4/28 /2016

Wh en is Ch eryl' s birt h day? Sin gapore m at h qu est ion for kids st u m ps in t ern et - Tren din g - CBC N ews

WhenisCheryl'sbirthday?Singaporemathquestionforkidsstumpsinternet
CBCNewsPosted:Apr14,201511:58AMETLastUpdated:Apr14,201512:32PMET
AmathquestiontotestthelogicskillsofstudentsparticipatingintheSingaporeandAsianSchoolsMath
OlympiadhasstumpedpeoplearoundtheworldwhojustwanttoknowwhenCheryl'sbirthdayis.
TVhostKennethKongpostedaphotoofthepuzzletohisFacebookpageafewdaysago.
Inthequestion,CherylgivesherfriendsAlbertandBernard10possibledatesforwhenshewasborn.
ShetellsAlbertonlythemonthofherbirthandBernardthedate.Withoutdivulgingwhatinformationthey
eachhave,theboysdeterminewhenCherylwasborn.
Thetrickquestioncausedalotofdebatewithhiswife,Kongwrote.
Morethan5,000peoplesharedKong'spicture,andpeoplestartedtweetingwith# CherylsBirthdayto
expresstheirfrustrationwithsolvingtheriddle.
Tookaluckyguess&gotCheryl'sbirthdayright.Totallysmart.# cherylsbirthday
@aims90
Hmmm...notaseasyashethought!# cherylsbirthday# ccnb# nopresentsforcheryl
pic.twitter.com/thasCSdp2n
@Raycub22
My12yosolvedanswerinunder30seconds.ShepickedupheriPhonelookedattwitterforthe
answer.# cherylsbirthday# socialmedia
@mikefromoak
# cherylsbirthdayaftersometimeoutmydayI'vefinallyfoundouttheanswer!I'mdoinga
mastersinmathsandthatwasfor11yearolds
@DSanaghan
OthersweresimplyannoyedthatCherylwouldmakefiguringoutherbirthdaysocomplicated.Afterall,
howcanoneexpectanygiftsifthemajorityofpeoplecan'tsolvehercomplicatedriddle?
Shedoesn'tseemlikeaverygoodfriend...# cherylsbirthday
@atkirsty92
Cherylsoundslikeshemakesherlifemoredifficultthanitoughttobe# cherylsbirthday
@timpy
cherylonjuly16:"youdidn'tknowitsmybirthday?toldyouplain&clear!inwriting!whydon't
youme?"# guyproblems# cherylsbirthday
h t t p://www.cbc.ca/n ews/t ren din g/wh en -is-ch eryl-s-birt h day-sin gapore-m at h -qu est ion -for-kids-st u m ps-in t ern et -1.3 03 2029

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4/28 /2016

Wh en is Ch eryl' s birt h day? Sin gapore m at h qu est ion for kids st u m ps in t ern et - Tren din g - CBC N ews

@brooklynburning
So,whenwasCherylborn?Let'sworkitout.

Step1:
First,youhavetofigureoutwhatAlbertknowsthatBernarddoesn't.
Cherylgavethepair10possibledates.Thecombinationsaremadeupoffourpossiblemonthsand
datesfallingbetween14and19.Only18and19appearonceacrossthe10combinations.
IfBernardwastoldeither18or19,hewouldknowCheryl'sbirthdayeitherMay19orJune18.
Albertsayshedoesn'tknowwhenCheryl'sbirthdayis,butneitherdoesBernard.
IfCherylhadtoldAlbertshewasbornineitherMayorJune,itwouldbepossibleforBernardtoknow
whenherbirthdayis(assumingshetoldhimeither19or18).
IfBernardcan'tknowCheryl'sbirthdaywithhisinformationalone,weknowCheryltoldAlbertshewas
bornineitherJulyorAugust.

Step2:
AfterAlbertsayshispiece,BernardannounceshenowknowswhenCheryl'sbirthdayis.
Atthispoint,hehasalsobeenabletodeducethemonthsdowntoJulyorAugust.Fromthepotential
datesinthosetwomonths,only14appearstwice.
ToknowCheryl'sbirthday,Bernardmusthavebeentoldanumberotherthan14.

Step3:
AlbertthenannounceshealsoknowsCheryl'sbirthday,havingeliminatedtwomonthsandthenumber
14.Thisleaveshimwiththreepotentialdates:July16,August15andAugust17.
IfCherylhadtoldAlbertAugust,hewouldnotknowbecausehewouldstillbemissingthedateeither
15or17.
CherylmusthavetoldAlbertJuly,leavinghimwithonlyonepossibledatetocelebratehisnewfriend's
birthday:July16.
KongpostedthefullsolutiontohisFacebookpageafewdaysaftersharingtheoriginalproblem.
But,justbecauseweknowwhenCheryl'sbirthdayisdoesn'tmeanwehaveanswerstoallthe
questions...
Ihaveapissingdissertationtowrite.WhyamItryingtoworkoutwhen# CherylsBirthdayis?
@acidskiffle
h t t p://www.cbc.ca/n ews/t ren din g/wh en -is-ch eryl-s-birt h day-sin gapore-m at h -qu est ion -for-kids-st u m ps-in t ern et -1.3 03 2029

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4/28 /2016

Wh en is Ch eryl' s birt h day? Sin gapore m at h qu est ion for kids st u m ps in t ern et - Tren din g - CBC N ews

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h t t p://www.cbc.ca/n ews/t ren din g/wh en -is-ch eryl-s-birt h day-sin gapore-m at h -qu est ion -for-kids-st u m ps-in t ern et -1.3 03 2029

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