Tag Archives: probability puzzles

Solution to Puzzle #145: The WHO Puzzle

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Alok Goyal

This was perhaps not an easy problem for children, but I got correct responses from Suman Saraf, Abhinav Jain and Pratik Poddar. The correct answer is ~0.01%, that is the probability of you having the disease is very low, even … Continue reading →

Posted in Solution | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Puzzle #145: The WHO Puzzle

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Alok Goyal

This is another puzzle from the Ramanujan collection, a nice probability puzzle! The World Health Organization has just identified a new disease. The good news is that it is very rare: only 1 in every million people has it. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Puzzles | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Solution to Puzzle #142: Bills and Two Hats

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Alok Goyal

Got many correct answers for this puzzle, particularly pleased that Mahi, Suman’s daughter also answered this correctly. Other people to send correct answers included Suman Saraf, Bhanu, Pratik Poddar and Karan Sharma, my nephew. Well done all. The boy maximizes … Continue reading →

Posted in Solution | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Puzzle #142: Bills and Two Hats

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Alok Goyal

This one is a simple problem, is a variation of a probability puzzle posted about 3 years back – try it with your teenage children! This one is again taken from The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems by … Continue reading →

Posted in Puzzles | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Solution to Puzzle #81: The “Sholay” Puzzle

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Alok Goyal

Surprisingly I did not get any solution to this puzzle, though the access to the blog was the highest that it has ever been. Assuming that many of you tried but thought it to be too easy! Here are the … Continue reading →

Posted in Solution | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Puzzle #81: The “Sholay” Puzzle

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Alok Goyal

A very interesting probability/ strategy puzzle for children, coming straight out of the movie Sholay, one of the most popular Bollywood movies of all time. All the Indians reading this blog I am sure will vividly remember the scene where … Continue reading →

Posted in Puzzles | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Solution to Puzzle #79: Diwali Special

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Alok Goyal

This was a very nice puzzle and I got many responses, though only one of which was completely correct – from Girish Tutakne. What was commendable was that he sent his answer literally within a few minutes of my posting … Continue reading →

Posted in Solution | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Puzzle #79: Diwali Special

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Alok Goyal

Since playing cards is very popular during the Diwali festival, here is a special probability puzzle with cards, contributed by Alok Mittal from his Mathematical Circles class. I heard this one last night and could not resist. I am breaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Puzzles | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Solution to Puzzle #78: Probability of #6

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Alok Goyal

This was a tricky question…somewhat similar to the Monty Hall Problem (please see https://alokgoyal1971.com/2013/06/09/puzzle-20-the-monty-hall-problem-very-interesting-must-try/). I got a number of answers and a few of them correct in my opinion. The ones that sent the correct answers include Vishv Vivek Sharma (my … Continue reading →

Posted in Solution | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Puzzle #78: Probability of #6

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Alok Goyal

This is a wonderful probability puzzle given to me by my nephew, Karan Sharma, who lives in Jaipur and is in Class XII – thanks Karan! A man is known to speak the truth 3 out of 4 times. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Puzzles | Tagged , | Leave a comment