Brain Benders 1 AATC

Ebook Code: REAU0070
Title: Brain Benders 1 Acknowledgements for Front Cover

© 2009 Ready-Ed Publications i. Clip art images have been obtained
Printed in Australia from Microsoft Design Gallery Live
and are used under the terms of
Author: Barry Brocas and
the End User License Agreement for
Ready-Ed Brenda Bicknell
Publications Microsoft Word 2000. Please refer to
www.microsoft.com/permission.
Copyright Notice
The purchasing educational institution and its staff have educational institution (or the body that administers it) has
the right to make copies of the whole or part of this book, given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited
beyond their rights under the Australian Copyright Act (CAL) under Act.
1968 (the Act), provided that:
For details of the CAL licence for educational
1. The number of copies does not exceed the number
institutions contact:
reasonably required by the educational institution to
Copyright Agency Limited
satisfy its teaching purposes;
Level 19, 157 Liverpool Street
2. Copies are made only by reprographic means Sydney NSW 2000
(photocopying), not by electronic/digital means, and not Telephone: (02) 9394 7600
stored or transmitted; Facsimile: (02) 9394 7601
E-mail: info@copyright.com.au
3. Copies are not sold or lent;
4. Every copy made clearly shows the footnote, ‘Ready-Ed Reproduction and Communication by others
Publications’.
Except as otherwise permitted by this blackline master
Any copying of this book by an educational institution or licence or under the Act (for example, any fair dealing for
its staff outside of this blackline master licence may fall the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no
within the educational statutory licence under the Act. part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by
The Act allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of
any means without prior written permission. All inquiries
the pages of this book, whichever is the greater, to be
should be made to the publisher at the address below.
reproduced and/or communicated by any educational
institution for its educational purposes provided that that
Published by:
Ready-Ed Publications
PO Box 276 Greenwood WA 6024
www.readyed.net
info@readyed.com.au
ISBN: 978 1 86397 779 1

2
Contents
Marbles in a Jar 6 Five Stones 32
Answer 7 Answer 33
Name the Pets 8 The Historic Home 34

Answer 9 Answer 35
The Picnic 10 Piles of Books 36

Answer 11 Answer 37
Coloured Pattern 12 Going to Town 38

Answer 13 Answer 39
Guess Who 14 Brain Busters

Answer 15
Will the Whale 40
Meeting at the Shop 16 Cutting Wood 40
Answer 17 Answers 41
Classrooms in a Row 18 Cooking Steaks 44

Answer 19 Answer 45
Lining Up 20 Children’s Ages 46

Answer 21 Answer 47
Coloured Balls 22 Animals Legs 48

Answer 23 Answer 49
Happy Valley School 24 Sisters and Brothers 50

Answer 25 Answer 51
Stacking Cups 26 Dressed for Work 52

Answer 27 Answer 53
The Bookworm 28 The Stolen Sheep 54

Answer 29 Cows in the Paddock 54
Answers 55
Making a Quilt 30
Answer 31
3
Teachers’ Notes
What is this book about?
This book contains twenty-six photocopiable mathematical problems. The problems have
been written and presented to suit a range of abilities and ways of thinking and learning in
junior primary school. Problem solving is an important part of the mathematics curriculum
and this book has been designed to help students become familiar with, and put into
practice, a range of problem solving techniques. The strategies which this book encourages
students to use and develop are: guess and check, looking for patterns, drawing pictures and
modelling objects, listing and eliminating possibilities, filling in grids, using timelines and
making assumptions and estimates and judging the reasonableness of them. The problems
are also designed to highlight the importance of reading mathematical language carefully.
Why have we written this book?

We have both been primary school teachers and are aware of the kind of support materials
that busy teachers need. Over the years, we have collected the mathematical problems that
appear in this book, and have shared many of them with our peers. It is their promptings that
have brought about the publishing of this collection. The problems that appear in this book
will add flavour and interest to a mathematics programme. They will create discussion and
debate and stimulate mathematical thought. It is our belief that children exposed to such
problems as the ones in this book, will develop greater powers to solve problems, investigate
information and make decisions inside as well as outside of the classroom. Most of these
problems do not have immediately obvious answers. Their solutions might well include group
discussion, or time to think them over at school or at home.
What is different about this book?

In spite of the fact that the types of problems that we have published have existed for a long
time, are enjoyed by children and are an integral part of the curricula, it seems that not all
teachers are using them. We think that one of the reasons for this is that they have not been
made available in a ‘ready-to-use’ format. We have published this book in what we believe is a
‘ready-to-use’ format: using large print for creating overhead transparencies, mainly limiting
one problem to one page, and providing answers which focus on the step-by-step methods
which children are likely to use to solve the problems. We are aware that there are more
sophisticated and sometimes shorter explanations of answers to some of the problems, but
we have chosen to explain the answers in ways that we think children will best understand
them.
How might you use this book?

Teachers can use these problems in a variety of ways. Some teachers have found it effective
to give their students a problem at the end of a mathematics lesson as a starter discussion for
the following day. Students are often sufficiently interested in the problems to discuss them
at home. The most important thing for teachers to realise, is that if the problems are at the
right level for their students, then they will not be solved immediately but will require some
thought and possibly some discussion and debate. At the back of the book we have created
a Brain Buster section which includes more difficult mathematical problems. You may use
the problems which appear in this section as you wish. They could, for example, be used to
extend more able students or to occupy fast finishers.
We hope that you and your students enjoy solving these problems.
Barry Brocas and Brenda Bicknell
4
Curriculum Links
NSW
Working Mathematically (stage 2)
Number (stage 2)
Patterns and Algebra (stage 2)
Measurement (stage 2)
Space and Geometry (stage 2)
NT
Spatial Sense (band 1)
Movement and Data Sense (band 1)
Number Sense (band 1)
WA
Appreciating Mathematics (1)
Working Mathematically (3) (4) (5)
Number (6) (7) (8)
Measurement (9) (10) (11)
Space (15) (16)
Algebra (19)
QLD
Essential Learnings Year 3
Number
Algebra
Measurement
Space
SA
Essential Learnings
Measurement (standard 2)
Number (standard 2)
Pattern and Algebraic Reasoning (standard 2)
Spatial Sense and Geometric Reasoning (standard 2)
VIC
Victorian Essential Learning Statements
Number (level 3)
Space (level 3)
Measure (level 3)
Structure (level 3)
Working Mathematically (level 3)
5
How do you rate this Brain Bender?
Brain Bender 1
Brain Boring! Easy on the Brain! Brain Bending! Super Dooper Brain Bending!
Marbles in a Jar
On Monday, Troy put one marble in a jar. Each day after that, he
doubled the number of marbles in the jar. After six days, the jar was
full of marbles.
How many days did it take before the jar was half-full of marbles?
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
_____days
6
Brain Bender 1
Answer Marbles in a Jar
If the jar was full after six days, then it must have been
half-full the previous day, because each day Troy doubled
the number of marbles that he placed in the jar.
So the answer is five days.
7
Brain Bender 2
Name the Pets

Four pets are kept in cages in a back yard as shown below.
There is a rabbit, a hen, a guinea pig and a rooster.
Their names are Chip, Tommy, Dale and Mickey.
Use the clues below to match the names to the pets.
Clue 1 The guinea pig is next to the hen and the rooster.
Clue 2 Dale is opposite the guinea pig.
Clue 3 The hen is called Chip.
Clue 4 Mickey is opposite the hen.
Back yard
Rabbit
Hen
Guinea Pig
Rooster
8
Brain Bender 2
Answer Name the Pets
The clues lead to the following deductions:
The first clue tells us that the rabbit must be opposite

the guinea pig, so the rabbit’s name is Dale (the
second clue).
The hen and the rooster must be opposite each other

(the first clue), so the rooster’s name is Mickey. We
can tell this from the fourth clue.
We are told that the hen’s name is Chip (the third

clue), so the guinea pig’s name must be Tommy.
So the answer is: Rabbit Dale

Hen Chip
Guinea Pig Tommy
Rooster Mickey
9
Brain Bender 3
The Picnic
Amy, Bianca and Carla went on a picnic together. One of the girls took
sandwiches in an esky, another girl, who went in her mother’s van,
took chips and the third girl, who biked to the picnic, took a soft drink.
Use the clues below to work out who took what to the picnic.
Clue 1 Amy’s mother drives a new car.
Clue 2 Carla doesn’t have a bike because it is too hilly to ride a
bike where she lives.
Clue 3 Bianca’s mother borrowed a esky for her for the day.
Amy Bianca Carla

Sandwiches
Chips
Soft drink
Hint: Put ticks and crosses in the boxes of the grid to help you solve the problem.
10
Brain Bender 3
Answer The Picnic
Amy Bianca Carla

Sandwiches x 3 x
Chips x x 3
Soft drink 3 x x
The first clue tells us that Amy did not take the chips,
so an X should be placed in that box.
The second clue tells us that Carla did not take the
soft drink. An X should be placed in that box.
The third clue tells us that Bianca took the

sandwiches. So the box should be ticked.
Each row and column of the grid must have only

one tick. So the above grid shows the only possible
arrangement.
So the answer is: Amy took the soft drink, Bianca

took the sandwiches and Carla took the chips.
11
Brain Bender 4
Coloured Pattern
Take sixteen counters. Four must be red, another four green, four
white and another four blue.
Arrange the sixteen counters on the squares below so that only

one of each of the colours is in each row and only one of each
colour is in each column.
There is more than one solution to this problem.

Hint: Use sixteen coloured counters and move them around on the grid provided until you find the solution. Tip:
12
Brain Bender 4
Answer Coloured Pattern

There are many possible solutions. Solutions will be
found by adopting a guess and check approach.
One solution is:
Red Blue White Green
Green Red Blue White
White Green Red Blue
Blue White Green Red
Another solution is:
Red Blue White Green
Blue White Green Red
White Green Red Blue
Green Red Blue White
13
Brain Bender 5
Guess Who
After reading the clues, match the names to the children drawn below.
The names of the children are Amy, Ben, Clare, Daniel and Erena.
Clue 1 Ben and Erena have shoes on.
Clue 2 Ben and Clare are wearing hats.
Clue 3 Daniel is eating an ice cream.
14
Brain Bender 5
Answer Guess Who

A solution is found by eliminating possibilities.
Ben Erena Clare Amy Daniel
15
Brain Bender 6
Meeting at the Shop

Mr. Seth and Mrs. Paris both shop at the same grocery store between
half past five and six o’clock.
The shop is open seven days a week.
The last time that they met at the shop was on a Thursday. Mr. Seth
shops every four days and Mrs. Paris shops every five days.
On what day of the week will they next meet at the grocery shop?
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat
______________
16
Brain Bender 6
Answer Meeting at the Shop

There are a few ways that students might solve this
problem.
Method 1 – Fill out the calendar as shown below.
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

S/P
S P S
P S P S
S/P
They next meet on a Wednesday.
Method 2 – The number of days before they meet

again, will be a multiple of four (for Mr. Seth) and a
multiple of five (for Mrs. Paris).
So it will be the least common multiple of four

and five. So they will meet in twenty days time.
That is one day less than three weeks, so it will be a
Wednesday.
17
Brain Bender 7
Classrooms in a Row
Five classrooms are positioned next to each other in a row.
The five classroom teachers are Mrs. Jones, Mr. Smith, Miss Hall, Miss
Good and Mr. Dean.
Look at the clues below and match the teachers to their
classrooms.
Clue 1 Mrs. Jones’ room is at one end of the block.
Clue 2 Miss Hall’s room is between Mr. Smith’s and
Miss Good’s rooms.
Clue 3 Mr. Smith’s room is next to Mrs. Jones’ room.
Clue 4 Mr. Dean’s room is not Room 1.
Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5
18
Brain Bender 7
Answer Classrooms in a Row

Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5
Mrs. Mr. Smith Miss Hall Miss Mr. Dean
Jones Good
Note: The first clue gives two possible scenarios, one

of them is eliminated by the fourth clue. Students will
solve this problem using the process of elimination.
19
Brain Bender 8
Lining Up
Seven children are lined up in order of their height.
Put the children in order, starting from the shortest and ending
with the tallest by following the clues below.
Clue 1 David is in the middle of the line.
Clue 2 Paul is taller than Sarah.
Clue 3 Cath is the shortest.
Clue 4 Mark stands between Anne and Jane.
Clue 4 Anne is not the tallest.
20
Brain Bender 8
Answer Lining Up
The first clue labels David in the middle of the line
and the third clue labels Cath as the shortest.
Cath David
From the fourth clue, we know that Mark, Anne and

Jane are stood together so they must be in the three
tallest positions. Also from the fourth clue, we know
that Mark is between Anne and Jane, so Mark must
be in the second tallest place. From the fifth clue, we
know that Anne is not the tallest, so Jane must be the
tallest. Paul and Sarah are the only two people left to
join the line. We are told that Paul is taller than Sarah.
So the answer is:
Cath Paul Anne Jane
Sarah David Mark
21
Brain Bender 9
Coloured Balls
Jenny bought some coloured balls. They were green, blue, white and
yellow. Use the clues below to find out how many balls she bought
altogether.
Clue 1 She bought the same number of blue balls

as green balls.
Clue 2 She bought twice as many white balls as
green balls.
Clue 3 She bought twice as many yellow balls as
the blue and green ones combined.
Clue 4 Jenny bought four white balls.
_________ Balls
Hint: Begin with the fourth clue, then the second clue.
22
Brain Bender 9
Answer Coloured Balls

This problem is best solved using the information
given in the fourth clue first. The fourth clue tells us
that Jenny bought four white balls.
The second clue tells us that she bought twice as

many white balls than green balls, so she bought two
green balls.
Therefore she bought two blue balls. (First clue)
There are twice as many yellow balls than green and

blue balls together. So there are eight yellow balls.
Four white balls

Two green balls
Two blue balls
Eight yellow balls
Total: sixteen balls
23
Brain Bender 10
Happy Valley School

Lauren, Amber and Marcelle all have different ways of getting to
Happy Valley School. One of the girls rides a bike, one of them walks
and the other one goes in a car.
Use the clues below to find out how each girl gets to school.
Clue 1 It is raining today so Lauren will get very wet going to school.
Clue 2 At Happy Valley School, children must be at least nine years
old to bike to school. Amber is eight years old.
Clue 3 Lauren is nine years old but her parents won’t let her bike to
school.
Lauren Amber Marcelle

Bike
Walk
Car
Hint: Pzzut a tick (3) for ‘yes’ or a cross (x) for ‘no’ in the boxes on the grid as you read the clues.
24
Brain Bender 10
Answer Happy Valley School

Bike x x 3
Walk 3 x x
Car x 3 x
Lauren gets very wet going to school so she doesn’t go in

the car. An X should be placed in the bottom left box.
Amber is eight so she doesn’t ride a bike. An X should be
placed in the middle of the top row.
Lauren isn’t allowed to bike to school. An X should be
placed in the top left square.
Marcelle must ride the bike. A 3 should be placed in the
top right and Xs should be placed in both squares below
that.
So Amber must go by car. A 3 should be placed in the
middle of the bottom row, and an X should be placed
above it.
So, Lauren must walk. A 3 should be placed in the
remaining space.
So the answer is Lauren walks, Amber goes by car and
Marcelle bikes.
25
Brain Bender 11
Stacking Cups
A child places seven stacking cups on top of each other. Each cup is a
different colour. The cups are: blue, brown, green, orange, red, white
and yellow.
Use the following clues to help you discover how the cups are
stacked.
Clue 1 The yellow cup is in the middle.
Clue 2 The blue cup is on top of the green cup.
Clue 3 The white cup is on the bottom.
Clue 4 The orange cup is directly below
the yellow cup.
Clue 5 The brown cup is on the top.
Hint: Use coloured counters to model the cups.
26
Brain Bender 11
Answer Stacking Cups
Brown
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
White
27
Brain Bender 12
The Bookworm
Three books are standing in a bookcase as shown in the picture below.
A worm eats its way from the front cover of the first book to the back
cover of the third book. Each book is two centimetres thick.
How far does the worm go?

Book 1
Book 2
Book
Book 3
Hint: Make sure that you work out exactly where the front and the back covers of the books are. Don’t rush this one!
28
Brain Bender 12
Answer The Bookworm

Initially it might seem that the worm has eaten its
way through all three books, so the answer would be
six centimetres. However if we think about where the
front cover of Book 1 is compared to the position of
the back cover of Book 3, we see that the two covers
are only two centimetres apart.
So the answer is two centimetres.

Book 1
Book 2
Book
Book 3
29
Brain Bender 13
Making a Quilt
Mary is sewing blocks of her quilt together.
It takes Mary one minute to sew two blocks of her quilt together.
1 block 2 blocks
Answer these questions
1. How long will it take her to join six blocks in a row?
______ minutes
2. How long will it take Mary to sew fifteen blocks together?
______ minutes
3. How long will it take Mary to sew twenty blocks together?
______ minutes
4. If Mary was making a large quilt and had to sew one hundred
blocks in a row how many minutes would it take her?
______ minutes
Hint: can you see a pattern in your answers to questions 1-3? This may help you to work out question 4 quickly.
30
Brain Bender 13
Answer Making a Quilt

1. Five minutes.
2. Fourteen minutes
3. Nineteen minutes
4. Ninety-nine minutes
When working out the first three questions, students

should be able to recognise that a pattern has
emerged: the number of joins is one less than the
number of blocks. This should help them to work out
the answer to question four quickly without the need
to draw a hundred blocks of quilts.
31
Brain Bender 14
Five Stones
Five stones are placed on the ground in a line one metre apart from
each other. The first stone is one metre from a basket that is at the
start of the line.
How far does a person travel who starts from the basket and
brings the stones to the basket one at a time?
_______ metres
32
Brain Bender 14
Answer Five Stones
The distance to the first stone and back to the basket

is two metres.
The distance to the second stone and back to the

basket is four metres.
The distance to the third stone and back to the

basket is six metres.
The distance to the fourth stone and back to the

basket is eight metres.
The distance to the fifth stone and back to the basket

is ten metres.
So the total distance that the person travels to

bring the stones to the basket is thirty metres.
(2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 = 30)
33
Brain Bender 15
The Historic Home

Back Door
Front Door
Mr. Trotter was asked to save an historic home which consisted of

sixteen rooms as shown above.
The only way that he could save it was to invite tourists to visit the
home. He wanted to create a path through the house from the front
door to the back door. The path would have to go through each room
once and only once.
Is such a path possible?
Is such a path possible if one room isn’t visited?
34
Brain Bender 15
Answer The Historic Home

It cannot be done for the original sixteen room
arrangement. However if we remove one room from
the path it can be done. This can be any room other
than the rooms with the front or back doors.
One possible path is shown below.

Back Door
Front Door
Another possible path is:
Back Door
Front Door
35
Brain Bender 16
Piles of Books
A teacher has two piles of books on her desk. There are three books in
each pile. There is one book on each of the following subjects: Science,
Mathematics, English, History, Health, and Art.
Use the clues below to put the books in order.

Clue 1 The Mathematics book is directly under
the English book.
Clue 2 The Art book is in the second pile but is
not on top of the pile.
Clue 3 The History book is on top of the English
book.
Clue 4 The Health book is between the Science
book and the Art book.
Pile 1 Pile 2
36
Brain Bender 16
Answer
Pile 1 Pile 2
Mathematics Art
English Health
History Science
37
Brain Bender 17
Going to Town
Richard lives in the country and once a week he walks to town. He
always goes to town on the same day of the week.
On each visit, he goes to the bank for money and to the market for his
vegetables.
On every second trip, he has a haircut. The hairdresser does not work
on Mondays. The market is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Saturdays. The bank is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
On what day does Richard go to town?
SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

Hairdresser
Bank
Market
Richard goes to town on a ______________
Hint: Fill in the days Richard can NOT visit each place.
38
Brain Bender 17
Answer Going to Town
Completing a grid is the best way to solve this problem.

Students should use the information provided to
eliminate the unsuitable days.
SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT
No No No No No No bank
bank or hairdresser market market market
market
So the answer is: Richard goes to town on a

Wednesday.
39
Brain Bender 18
Brain boring! Easy on the Brain! Brain bending! Super Dooper Brain Bending!
Will the Whale

The length of Will the Whale is twelve metres, plus half of his own
length.
How long is Will the Whale?
_______ metres

Brain Bender 19
Cutting Wood
It takes James ten minutes to cut through a log of wood.
How long will it take James to cut the log into ten equal pieces if
he continues to cut at the same speed?
_______ minutes
Hint: draw the cuts on the log of wood. Don’t rush this one!
40
Brain Bender 18
Answer Will the Whale

Twenty-four metres long.
Twelve metres must also be a half of the whale’s

length, because when added to the other half it
makes up the whole whale.
Brain Bender 19
Answer Cutting Wood
It takes only nine cuts to cut the log into ten pieces.
So it will take ninety minutes.
41
42
Brain Busters
43
Brain Bender 20
Cooking Steaks
There are three pieces of steak and each piece needs to be cooked for
fourteen minutes on the barbecue; seven minutes each side.
If the barbecue plate is big enough for only two steaks at a time,
what is the least amount of time needed to cook three steaks?
Total time___________
Hint: Remember you want to cook 3 three steaks in the LEAST amount of time.
44
Brain Bender 20
Answer Cooking Steaks

If you cook two steaks on the barbecue first and then
cook the final steak, it will take you twenty-eight
minutes.
This time can be shortened by cooking the steaks in

the following way:
First Seven Minutes:

Steak 1 Steak 2
Second Seven Minutes:

Steak 1 Steak 3
Third Seven Minutes:

Steak 2 Steak 3
Total time: Twenty-one minutes
45
Brain Bender 21
Children’s Ages
Three children A, B and C are discussing their ages.
A says, “C is twice as old as me and four years older than B.”

B says, “I am two years older than A.”
How old are the three children?
Child A ______
Child B ______
Child C ______
Hint: Try a guess and check approach. Choose different numbers, e.g. if child A was 2,3,4… then child B would be …
46
Brain Bender 21
Answer Children’s Ages
There are a number of ways that a student might

work this problem out.
Method 1: Students may adopt a guess and check

approach. If a student guesses that A is six years old,
they should arrive at the answer using the rest of the
information given in the conversation.
Method 2: Students might draw a time-line starting

at zero to solve the problem.
So the answer is: A is six years old, B is eight years

old and C is twelve years old.
47
Brain Bender 22
Animals’ Legs
There are seventeen animals in a yard. Some are chickens and some
are pigs. There is a total of forty-eight legs.
How many chickens and how many pigs are there in the yard?
_________ Chickens _________ Pigs
Hint: Use a guess and check approach.
48
Brain Bender 22
Answer Animals’ Legs

This type of problem lends itself to several different
approaches. Children could adopt a guess and check
approach.
Some more able students may be able to understand
the method below if taught.
If all seventeen animals had two legs we would

have thirty-four legs.
But we have fourteen more legs than that. So
there must be seven pigs to create the fourteen
extra legs.
So the solution is: ten chickens and seven
pigs.
To check the answer: (10x2) + (7x4) = 48
49
Brain Bender 23
Sisters and Brothers

How many girls and how many boys are there in a family in which
each girl has as many brothers as sisters but each boy has twice as
many sisters as brothers?
_________ Girls _________ Boys

Hint: Try a guess and check approach. Choose different numbers, e.g. if child A was 2,3,4… then child B would be …
50
Brain Bender 23
Answer Sisters and Brothers

A guess and check approach can be used to solve
this problem.
Firstly, note that each girl has as many brothers as

sisters. So the number of girls in the family must be
one more than the number of boys.
So a first guess could be GGB. This does not match

the statement that each boy has twice as many
sisters as brothers.
Try GGGBB. This does not match the information

given either, because each boy has three sisters and
one brother.
Try GGGGBBB. This matches all of the information

given, because now each boy has two brothers and
four sisters.
So the answer is: four girls and three boys.
51
Brain Bender 24
Dressed for Work

Mr. Blue, Mr. White and Mr. Grey are all wearing shirts and ties.
Each man is wearing both a shirt and a tie.
Clue 1 They are all wearing different coloured ties.
Clue 2 They are all wearing different coloured shirts.
Clue 3 The shirts and ties are coloured blue, white or grey.
Clue 4 No man’s clothing is the same colour as his name.
Clue 5 Mr. Blue’s tie is the same colour as Mr. Grey’s shirt.
What is the colour of Mr. White’s shirt?
What is the colour of Mr. Grey’s tie?
Use the grid below to help you solve this problem.
Mr. Blue Mr. White Mr. Grey

Blue
Shirt
White
Shirt
Grey
Shirt

Blue
Tie
White
Tie
Grey
Tie
Hint: There can be only one tick in each row and column.
52
Brain Bender 24
Answer Dressed for Work

Blue
x 3 x
Shirt
White
x x 3
Shirt
Grey
3 x x
Shirt

Blue
x x 3
Tie
White
3 x x
Tie
Grey
x 3 x
Tie
No man’s clothing is the same colour as his name. So Xs should

be placed in the appropriate boxes.
Mr. Blue’s tie cannot be blue and Mr. Grey’s shirt cannot be grey,
so they must both be white, because they have to be the same
colour. 3s should be placed in the appropriate boxes and Xs
should be placed to complete the rows and columns with 3s.
There can only be one tick in each column or row because they
are all wearing different coloured shirts and are all wearing
different coloured ties.
So the answer is: Mr. White’s shirt is blue and Mr. Grey’s tie
is blue.
53
Brain Bender 25
The Stolen Sheep

Some sheep stealers made off with half of a farmer’s flock.
The following day they stole half of what they had left the day before.
This left the farmer with only sixteen sheep.
How many sheep did the farmer have to start with?
_______ sheep

Brain Bender 26
Cows in the Paddock

If a six-hectare paddock provides enough grass for twelve cows for a
month, for how long would a three-hectare paddock provide six cows
with grass?
_______________
54
Brain Bender 25
Answer The Stolen Sheep

The farmer was left with sixteen sheep. The day
before he would have had thirty-two sheep. So the
farmer started with sixty-four sheep.
Brain Bender 26
Answer Cows in the Paddock

A three-hectare paddock is half the size of a six-
hectare paddock, so it would provide enough grass
for six cows for one month.
55
56

Brain Benders 1 AATC

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Brain Benders 1 AATC

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Brain Benders 1 AATC

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ebook Code: REAU0070

Title: Brain Benders 1 Acknowledgements for Front Cover

ISBN: 978 1 86397 779 1

Name the Pets 8 The Historic Home 34

The Picnic 10 Piles of Books 36

Coloured Pattern 12 Going to Town 38

Guess Who 14 Brain Busters

Classrooms in a Row 18 Cooking Steaks 44

Lining Up 20 Children’s Ages 46

Coloured Balls 22 Animals Legs 48

Happy Valley School 24 Sisters and Brothers 50

Stacking Cups 26 Dressed for Work 52

The Bookworm 28 The Stolen Sheep 54

Why have we written this book?

What is different about this book?

How might you use this book?

Barry Brocas and Brenda Bicknell

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Answer Marbles in a Jar

So the answer is five days.

Name the Pets

Answer Name the Pets

The clues lead to the following deductions:

The first clue tells us that the rabbit must be opposite

The hen and the rooster must be opposite each other

We are told that the hen’s name is Chip (the third

So the answer is: Rabbit Dale

Amy Bianca Carla

Answer The Picnic

Amy Bianca Carla

The third clue tells us that Bianca took the

Each row and column of the grid must have only

So the answer is: Amy took the soft drink, Bianca

Arrange the sixteen counters on the squares below so that only

There is more than one solution to this problem.

Answer Coloured Pattern

Red Blue White Green

Green Red Blue White

White Green Red Blue

Blue White Green Red

Another solution is:

Red Blue White Green

Blue White Green Red

White Green Red Blue

Green Red Blue White

Answer Guess Who

Ben Erena Clare Amy Daniel

Meeting at the Shop

The shop is open seven days a week.

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Answer Meeting at the Shop

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Method 2 – The number of days before they meet

So it will be the least common multiple of four

Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5

Answer Classrooms in a Row

Note: The first clue gives two possible scenarios, one

From the fourth clue, we know that Mark, Anne and

Cath Paul Anne Jane

Answer Marbles in a Jar

Answer Name the Pets

Answer The Picnic

Answer Coloured Pattern

Answer Guess Who

Answer Meeting at the Shop

Answer Classrooms in a Row

Answer Coloured Balls

Answer Happy Valley School

Answer Stacking Cups

Answer The Bookworm

Answer Making a Quilt

Answer Five Stones

Answer The Historic Home

Answer Going to Town

Answer Will the Whale

Answer Cutting Wood

Answer Cooking Steaks

Answer Children’s Ages

_ Chickens _ Pigs

Answer Animals’ Legs

_ Girls _ Boys

Answer Sisters and Brothers