IMPOSSIPUZZLES

1

“Only hogs and chickens, eh?” said Greg. “Of course, you’re a farmer. How many do you have?” Jake smiled. “Well, they have 36 legs altogether, but there would be one and a half times as many legs if the numbers were interchanged.” How many then?

2

“There you are, lady,” said Sam, holding up the larger bird for her to see. “Prime birds, just right for your party. They weigh 19 kilos together.” “That one is marked £8.40,” Susan commented. “How much is the other?” “It really should be £6.30,” Sam replied. “That’s 20p a kilo more than the other. But you can have the two for £14.00. What were the weights?

3

“It’s too bad you had to miss the party,” said Joan. “Half the men were bachelors, and I had a lovely time.”

“I bet you did!” Charlie chuckled. “Were there many people there?” “At least twenty,” his wife replied. “Two thirds of us were married, but there were only seven females.” How many men were at the party?

4

“Did you order the wine?” Susan asked. “The three sorts I told you?” “Of course. Just as you said, twenty bottles in all,” Joe replied. “£2.49, £2.97, and £3.84 a bottle. Exactly sixty pounds the lot.” How many bottles were ordered at each price?

5

Linda helped her husband empty the big paper bag. “I didn’t get much, only eleven items,” she said. “Here’s the bill.” Paul looked. “That’s right, eleven amounts,” he replied. “But it’s funny. Each is exactly 5p more than the one before, and the last amount is double the first.” What was the total?

6

They seemed to have been walking for ages since leaving the cottage. “How far have we come, Dad?” Jeff asked. His father smiled. “Half as far as we are now from Tulla. It’s on our route to Dill, so we’ll stop there.” After walking another 8 kilometres Jeff stopped. “How far are we still from Dill?” he asked. “Not too far,” his father replied. “Just half as far as we are from Tulla.” How far do they have to walk from the cottage to Dill?