Four friends: Dave, Mike, John, and Terry, are nicknamed Stick, Batman, Atomic Head, and Feaser, but not in that order. Which friend has which nickname?
A. John is faster than Batman but not as strong as Atomic Head.
B. Batman is stronger than Terry but slower than Feaser.
C. Dave is faster than both Stick and John, but not as strong as Batman
Strength and speed are independent qualities.
(from Terry Stickels)
Ok, the first thing we do is make a table that will show our data for us.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick ? ? ? ?
Batman ? ? ? ?
Atomic ? ? ? ?
Feaser ? ? ? ?
So, then we look at clue #1. If John is faster than Batman, he can't be Batman, and if he is stronger than Atom, he can't be Atom either.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick
Batman X
Atomic X
Feaser
For clue #2, we learn that Terry can't be Batman or Feaser.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick
Batman X X
Atomic X
Feaser X
In clue #3, we learn that neither Dave nor John can be Stick or Batman.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick X X
Batman X X X
Atomic X
Feaser X
From there, we can reason that John is Feaser and Mike is Batman, since there are no other possibilities for those two. Then we know that nobody else can be Batman, and Mike can't be anybody but Batman. Same goes for John and Feaser.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick X X X
Batman X O X X
Atomic X X
Feaser X X O X
Now, Dave can only be Feaser, and Terry can't be Feaser so he is Stick.
Dave Mike John Terry
Stick X X X O
Batman X O X X
Atomic O X X X
Feaser X X O X
So, Dave is Atomic Head, Mike is Batman, John is Feaser, and Terry is Stick.
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Posted by saprom
on 2005-12-21 10:54:54 |
solution
