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:

1/3

This is a famous question in understanding conditional probability, which simply means that given some information you might be able to get a better estimate.

The following are possible combinations of two children that form a sample space in any earthly family:

Boy - Girl
Girl - Boy
Boy - Boy
Girl - Girl

Since we know one of the children is a boy, we will drop the girl-girl possibility from the sample space.
This leaves only three possibilities, one of which is two boys. Hence the probability is 1/3

Solution:

This is simply the numbers 2^0,2^1,2^2 ... that is 1,2,4,8,16... So for making 1000 kg we need up to 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 512

Solution:

As the message contains one truth, the third says that the cash is in the second bag, if it is to be true, then the first bag message will also become true. So cash cannot be in second and third bags. cash is in the first bag.

Solution:

17 mins

The initial solution most people will think of is to use the fastest person as an usher to guide everyone across. How long would that take? 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 mins. Is that it? No. That would make this question too simple even as a warm up question.

Let’s brainstorm a little further. To reduce the amount of time, we should find a way for 10 and 7 to go together. If they cross together, then we need one of them to come back to get the others. That would not be ideal. How do we get around that? Maybe we can have 1 waiting on the other side to bring the torch back. Ahaa, we are getting closer. The fastest way to get 1 across and be back is to use 2 to usher 1 across. So let’s put all this together.

1 and 2 go cross
2 comes back
7 and 10 go across
1 comes back
1 and 2 go across (done)

Total time = 2 + 2 + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 mins