Solution:

Step 5 is invalid, because we are dividing by (x-y), and since x=y, we are thus dividing by 0. This is an invalid mathematical operation (division by 0), and so by not following basic mathematical rules

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:

Think deeply about the door number 56, people will visit it for every divisor it has. So 56 has 1 & 56, 2 & 28, 4 & 14, 7 & 8. So on pass 1, the 1st person will open the door; pass 2, 2nd one will close it; pass 4, open; pass 7, close; pass 8, open; pass 14, close; pass 28, open; pass 56, close.
Thus we can say that the door will just end up back in its original state for each pair of divisor. But what about the cases in which the pair of divisor has analogous number for example door number 16? 16 has the divisors 1 & 16, 2 & 8, 4&4. But 4 is recurrent because 16 is a perfect square, so you will only visit door number 16, on pass 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16… leaving it open at the end. So only perfect square doors will remain open at the end.

Solution:

Playing chess

Game needs two players so Brother-8 is playing chess with Brother-2

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:

17 min

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 minutes. 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 minutes

Solution:

1. Fill 5 liters jar ( 5l-jar:5, 3l-jar:0)
2. Transfer to 3 liters pail (5l-jar:2, 3l-jar:3)
3. Empty 3 liters jar ( 5l-jar:2, 3l-jar:0)
4. Transfer 2q from 5 pail to 3 pail (5l-jar:0, 3l-jar:2)
5. Fill 5 liters pail(5l-jar:5, 3l-jar:2)
6. Transfer 1q from 5 pail to 3 pail(5l-jar:4, 3l-jar:3)

Solution:

You must put labels on the tablets as A and B before using. In that case, if you pour tablets together, you will get 3A, 2A 1B, 1A 2B or 3B. If they are from the same bottles you can take one from another bottle and save the remaining two for another day. If you get two from same and one from other, you can draw one from another bottle and you will have two pairs of which you can eat one and save the other.

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:

The first step that they will take will be a leap of logic. What it means is that they will deduce that every color must appear twice at least. Why? Because the master logician has assured them that the puzzle will not be impossible for anyone of them. And if a color appears only once in the circle, the person wearing it will have no clue about that color which will not be fair for him.

Then the logicians will follow the same and look for all the colors of hats in the circle. If one of them sees a color just once, he can safely assume that he is also wearing the hat of the same color as by leap of logic, no color can appear just once. Thus when the bell is rung, he will leave.

In the similar fashion, if anyone sees another color just once, he can determine that he is wearing the hat of the same color and will leave when the bell rings or will be disqualified and sent home. Unvaryingly, if a color is seen twice, they will be eliminated after the first bell. Hence, there must be at least three hats of any of the remaining color.

Assume that you are sitting in the circle and you don’t see a color once but see it twice. Then if they were the only two hats of the same color, the logicians must have left at the first bell already. But they did not. Which means that there are three hats of that color and you are wearing one. Thus you will leave after the second bell.