Questions-puzzles at interviews with answers. Part 1
Applicants who encounter puzzles during the interview process should not panic and get lost. As a rule, in most cases it’s enough to show your thoughts and ways to solve the problem. It may well be that the problem does not have the right solution or a definite answer. In no case should you say “I don’t know” or “find it difficult to answer,” just think out loud.
So that you know what to be prepared for and not be at a loss, Work.ua collected the most popular puzzle questions and prepared answers and recommendations for them. Who knows, maybe these tasks will come across to you.
All these puzzles can be asked when interviewing for a php programmer job interview.
Sewer hatches
This is perhaps the most common question among all the puzzles.
Question: Why are sewer manholes round?
Answer: There are several options. Since the diameter of the circle is the same, but don’t twist it, the round hatch cannot fall into the well. A square, for example, has a diagonal larger than its sides, so the lid could fall. You can also answer that round hatches are easier to transport and move.
Light bulbs
Question: In a closed room there are 3 bulbs, and in the corridor there are 3 switches. For what minimum door opening can I determine which switch belongs to which light bulb?
Answer: For one discovery. We turn on 2 switches at the same time, after a while we turn off the second. We go into the room: one of the bulbs remains lit - this is the first switch, then we feel the remaining bulbs - warm and will be the second switch, and cold, respectively, the third.
Cake
Question: How to divide a cake into 8 equal parts by three cuts?
Answer: First you need to make 2 cuts cross to cross, dividing the cake into 4 equal parts. And then cut the cake horizontally in half. So what, that the pieces have become low, but you have 8 equal parts. After the first two cuts, you can still put the pieces on top of each other and halve with one cut.
Dead man and match
Question: A dead man with a match in his hands was found among the field, there are no traces. What did he die from and under what circumstances?
Answer: A man died from a fall from an airplane that began to lose altitude, and an accident was inevitable. All passengers lacked one parachute and they pulled lots. He got a short match, and he was forced to jump without a parachute.
Bus and balls
Question: How many tennis balls will fit on a bus?
Answer: The recruiter himself does not know the exact right answer, since it is not specified what the balls and the bus are — their sizes are not known, and no one has thoroughly checked this. Therefore, the train of your thoughts is important here, you can only guess. What are the approximate length, width and height of the bus, the size of one ball. Calculate the volume of the bus and the ball - so you know how many balls fit in an empty bus. Decrease this value by taking into account the seats and other parts of the bus, correct for the fact that the balls are not square and give an answer. In this case, the process of finding the answer is more important than the answer itself. Variants of the question may be different: balls - soccer, instead of a bus - a room, etc.
Pills
Question: The doctor gave the patient 4 tablets of two types - 2 tablets each, which cannot be distinguished in appearance. Tablets should be drunk in two doses: in the morning, one tablet of each type and also in the evening. If you disrupt the dosage or not take the pill, the patient will die. It turned out that the tablets were mixed. How to undergo treatment and survive?
Answer: Of course, we can say that it is better to go to the doctor and ask for more, all the same a matter of life and death. But these may be the only pills on Earth, the doctor may disappear under mysterious circumstances, etc. So I still have to answer. In addition, everything is quite simple: you need to divide each tablet into 2 parts and drink half of each tablet in the morning and evening.
Finally
Remember that, first of all, such tasks and puzzles are designed to test the candidate’s behavior in unusual situations, to assess the ability to think, creative and logical approach. Alas, there are cases when the interviewer cannot correctly interpret the results of such questions, or does not understand their purpose at all. But even in this situation, confident behavior and the desire to come to an answer will show you the best side and increase the chances of getting a position.
So that you know what to be prepared for and not be at a loss, Work.ua collected the most popular puzzle questions and prepared answers and recommendations for them. Who knows, maybe these tasks will come across to you.
All these puzzles can be asked when interviewing for a php programmer job interview.
Sewer hatches
This is perhaps the most common question among all the puzzles.
Question: Why are sewer manholes round?
Answer: There are several options. Since the diameter of the circle is the same, but don’t twist it, the round hatch cannot fall into the well. A square, for example, has a diagonal larger than its sides, so the lid could fall. You can also answer that round hatches are easier to transport and move.
Light bulbs
Question: In a closed room there are 3 bulbs, and in the corridor there are 3 switches. For what minimum door opening can I determine which switch belongs to which light bulb?
Answer: For one discovery. We turn on 2 switches at the same time, after a while we turn off the second. We go into the room: one of the bulbs remains lit - this is the first switch, then we feel the remaining bulbs - warm and will be the second switch, and cold, respectively, the third.
Cake
Question: How to divide a cake into 8 equal parts by three cuts?
Answer: First you need to make 2 cuts cross to cross, dividing the cake into 4 equal parts. And then cut the cake horizontally in half. So what, that the pieces have become low, but you have 8 equal parts. After the first two cuts, you can still put the pieces on top of each other and halve with one cut.
Dead man and match
Question: A dead man with a match in his hands was found among the field, there are no traces. What did he die from and under what circumstances?
Answer: A man died from a fall from an airplane that began to lose altitude, and an accident was inevitable. All passengers lacked one parachute and they pulled lots. He got a short match, and he was forced to jump without a parachute.
Bus and balls
Question: How many tennis balls will fit on a bus?
Answer: The recruiter himself does not know the exact right answer, since it is not specified what the balls and the bus are — their sizes are not known, and no one has thoroughly checked this. Therefore, the train of your thoughts is important here, you can only guess. What are the approximate length, width and height of the bus, the size of one ball. Calculate the volume of the bus and the ball - so you know how many balls fit in an empty bus. Decrease this value by taking into account the seats and other parts of the bus, correct for the fact that the balls are not square and give an answer. In this case, the process of finding the answer is more important than the answer itself. Variants of the question may be different: balls - soccer, instead of a bus - a room, etc.
Pills
Question: The doctor gave the patient 4 tablets of two types - 2 tablets each, which cannot be distinguished in appearance. Tablets should be drunk in two doses: in the morning, one tablet of each type and also in the evening. If you disrupt the dosage or not take the pill, the patient will die. It turned out that the tablets were mixed. How to undergo treatment and survive?
Answer: Of course, we can say that it is better to go to the doctor and ask for more, all the same a matter of life and death. But these may be the only pills on Earth, the doctor may disappear under mysterious circumstances, etc. So I still have to answer. In addition, everything is quite simple: you need to divide each tablet into 2 parts and drink half of each tablet in the morning and evening.
Finally
Remember that, first of all, such tasks and puzzles are designed to test the candidate’s behavior in unusual situations, to assess the ability to think, creative and logical approach. Alas, there are cases when the interviewer cannot correctly interpret the results of such questions, or does not understand their purpose at all. But even in this situation, confident behavior and the desire to come to an answer will show you the best side and increase the chances of getting a position.
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