One of five brothers baked a cake for their Mum. Alex said: “This was Vernon or Tom.” Vernon said: “It was not I and not Will who did it.” Tom said: “You’re both lying.” David said: “No, one of them told the truth, and the other was lying.” Will said: “No David, you’re wrong.” Mum knows that three of her sons always tell the truth. Who made the cake?
What is the maximum number of rooks – also known as castles – you could place on an 8 by 8 chess board such that no two could take one another? Rooks can attack any number of squares horizontally and vertically, but not diagonally.
Lessons at the Evening Mathematical School take place in nine auditoriums. Amongst the class were 19 students from the same school.
a) Prove that no matter how these students are arranged at least one auditorium will contain no fewer than 3 of these students.
b) Is it true that one of the auditoriums must contain exactly 3 of these students?
12 straight lines passing through the origin are drawn on a plane. Prove that it is possible to choose two of these lines such that the angle between them is less than 17 degrees.
It is known that among the members of the government of the Planet of Liars and truth tellers, consisting of 20 members, there is at least one honest one, and also that from any two at least one is a bribe taker. How many bribe takers are there in the government?
In a certain realm there are magicians, sorcerers and wizards. The following is known about them: firstly, not all magicians are sorcerers, and secondly, if the wizard is not a sorcerer, then he is not a magician. Is it true that not all magicians are wizards?
A traveller on the planet of liars and truth tellers met four people and asked them: “Who are you?”. They received the following answers:
1st: “We are all liars.”
2nd: “Among us is exactly one liar.”
3rd: “Among us there are two liars.”
4th: “I have never lied and I’m not lying”.
The traveller quickly realised who the fourth resident was. How did they do it?
In the lower left corner of an 8 by 8 chessboard is a chip. Two in turn move it one cell up, right or right-up diagonally. The one who puts the chip in the upper right corner wins. Who will win in a regular game?
a) There are 10 coins. It is known that one of them is fake (by weight, it is heavier than the real ones). How can you determine the counterfeit coin with three weighings on scales without weights?
b) How can you determine the counterfeit coin with three weighings, if there are 27 coins?
During the year, the price for a strudel were twice raised by 50%, and before the New Year they were sold at half price. How much does one strudel cost now, if at the beginning of the year it cost 80 pence?