top of page

Issue# 003 | Nov, 2025

The Explorer Issue 3 Brain Teaser Solution


The clock gains 12 minutes every hour, so in 60 real minutes it advances 72 minutes.→ Clock runs at a factor of 72/60=1.2 =1.2 times real time.


Let t be the number of real hours elapsed since midnight when the clock stopped.


The clock’s displayed hours at that moment = 1.2t hours (since it runs 1.2× real time).


The stopped clock shows 10:00 PM, i.e. 22 hours since midnight. So


1.2t=22


Solve for t:

t=22/1.2


18 hours 20 minutes → 6:20 PM (the real time when it stopped).


The clock stopped 4 hours ago, so current real time = stop time + 4 hours


6:20 PM + 4 hours = 10:20 PM.


Answer: the correct time now is 10:20 PM.


Given

Four cogs in constant mesh:

  • Largest cog: 168 teeth

  • Others: 49, 32, 15 teeth

When two gears mesh, their rotations are inversely proportional to their number of teeth.

If the largest cog makes N revolutions, then a cog with T teeth makes


revs= − (168/T)*N


(negative sign = opposite direction, but we only need them to make whole-number revolutions).


Requirement

Each cog must be back to its starting position, meaning each must rotate an integer number of whole revolutions.

Thus, for each small cog:

(168/T)*N must be an integer


So, 168N must be divisible by T.

1. Cog with 49 teeth

gcd⁡(168,49)=7

(49/7​)=7

→ N must be a multiple of 7


2. Cog with 32 teeth

gcd⁡(168,32)=8

(32/8) ​= 4

→ N must be a multiple of 4


3. Cog with 15 teeth

gcd⁡(168,15)=3

(15/3) = 5

→ N must be a multiple of 5


Final step: LCM

We need the smallest NNN that is a multiple of 7, 4, and 5.

LCM (7,4,5) = 140


The largest cog must make 140 revolutions for all cogs to return to their starting positions.


Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000



  • Fill the 3-gal jug. (5:0, 3:3)

  • Pour the 3 into the 5. (5:3, 3:0)

  • Fill the 3-gal jug again. (5:3, 3:3)

  • Pour from the 3 into the 5 until the 5 is full. This transfers 2, leaving 1 in the 3. (5:5, 3:1)

  • Empty the 5-gal jug. (5:0, 3:1)

  • Pour the 1 gallon from the 3 into the 5. (5:1, 3:0)

  • Fill the 3-gal jug. (5:1, 3:3)

  • Pour the 3 into the 5. Now 5 contains 4 and 3 is empty. (5:4, 3:0)

  • Fill the 3-gal jug one last time. (5:4, 3:3)




bottom of page