Logic Puzzles and Brain Teasers

Take the first pill at time 0:00, the second at 0:30, and the third at 1:00. The time from the first pill to the last is 1 hour. The key is recognizing that with 3 pills and 30-minute intervals, there are only 2 intervals between the first and last pill.

A mechanical wind-up alarm clock does not distinguish between AM and PM. If you set it at 8 PM to ring at 9, it will ring at 9 PM, just one hour later. It cannot wait until 9 AM the next day.

Half means 0.5, so 30 divided by 0.5 = 30 × 2 = 60. Then 60 + 10 = 70. The common mistake is dividing by 2 instead of dividing by 0.5. 25 would come from 30 ÷ 2 + 10. 40 would come from 30 ÷ 0.5 × 2/3 roughly. 12 is unclear but wrong.

All but 9 died means 9 survived, not that 9 died. The phrase 'all but X' means 'except X'. So 9 sheep are left alive. 8 would be 17 - 9, which is the wrong interpretation. 17 was the original count. 11 has no basis in the problem.

If all four sides have southern exposure, the house must be at the North Pole where all directions are south. The only bears found at the North Pole are polar bears, which are white. Black, blue, and brown bears are not found at the North Pole.

If my successor's father is my father's son, then my successor is my child (since my father's son could be me or my brother, but if it's my child's father, it must be my child). Since the successor is referred to as 'my successor' and the correct answer is Daughter, this implies the speaker is female and her successor is her daughter. Myself would make 'my successor's father' my father's son's father = my father, which doesn't work. Niece and Niece don't fit the relationship.