Difficulty – Easy

Easy brain teasers and puzzles

Reroll the Die

Suppose there is a game in which you roll a fair, 6-sided die and win dollars equal to the outcome of the roll. How much would you expect to win on average?

Suppose, if you don’t like the outcome of the roll, you can reroll the die once, and win dollars equal to the outcome of the 2nd roll (once you choose to reroll, you can no longer go back to the 1st roll). How much would you expect to win on average?

Suppose, if you don’t like the outcome of the 2nd roll, you can reroll the die once more, and win dollars equal to the outcome of the 3rd roll (once you choose to reroll, you can no longer go back to previous rolls). How much would you expect to win on average?

This was an actual brain teaser question once asked at Jane Street for an interview for an intern role.

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Password to Exclusive Club

A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but doesn’t know the password. He observes a few other patrons:

  • First patron walks up and the doorman just says “12”. The patron replies “6” and is let in.
  • Second patron walks up and the doorman says “6”. The patron replies “3” and is let in.

Thinking he has figured it out, the man walks up and the doorman says “10”. The man replies “5” but it’s incorrect and he is turned away.

What should the man have said instead?

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Drink Mix Riddle

Two kids are playing around with their drinks at lunch. One has 200ml of milk and the other has 200ml of chocolate milk. They scoop 20ml of chocolate milk into the milk glass, then they scoop 20ml of whatever is in the milk glass into the chocolate milk glass.

When they’re done, is there more chocolate milk in the milk glass or more milk in the chocolate milk glass?

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Number Deduction

A teacher gives three clever students in her class a challenge: she writes down 3 different numbers on 3 index cards, and has each student hold up one of the cards to their forehead such that they can’t see their own card but everyone else can.

She tells them each card has a different number, and that two of the numbers add up to the third number, and asks them to figure out their number without sharing the numbers they see.

Ava sees Sid has 40 on his forehead and Vlad has 60 on his forehead.

Ava says “I don’t know my number.”

Vlad says “I don’t know my number.”

Before Sid can say anything, Ava realizes she is now able to figure our her number! What is Ava’s number?

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