Seven Letter Word with Ten Words

There is a seven-letter word in the English language that has ten total words without rearranging any of its letters.

What is the word?

Therein

1. the
2. there
3. he
4. in
5. rein
6. her
7. here
8. ere
9. herein
10. therein

Posted in Brain Teasers

Highest Number Without the Letter N?

What is the highest regular counting number that is spelled without the use of the letter “N”? (No numbers like Googolplex or Graham’s number)

Eighty-eight. From then on, they all have the letter “N”.

Posted in Brain Teasers

What is the First Number of the Sequence?

If a number in a numeric sequence is 17 and the second number is 3, what is the first number?

I hesitated to add this because it’s poorly worded, ambiguous and the answer could be almost anything. I prefer teasers with a single answer, but there you go.

If you came up with a different answer and can explain how you did it, don’t think you’re wrong. It’s probably just as valid. Feel free to share yours in the comments.

My answer for the first number is 2.

Here’s how I got it.

The generic rule for a number in the sequence is: 2^(n – 1) + 1, where n is the position in the sequence.

Note: The teaser doesn’t specify the position of 17. In this case, it’s fifth.

Position 1: (so n = 1) is 2^(1 – 1) + 1 = 2

Position 2: 2^(2 – 1) + 1 = 3

Position 3: 2^(3 – 1) + 1 = 5

Position 4: 2^(4 – 1) + 1 = 9

Position 5: 2^(5 – 1) + 1 = 17

For the curious, the next 5 numbers of the sequence would be:

Position 6: 2^(6 – 1) + 1 = 33

Position 7: 2^(7 – 1) + 1 = 65

Position 8: 2^(8 – 1) + 1 = 129

Position 9: 2^(9 – 1) + 1 = 257

Position 10: 2^(10 – 1) + 1 = 513

Posted in Brain Teasers

Life Measured in Hours

My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.

A candle.

Posted in Riddles

B C D E I K O X Series

What other letter fits in the following series

B C D E I K O X ?

The letter H. It completes the list of letters that are vertically symmetrical. In other words, you can fold the top half of the letter over the bottom half and everything lines up.

Posted in Riddles

A Lady’s Delight

Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
Grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.

What am I?

A pearl. They’re formed in clams, which are of course dark.

Posted in Riddles

Four Chains in One Loop

You have four chains. Each chain has three links in it. Although it is difficult to cut the links, you wish to make a single loop with all 12 links. What is the fewest number of cuts you must make to accomplish this task?

Three cuts. Cut each link in one chain. Separate them, and use the links to join the ends of the three intact chains.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Debbie’s Dragster

Debbie starts driving her dragster from rest and constantly accelerates to 60 mph in 10 seconds. How far does she travel in those 10 seconds?

1/12 mile

Ten seconds is 1/6 of a minute and 1 minute is 1/60 of an hour, so 10 seconds is 1/360 of an hour.

If you graph her trip with the speed on the y-axis and the time on the x-axis, you get a triangle with height of 60 mph and width of 1/360 of an hour. To calculate the area of the triangle, you multiply 1/2 × 1/360 × 60 = 1/12.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Four Weights To Thirty

What four weights can be used to balance from one to thirty pounds?

A = 1
B = 3
C = 9
D = 17

1 lb = A
2 lbs + A = B
3 lbs = B
4 lbs = A + B
5 lbs + A + B = C
6 lbs + B = C
7 lbs + B = A + C
8 lbs + A = C
9 lbs = C
10 lbs = A + C
11 lbs + A = B + C
12 lbs = B + C
13 lbs = A + B + C
14 lbs + B = D
15 lbs + B = A + D
16 lbs + A = D
17 lbs = D
18 lbs = A + D
19 lbs + A = B + D
20 lbs = B + D
21 lbs = A + B + D
22 lbs + A + B = C + D
23 lbs + B = C + D
24 lbs + B = A + C + D
25 lbs + A = C + D
26 lbs = C + D
27 lbs = A + C + D
28 lbs + A = B + C + D
29 lbs = B + C + D
30 lbs = A + B + C + D

Posted in Brain Teasers

What State Is Round On One Side

What state is round on one side, high in the middle, and round on the other side?

Ohio. This one works a little better when spoken rather than read, but O is round, hi sounds like high and the last O is as round as the first.

Posted in Riddles