Temperature count riddle

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The temperature rose by the same amount each day.

The average temperature was 2°C and I know it froze on two occasions.

I also know the product of the temperatures was over 500 but below 2,000 and each temperature was an integer.

What were the last 5 temperatures?

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  • 1 Answer(s)

    Answer:

    The last five temperatures were -6 °C, -2 °C, 2 °C, 6 °C and 10 °C and each day the temperature rose by the same amount i.e. by 4 °C.

    Explanation:

    As the temperature rose steadily each day and the average was 2 °C, we know that the third last temperature was 2 °C (obviously, considering it as the mean value).

    Note: The freezing point of water is 0 °C.

    If we assume a daily increase by 1 °C, the sequence would be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. This doesn’t work as we require 1 negative temperature value with 0 °C, as it froze on two occasions [as mentioned in the question] i.e. obviously considering that it froze for two consecutive days, as well as it is an invalid case as the product of the temperatures was over 500 [as mentioned in the question] whereas in this case it’s 0.

    If we assume a daily increase by 2 °C, the sequence would be -2, 0, 2, 4, 6. This doesn’t work as the product of the temperatures was over 500 whereas in this case it’s 0.

    If we assume a daily increase by 3 °C, the sequence would be -4, -1, 2, 5, 8. This doesn’t work as the product of the temperatures is not over 500, which is a requirement [as mentioned in the question].

    If we assume a daily increase by 4 °C, the sequence would be -6, -2, 2, 6, 10. This matches all of the requirements.

    Further, if we assume a daily increase by 5 °C, the sequence would be -8, -3, 2, 7, 12. This doesn’t work as the product of the temperatures is not below 2000, which is a requirement [as mentioned in the question].

    So, the possible answer is -6 °C, -2 °C, 2 °C, 6 °C and 10 °C.

    NitinGurbani Genius Answered on 8th August 2018.
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