Interesting Questions Employers Have Asked on Interviews

A bat and ball together cost $1.10. The bat is $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

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Answer: The ball costs $0.05 The bat costs $1.00 Total: $1.05

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If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets. How long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

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Answer: If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets. It would take 100 machines 5 minutes to make 100 widgets. Each machine takes 5 minutes to make one widget.

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In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?

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Answer: If the patch of lilies doubles every day, and it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the lake, then the lake will be half covered on day 47.

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How would you measure 9 minutes using only a 4-minute and 7-minute hourglass?

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Answer: Flip both timers over. When the 4-min timer is empty, flip it over (the 7-min timer has 3 minutes left in the top). When the 7-min timer is empty, flip it over (there is now 1 minute left in the top of the 4-min timer). When the 4-min timer is empty for the second time, the 7-min timer has 1 minute worth of sand in the bottom half. Flip it over so there is now 1 minute in the top. When the 7-min timer empties, 9 minutes have elapsed.

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