I’ve always enjoyed logic questions; I don’t always figure them out.
Along with basic math skills, thinking like Sherlock Holms, by using logical, deductive reasoning will let the magnifying glass zero in on the correct solution.
The math:
The first column is a list of three integers that sum to 13. The second column is the product of these integers, listed in ascending order.
9 3 1 27
8 4 1 32
7 5 1 35
9 2 2 36
6 6 1 36
8 3 2 48
7 4 2 56
6 5 2 60
7 3 3 63
6 4 3 72
5 5 3 75
5 4 4 80
At this point, the reader knows one set of the three integers are the ages of the children. The reader does not know Nils’ room number, but Nils knows it, and still did not know the ages of the children. The reason he doesn’t know is that two of the products are 36, which is Nils’ room number. It’s one or the other but which one? Is it a set of twins with an older sibling, or a set of twins with a younger sibling?
The final statement gives this clue: “My oldest child was born in New York.”
Where the child was born is irrelevant, but from this it easy to see that a single child is the oldest.
The only solution for the children’s ages is 9, 2, 2.
Gingerlock Holmes
