Brain Teasers
Marble and Box
Probability
Probability puzzles require you to weigh all the possibilities and pick the most likely outcome.Probability
In a box you have 13 white marbles and 15 black marbles. You also have 28 black marbles outside the box. Remove two marbles, randomly, from the box. If they are of different colors, put the white one back in the box. If they are the same color, take them out and put a black marble back in the box. Continue this until only one marble remains in the box. What color is the last marble?
Answer
The last marble will be WHITE.Since marbles can only be taken out in pairs and you started off with an odd number of whites there is always going to be one white left over that you'll keep putting back in the box until it's left on its own.
Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments
This was easy after the last one I tried which was something to do with cats thinking they were dogs, and I really need to lie down now
Okay, I am a little confused, what would happen if you take out the first twelve marbles, and they each happen to be white, so you add the 6 black ones to the box...but then, on your next pick, you get a white and a black one, and then you add another black marble into the box, now you would be out of white marbles...I don't think this situation would occur very often, but wouldn't you be out of white marbles then?
im_para_noid, the rules of the game state "If they are of different colors, put the white one back... " so you can never run out of white marbles.
im_para_noid um in good intention why are you paranoid? : )
Great teaser! I actually got it!
Fun but pretty simple
I think that is pretty cool! did a friend tell you taht or did you make it up yourself? i'm new so i'll probably think everything is "COOL"
i think i knbow exectly y i dident gett it
iv been up exactly(give or take a litle for mestkes) 23 hours 48 min.
iv been up exactly(give or take a litle for mestkes) 23 hours 48 min.
Cool teaser!
man, that's weird. not my kind of teaser but cool-ish
This is one of the ONLY math-related teasers that I have been able to get! Thanks for a great teaser!
I liked this one. I just pretended there were 2 black and 2 white left, then tried different combinations and it kept coming up white, so that was my guess. May not be air-tight though.
I found this one to be very easy. When I read the directions it gave me the answer...good one though
yes i thought too that it would have been a white mrable.
that sucked, i tried it and it didn't work
Mar 06, 2005
this one i enjoyed thourohly it made me smile.
that one was 2 easy!!
I kept thinking there was going to be some kind of trick because it was kinda' easy.
not bad, a little eazy but still creative.
CAN U PLEEZ FREEKIN MAK UR GAY THINGZ EZIER!!!
Hotcalibabe3, have you lost your marbles! (sorry, just could not resist)
It is pretty easy as it is.
It is pretty easy as it is.
what would happen if you took out one black and white every time and then took out the last to blacks, had to put another black back in, and its the last one?
I didn't get it, sounded too complicated, didn't even really try, wasn't willing to put six months of thought into it ,as I the suspected it might take. The answer pointed out the one important and obvious factor that never even occurred to me, always putting the white marble back inside.
i guess white and it is correct! :p
Good brainteaser. I was unable to immediately get the answer, had to think a bit before getting it. It helped me see that my logic skills could still use some work. I focused too much on the cases: -1 black, -2 white +1 black, and -1 black. If I complete ignored the blacks, I could have immediately got the answer, which is what I hope to achieve with more brainteaser practice.
lol I don't even remember this problem, but I got it instantly this time around
Good to see some improvement in my logic skills.
Good to see some improvement in my logic skills.
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!