10 Math Puzzles And Riddles That Will Challenge Your Brain

Did you know that you can keep your brain young if you regularly give it something to figure out? Neuroscience shows that puzzles and riddles are among the best methods to develop your cognitive abilities and slow down decline. And they can also be fun distractions for when you have nothing else to do or want to challenge yourself. On top of that, they can make for great conversation starters with your friends!

$Math Puzzles$

Top 10 math puzzle examples

Do you associate math with homework and tedious equations? Maybe the last time you saw something mathematical, you sighed heavily and thought, “Can’t someone else do my assignment?” But math is much more than that. It can give you fun brain teasers that combine observations with reasoning. Look at these mind-bending examples to test your intellect.

The Fibonacci rabbit puzzle

A pair of rabbits produces another pair each month, starting at one month old. How many pairs will there be after 12 months if they never die?

The Monty Hall problem

You’re on a game show with three doors. Behind one is a car, while the other two hide goats. You pick a door. The host, who knows what’s behind the doors, opens a different door to reveal a goat. Should you switch or stick to your original decision?

The handshake puzzle

At a party, everyone shakes hands once with every other person. If there were 66 handshakes, how many people attended the party?

The missing dollar

Three friends check into a hotel room that costs $30, so they each contribute $10. Later, the hotel manager realizes they were overcharged and sends the bellboy to return $5. The friends decide to keep $1 each and give the remaining $2 as a tip to the bellboy. Now, each friend paid $9, totaling $27, and the bellboy has $2, making $29. Where is the missing dollar?

100 doors problem

There are 100 closed doors in a row. You walk through and toggle every door – open if it’s closed, close if it’s open. On the second pass, you toggle every 2nd door, on the third pass every 3rd door, and so on. After all passes, how many doors are left open?

Crossing the bridge

Four people need to cross a rickety bridge at night. They only have one flashlight, and the bridge can hold no more than two people at a time. They take 1, 2, 7, and 10 minutes to cross individually. If two people cross together, they move at the slower person’s pace. What’s the minimum time to get everyone across?

The two egg problem

You get two identical eggs and a 100-story building. The eggs may break if dropped from a certain floor or higher, but they will not break from lower floors. What is the minimum number of attempts you need to find the highest floor an egg can be dropped from without breaking?

100 prisoners and the light bulb

100 prisoners are in separate cells. There’s a light bulb in a common room they can turn on or off. Prisoners are let into the room one at a time in random order, and they can’t communicate. How can they determine when everyone has been in the room at least once?

The candle puzzle

You have two candles, each takes exactly one hour to burn out. They burn unevenly, meaning half the candle might take longer than the other half. How can you measure exactly 45 minutes using only these candles and a lighter?

Filling the cube

A 3x3x3 cube is made up of 27 smaller cubes. If the outer layer of the cube is painted, how many of the smaller cubes remain unpainted?

Extra short brain teasers

If you’re already into math puzzles, chances are that you have probably dealt with some from our list. So let’s take a look at a few more short problems to make sure that you have something to think about. Doing these regularly might just prevent you from Googling things like “solutions to my assignments” or “write my essay online” because you will develop enough brainpower to tackle your struggles on your own.

The birthday paradox

In a room of 23 people, what are the odds that at least two people share the same birthday?

The numbers game

Using only addition, how can you add eight 8s to get 1,000?

Magic triangle

Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the circles of a triangle so that the sum of the numbers along each side equals the same total.

The water jug problem

You have a 3-liter jug and a 5-liter jug, but you need exactly 4 liters of water. How can you measure it out?

The missing number

Find the missing number: 2, 6, 12, 20, ?

Well, that should be enough to keep you busy for a while! Don’t be discouraged if you’re feeling stuck – ask others for their input instead. You won’t believe how fun math can be when you treat it like a game. Go ahead and give it a try instead of just taking us at our word, you won’t regret it.