Logic & Deduction

About Logic & Deduction

Put on your thinking cap! Use the clues to figure out the answer in these logic and deduction puzzles that test your reasoning skills! Logic & Deduction packs 15 multiple-choice questions with a mix of 5 easy, 5 medium, 5 hard questions into a relaxed session of roughly 7 minutes — no sign-up, no timer pressure. An explanation appears after every answer, and finishing once a day keeps your streak alive.

A few sample questions

1. 1. Tom is taller than Sue. Sue is taller than Mike. Who is the shortest?

   Answer: Mike

   Since Tom is taller than Sue, and Sue is taller than Mike, Mike must be the shortest of the three.

2. 2. A farmer has chickens and cows. He counts 8 heads and 22 legs in total. How many cows does he have?

   Answer: 3

   8 heads means 8 animals total. If all 8 were chickens, that would be 16 legs. Each cow adds 2 extra legs (4 instead of 2). We need 22 - 16 = 6 extra legs, so 6 ÷ 2 = 3 cows (and 5 chickens). Check: 3 × 4 + 5 × 2 = 12 + 10 = 22 legs.

3. 3. What comes next in this sequence? 2, 6, 18, 54, ___

   Answer: 162

   Each number is multiplied by 3 to get the next: 2 × 3 = 6, 6 × 3 = 18, 18 × 3 = 54, so 54 × 3 = 162.

4. 4. Three friends finished a race. Amy did not finish last. Ben finished after Amy. Carl did not finish first. In what order did they finish?

   Answer: Amy, Carl, Ben

   Ben finished after Amy, so Amy was ahead of Ben. Carl did not finish first, so Amy must be first. Amy did not finish last (confirmed — she's first). Ben finished after Amy, and Carl was not first, so the order is Amy (1st), Carl (2nd), Ben (3rd).

5. 5. If all roses are flowers, and some flowers fade quickly, which statement MUST be true?

   Answer: None of these must be true

   We know all roses are flowers, and some flowers fade quickly — but we cannot be certain that any of those quickly-fading flowers are roses. It is possible, but not guaranteed. Therefore, none of the first three statements must be true.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓At 3:15, the minute hand points at the 3 (90 degrees from 12). But the hour hand has moved past the 3 by a quarter of the way toward the 4. Each hour mark is 30 degrees, so a quarter is 7.5 degrees. The angle between them is 7.5 degrees.
• ✓Since all labels are wrong, the box labeled 'Apples and Oranges' cannot have both — and you drew an apple, so it must be the 'only apples' box. The box labeled 'Oranges' is also mislabeled, so it cannot contain only oranges. It cannot be apples (that's the box we just identified). So it must contain apples and oranges.
• ✓If the day after tomorrow is Thursday, then tomorrow is Wednesday, and today is Tuesday. The day before yesterday means two days before today: Tuesday minus 2 days = Sunday.