One Saturday afternoon, four boys visited a local store to buy candy. Each boy bought just his favorite candy and they all had a different favorite. They each spent under one dollar and they each bought a different amount of their favorite candy.

1. Phil, whose last name isn't Saunders, bought one piece less than the boy who bought the Tootsie Rolls but he spent 15 cents more.
2. Andy, who spent 35 cents, spent the least. The boy who bought the lollipops spent the most.
3. Thad Wexler, who spent 10 cents more than Jesse, spent 60 cents.
4. The amount spent by each boy, from the least to the most, was the boy who bought the peppermints, the boy whose last name is Saunders, the boy who bought the Tootsie Rolls, and the boy whose last name is Berg.
5. Phil's last name isn't Paro.
6. The boy who bought ten gum drops, whose last name isn't Paro, bought the largest quantity. The boy who spent the most bought the smallest quantity.
7. The boy who got seven peppermints had two more pieces than the boy who got the lollipops.

From the clues given above, determine each boy's full name, the type and quantity of candy each boy purchased, and how much each boy spent.

The trickiest part is that we're not given all of the amounts right off the bat, but instead must deduce a couple of them. 

From clues 2 and 3 we know that three of the amounts spent are 35, 50, and 60 cents.  From clue 4 we know that the person who bought Tootsie Rolls spent the 2nd most.  From clue 1 we know that Phil spent 15 cents more than the person who bought Tootsie Rolls.  Thus the fourth amount is 75 cents. 

From clue 6 we know that someone bought 10 gumdrops (and that this is the largest quantity).  From clue 7 we know that someone bought 7 peppermints and 5 lollipops.  From a combination of clues 1, 2, and 6 we see that someone bought 6 Tootsie Rolls.

The rest fell into place quite quickly.  In fact clue #5 seems unnecessary as Phil's last name is given by clue #4 (and the fact that Phil spent the most). 

 

Phil Berg bought 5 lollipops for 75 cents.

Andy Paro bought 7 peppermints for 35 cents.

Thad Wexler bought 6 Tootsie Rolls for 60 cents.

Jesse Saunders bought 10 gumdrops for 50 cents.

Posted by tomarken on 2014-03-10 09:35:38