Brain Teasers
My Cup is Overflowing...
Fun: (2.44)
Difficulty: (2.3)
Puzzle ID: #10410
Submitted By: rschwietzer Corrected By: exterminator
Submitted By: rschwietzer Corrected By: exterminator
Trick
Trick brain teasers appear difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.Trick
There are three measuring cups on a table with volumes of 1-cup, 1/2-cup, and 1/4-cup. There is also a 4-cup mixing bowl that is completely empty and leak proof.
Water is poured into the cups, and they are all filled to the brim.
All three measuring cups are then emptied into the large mixing bowl, without spilling a drop.
The mixing bowl, however, now only has less than a cup of water in it. How is this possible?
Water is poured into the cups, and they are all filled to the brim.
All three measuring cups are then emptied into the large mixing bowl, without spilling a drop.
The mixing bowl, however, now only has less than a cup of water in it. How is this possible?
Hint
Even though all three measuring cups were completely filled with water, less than one cup was needed to fill them.Answer
The 1/2-cup and 1/4-cup are stacked inside the 1-cup measuring cup. When all three are filled, simultaneously, the total volume of water is less than one cup.All three are then poured simultaneously into the mixing bowl.
Hide Hint Show Hint 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
Nice one. However, there are many possible explanations. For example, the measuring cups could contain also another substance plus the water, making the cup have only a bit of water but a lot of the other substance.
The water could have evaporated. Or the water could have been turned into steam -- perhaps the bowl was sitting on a stove.
technically, this is WRONG. The teaser states that sll measuring cups are EMPTIED into thre large mixing bowl. That alone tells where the water is. It should read something to the effect of "the water is placed in the mixing bowl", and the reader does not know if it is still in thr measuring cups or not....
Teasers should not rely on being completely misleading. I considered the possibility of stacking the cups, but on reading the teaser it said each was completely filled to the brim. I cannot imagine how this description fits. Was there not other space around the inside cups? Did the inside cup project out. I like my own explanation better. You just wait one month and most of the water has evaporated!
I am sorry if this offends you, but there are too many possible answers!
Apr 05, 2003
I thought it was okay...the explanation makes sense
Apr 16, 2003
I was thinking that she poured the water into like..other cups..it doesnt say the measuring cups were filled to the brim..just the cups were. But otherwise good.
Apr 30, 2003
This is one odd cook here. What a waste of cups! What was he/she thinking when he/she stacked the cups? Kick this chef out of the Cordon Bleu NOW!
Quite confusing. When I read the name it gave me a wierd feeling, and I read it. It doesn't QUITE make sense to me, but I seem to get it.
I'm with Jimbo. The comment about being filled to the brim got me too. Given the answer, one has been filled to the brim.
I also agree with jimbo and dsquared. The cups, if stacked inside of each other cannot be filled to the brim. If you take into consideration the handle on each cup and the thickness of the material of which cups are made of, the cups themselves are what fill each other. The water only fills in the gaps left by the stacking. Agreed, when stacked and filled, there is less than one cup of water total. However, each cup has not been filled to the brim with water but with water, volume of container and any air which may have been trapped in between cups. Yes, I tried this before making this comment. I used several different measuring cups made of different substances. Each group held a different amount of water. In each case, none of the cups were filled to the brim with only water.
That made me dizzy.
I DONT BELIEVE THAT I ACTUALLY GOT IT HURRAY!
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!