Brain Teasers

1. Illusion Brain Teaser

2. Draw-Explanation Brain Teaser

3. Wording Brain Teaser

4. Pattern / Trend Brain Teaser

5. Logical Brain Teaser

6. Market-sizing Questions
1. Illusion Brain Teaser
These questions trick you into wrong conclusions by
drawing your attention to interesting but insignificant
and misleading details.

Example Question: Tracy's mother has four children.

One child is named April. The second one is May. The
third is June. What is the fourth one's name?

Answer: The correct answer is "Tracy." The question

tricks you into believing the fourth child is named
"July" following the obvious pattern of April-May-
June.
2. Draw-Explanation Brainteaser
This type of question presents you with "weird" and
seemingly impossible situations, asking you to then
explain the setting. For this one, you need to be
creative and imaginative.

Example Question: A man is lying dead in the middle

of a forest, in the middle of a puddle, in a scuba suit.
How did he die?

Answer: A tornado sucked him up from the ocean and

threw him into the forest (could be an example).
3. Wording Brain Teaser
These questions try to confuse you by using
seemingly conflicting words to create inexplicable
scenarios. The key to solving them is to doubt your
first interpretation of every word in the question, and
then actively find other meanings that make the
scenario possible.

Example Question: You walk across a bridge, and you

see a boat full of people yet there is not a single
person on board. How is that possible?

Answer: Because they are all married. The word

"single" implies the marital status of the people on the
boat.

.
4. Pattern / Trend Brain Teaser
This kind of question presents data (often numbers)
following certain patterns or trends and demands you
to fill in the blanks. Points to keep in mind: (1) in many
cases, the correct trend is not obvious, and (2) it is fine
to produce something different from the interviewer's
mind, so long as it works.

Example Question: What is the next number in the

following sequence: 00122436485

Answer: 10. There are two alternating sequences:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 0, 2, 4, 6, 8

.
5. Logical Brain Teasers
Logical brain teasers involve no tricks, illusions, or
creativity. They are purely based on logic.

Example Question: What day follows the day before

yesterday if two days from now will be Sunday?

Answer: Thursday. Today is Friday because "two days

from now will be Sunday."

Whereas "day follows the day before yesterday" is just

yesterday, so it is Thursday.

.
6. Market-sizing Questions
Market-sizing or guesstimate questions in interviews
ask the candidate to estimate a number based on
limited information (hence "guess").
Successfully answering these questions relies on a
combination of mental math, logical thinking, problem-
solving skills, and backgroundknowledge.

Method:

Step 1: Clarify all unclear terms in the question

Step 2: Break the problem down into 3-5 small, easy-to-estimate
pieces
Step 3:Estimate each piece using mathematics and background
knowledge
Step 4: Consolidate the pieces to arrive at the result
6. Market-sizing Solution 1/2
Example Question: How much Earl Grey tea is drunk by
British people on a typical afternoon?

Answer:

1. Clarify - Earl Grey tea is any tea marketed as such,

regardless of the ingredients. British people consist of
inhabitants of the UK. The consumption is measured in
cups.

2. Break down the problem - The answer depends on

three determinants: the population of the UK, the number
of cups drunk by an average British person in a typical
afternoon, and the chance of a cup being Earl Grey.
6. Market-sizing Solution 2/2
3. Estimate each piece - UK Population is an estimated
65million. Each afternoon the average Brit drinks 1 cup of
tea. The chance of the tea being Earl Grey is 10%. (Earl
Grey is among the top 5 popular teas, which together
may take up 50% of all tea in the UK)

4. Consolidate the pieces - Each afternoon, British

people drink 65 million cups of tea. (65 million people x 1
cup). Among them, 6.5 million cups are Earl Grey. (65
million cups x 10%).

Final Answer: In a typical afternoon, British people drink

6.5 million cups of Earl Grey.