Brain Teasers
Card Quandary
Mavis the 'mathemagician' held ten cards (face down) in her hand - Ace (1) to 10 of Hearts.
She moved the top card to the bottom of the pack, counting '1', and turned up the next card, placing it on the table. It was the Ace.
She counted two more cards to the bottom of the pack, showed the next card - the '2' - and placed it on the table.
Counting, 'One, two, three' more to the bottom, she then showed the next card - '3' of Hearts.
This continued for four to nine, and the final card was - ta-daah! - the '10' of Hearts.
Question: What was the original order of cards, from the top to bottom?
She moved the top card to the bottom of the pack, counting '1', and turned up the next card, placing it on the table. It was the Ace.
She counted two more cards to the bottom of the pack, showed the next card - the '2' - and placed it on the table.
Counting, 'One, two, three' more to the bottom, she then showed the next card - '3' of Hearts.
This continued for four to nine, and the final card was - ta-daah! - the '10' of Hearts.
Question: What was the original order of cards, from the top to bottom?
Hint
Try it with pieces of paper, real cards, or a diagram on paper ...... or scroll down to a hint that might make it too easy ...
The cards, from the top of the pack, must have been:
* A * * 2 * * * 3 *
Answer
9 A 8 5 2 4 7 6 3 10You might like to try this as a challenging 'trick' for younger people to work out (or your parents!!)
A further challenge is to 'spell' the number as you move the cards, one by one, to the bottom:
"O, N, E, '1', T, W, O, '2', etc.
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Comments
I haven't tried it with cards yet, but I will! I love these kind of card tricks was just about to shut down for the night but thought ... one more look at Braingle and I was hooked thanks for posting , and it's cool to be first comment too!!!
Its even better to be first and know and understand the problem at hand. I myself, did not understand this problem the wayit was explained, yet I did understand and got the first two numbers/letters correct. Good Teaser.
Very nice! Very doable but requires some thinking. Cheers.
Thanks - yes, its a fun little challenge. Very good for the problem-solving skill of thinking backwards. Do try it and share it!
I'm glad people are enjoying this - it's not new, but I have written it in an original way.
I'm glad people are enjoying this - it's not new, but I have written it in an original way.
I love any puzzle that has to do with numbers and logic. Very easy with a pencil and paper, but lots of fun for me. Can't wait to try it on my grand kids.
I didn't understand.? After three; count four to the bottom then five to the bottom ,etc. I came up with 9A562481037. It seemed to work.?
My bad. I did it face-up; just reread directions.
I misread the directions, as instead of the named card being removed from the deck and placed on a table. I counted it as having been put onto the bottom of the deck also. The teaser was not workable doing it this way, and so I reread the directions (reading them carefully the first time would have saved a lot of trouble!) After rereading and using paper and pencil, it was actually pretty easy! Good Teaser!
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