Diamond stealing puzzle
There were certain diamonds in a shop.
- thief stole half of diamonds and 2 more.
- thief stole half of remaining and 2 more
- same as above
- same as above.
- came nothing was left for that.
how many diamonds were there???
1020 🙂
Why the author said “same as above”?
Because: The steps were:
1.thief stole half of diamonds and 2 more.
2.thief stole half of diamonds and 2 more.
3.Same as above(It means here 1,2 steps repeated again. So the thief stole twice more)!
4.Same as above(It means now more four steps repeated)
As a result the thief actually stole 8 times.
At last there was no diamond left.
So 8th time when the thief stole 2 diamonds there were only two diamonds left!
Now we can guess there were 1,2,3,4,5,6,…….diamonds when the thief stole for the second time!!
But actually there were only 4.
Because the thief stole half of the 4 diamonds=2 and remaining two. And this way he stole 4 diamonds!!
As a result for the nineth time he got nothing.
No other number will satisfy this clue!!
So when the thief stole for the 8th time there were 4 diamonds!!
For 7th time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (4+2)*2=12 diamonds!!
For 6th time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (12+2)*2=28 diamonds!!
For 5th time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (28+2)*2=60 diamonds!!
For 4th time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (60+2)*2=124 diamonds!!
For 3rd time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (124+2)*2=252 diamonds!!
For 2nd time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (252+2)*2=508 diamonds!!
For 1st time he stole half of the remaining and 2 more.
So there were (508+2)*2=1020 diamonds!!
If my initial logic was wrong there were only 4 steps!!
And the answer became 60.
Your Answer
More puzzles to try-
Coffee Ring riddle
A beautiful young lady drops her ring in her coffee. When she removed the ring it is still dry. Why?Read More »Never thank me
Walk right through me, Never feel me. Always watching, Never speaking. Always lurking, Never seen. Die without me, Never thank ...Read More »Overweight Ball
There are 8 identical balls. In that one of the ball is overweight. There are only two chances to weigh ...Read More »Rocking Chair
What we call when we combine roller skates & a rocking chair.Read More »EGG— EGGS– EGGS
We have an egg problem again. There is a 36 story building for which you have complete access. You have ...Read More »River Crossing Puzzle
Four people need to cross a rickety rope bridge to get back to their camp at night. Unfortunately, they only ...Read More »In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not? Hint: TimeRead More »Probability of having boy
In a country where everyone wants a boy, each family continues having babies till they have a boy. After some ...Read More »Knight, knave, commoner
A king has a daughter and wants to choose the man she will marry. There are three suitors from whom ...Read More »How many bees riddle
A killer bee was buzzing, a queen bee was buzzing, a worker bee was buzzing, and a honey bee was ...Read More »Count The Squares
Find the number of squares in the below-given picture.Read More »Mark the next
What is next in the series ? 23, 38, 45, 64, 67, ….Read More »Strong when white
They are strong when white. They can be easily shaken and weakened, Easily stained and infected; None was found at ...Read More »Fortune Teller predition puzzle
There is a village that has five fortune tellers. The first fortune teller’s prediction has 83% chance of being correct. ...Read More »How can the Alexander survive the fire?
Alexander is stranded on an island covered in forest. One day, when the wind is blowing from the west, lightning ...Read More »Horse goes to park riddle
If Wednesday the horse goes into the park at 6:00 and on Saturday the horse goes into the park at ...Read More »Chance of Winning Lottery
The chance of Mr John winning the lottery is 10%. All participants lined up and Mr John is 4th in ...Read More »During what month do people sleep the least?
During what month do people sleep the least?Read More »Found underground riddle
These are a type of starchy food Mashed or fried they can be found They often come from Idaho And ...Read More »Double Letters
What English word has three consecutive double letters?Read More »