Solution:

Even though the question might sound quite difficult, there is quite a simple solution for it if you light up your logics. All you have to do is turn two switches on and keep one off. Keep them in the same position for some 10 minutes and then shut one of them off. Hurry up into the room now.

There can be two possibilities - either the light are on or they are off. If they are on, you know which switch controls the lights as you have left only one switch on. If the lights are off, it can be either of the two remaining switches. All you have to do is touch the lights with your bare hand. If the lights are hot, it is the switch which you just turned off before entering the room and if the lights are cold, it is the switch which was left untouched and was off since the beginning.

Solution:

Put one black rock in one sack and put all the rest in the other one. In such manner you will get about 3/4 probability of surviving.

Solution:

Let us assume that all of them are standing on the X shore and they have to travel to the Y shore.

X = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, first son, second son, maid and dog
Y = None

Maid and dog go first and maid returns back
X = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, first son, second son and maid
Y = dog

Maid and first son go and maid returns with dog
X = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, second son, maid and dog
Y = first son

Father and second son go and father returns back
X = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, maid and dog
Y = first son and second son

Mother and father go and mother comes back
X = mother, first daughter, second daughter, maid and dog
Y = father, first son and second son

Maid and Dog go and Father returns back
X = mother, first daughter, second daughter and father
Y = first son, second son, maid and dog

Father and Mother go and mother comes back
X = mother, first daughter and second daughter
Y = father, first son, second son, maid and dog

Mother and first daughter go and maid comes back with dog
X = second daughter, maid and dog
Y = mother, first daughter, father, first son and second son

Maid and second daughter go and maid comes back
X = Maid and dog
Y = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, first son and second son

Maid and dog go
X= none
Y = mother, first daughter, second daughter, father, first son, second son, maid and dog

Thus everyone has reached the other end.

Solution:

At each draw, the number of strawberry candies are either decreasing by 2 or not decreasing at all. In the case of orange candies, at each draw, they are either increasing by 1 or decreasing by 1.

Thus on an assumed outset with at least one candy in the jar to begin with, if the number of strawberry candies are 0 or are even in numbers, they will finish off leaving an orange candy at the end. If otherwise, the remaining candy will be a strawberry one.

Solution:

For this answer is 3^0, 3^1, 3^2... That is 1,3,9,27,81,243 and 729.

Solution:

Fifteen minutes can easily be measure using these two hour glasses.

Step 1: He will start both the hourglass.

Step 2: The moment the eleven minute hourglass is empty, he will invert it.

Step 3: When the thirteen minutes hourglass is empty, he will invert the eleven minute hourglass.
In step 3, we will have counted thirteen minutes. Since we inverted the eleven minute hourglass in step 2, it started from fresh and was inverted just for two minutes (13-11=2). In this manner when it is reversed when the thirteen minute hourglass is finished, it will have two minutes of sand left. This time when the sand finishes, he will have measured fifteen minutes. (13+2=15)

Solution:

Read the question carefully again. New Year do falls after Christmas but that happens if two different years. The question is put up against the year 2050 and thus there will be 51 weeks and 2 days in between them as New Year will appear on 1 January 2050 and Christmas will happen on 25 December 2050.

Solution:

If you see the picture, they formed a pentagonal shape and achieved the required.

Solution:

There can be two possibilities for the given situation.

One is if I run on the perimeter. Then, the lion will eventually catch me as the lion can follow my radius and then his trajectory will be half of the circle and not a spiral. Therefore, the lion will subsequently catch me in a finite amount of time.

Secondly if I don’t run on the perimeter, then clearly, I have an infinite amount of time before the lion catches me.

Solution:

First fill the 8 liters jug complete - 4, 8, 0
Fill the 5 liters jug with 8 liters jug - 4, 3, 5
Pour back the beer from 5 liters jug to 12 liters jug - 9, 3, 0
Pour the 3 liters from 8 liters jug to 5 liters jug - 9, 0, 3
Fill the 8 liters jug completely from 12 liters jug - 1, 8, 3
Fill the 5 liters jug from the 8 liters jug - 1, 6, 5
Pour the entire 5 liters jug back in 12 liters jug - 6, 6, 0

You have successfully split the beer into two equal parts.

Solution:

99 matches.

The number of matches will always sum up to one less than the number of players in a knock out tournament. You may calculate it in any manner. Thus 99 matches were played.