Kiang thinks!

    By Blogger KMK, at 16 October, 2006  

  • The problems were posted in the Australian Financial Review to show how people view problems and can come to different or sometimes incorrect solutions.

    The first was a simple question out to trick those who rush in without being sufficiently analytical.

    The second gives different solutions to different assumptions as Yu Kiang said.

    The third is out to fool those who don't think enough and fall into the trap of attempting a complex approach.

    Great fun!

    By Blogger KMK, at 21 October, 2006  

Post a Comment

<< Home