TITLE: TEST OF APPLIED CREATIVITY, LOGIC, AND
REASONING
AUTHOR: Paul T. Williams, Vanguard School,
Phoenix, AZ
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: Fifth or Sixth
This can be incorporated into any context or subject
area.
OVERVIEW:
While the students may find this exercise simply
amusing, it is intended to show them the importance of
thinking through their answers for tests. The
importance of common sense, reasoning, and logic are
necessary for the students to gain the most from their
studies. The "test" can be given as written or oral.
If oral, then it is best to have the students write
down their answers and discuss after the completion of
the test. Also, when used as an oral test, the student
must rely more on reasoning and logic skills, as they
have less time to think through each question. Also,
if given orally, a couple of questions are better if
adapted or omitted. These questions are self-evident.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
To be given written or orally:
Questions:
1. If an individual went to bed at 8 o'clock p.m.,
set a regular alarm to get up at 9 o'clock in the
morning, and got up when the alarm went off, how
many hours of sleep would he get?
2. Do they have a Fourth of July in England?
3. How many birthdays does the average person have?
4. Can a man living in Phoenix, Arizona, be buried
east of the Mississippi River?
5. If you had a match and entered a room in which
there was a kerosene lamp, an oil heater, and a
wood burning stove, which item would you light
first?
6. Some months have 30 days, some have 31, how many
have 28?
7. If your doctor gave you three pills and said to
take one every half hour, how long would they
last?
8. A hunter left his house and walked three miles
south, walked three miles west, shot and killed a
bear, and walked three miles north to his home.
What color was the bear?
9. How far can a dog run into the forest?
10. There are two US coins that total 55 cents. One
of the coins is not a nickel. What are the two
coins?
11. What is the minimum number of active baseball
players on the field during any part of an inning?
12. A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many
does the farmer have left?
13. Divide 30 by one-half and add 10. What is the
answer?
14. Two men were playing chess. They played five
games and each man won the same number of games,
with no ties or stalemates. How can you figure
this out?
15. How many animals of each species did Moses take
aboard the Ark with him?
16. Take two apples from three apples and what do you
have?
17. An airplane crashed on the border of Arizona and
Utah. All but three aboard were killed. In which
state would the survivors be buried?
18. How much dirt can be removed from a hole that is 3
feet deep, 2 feet wide, and 10 feet long?
19. An archaeologist found some gold coins dated 46
B.C. How is this possible or not possible?
20. A lady gave a beggar 50 cents. The lady noted
that the beggar was not her brother, yet the lady
is the beggar's sister. How is this possible?
21. Is it legal in Arizona for a man to marry his
widow's sister?
22. If your bedroom were pitch dark and you needed a
matching pair of socks, what is the minimum number
of socks you will need to take out of the bureau
drawer, to guarantee a matching pair, if the
drawer contains 25 white and 25 blue socks?
23. Which word on this test is misspelled?
24. If it takes 10 men, 10 days to dig a hole, how
long will it take 5 men to dig half of a hole?
25. Which has more value: a truckload of nickels or
half a truckload of dimes?
26. There are 12 one-cent stamps in a dozen. How many
two-cent stamps are in a dozen?
27. A monkey at the bottom of a well (ten feet deep)
tries to climb out. Each day he jumps up three
feet and slips back two. At that rate, how long
will it take the monkey to reach the top?
28. Which is correct: eight and eight ARE fifteen, or
eight and eight IS fifteen?
29. If three cats kill three rats in three minutes,
how long will it take for one hundred cats to kill
one hundred rats?
Answers:
1. One
2. Of course
3. One
4. No, he's alive
5. The match
6. All
7. One hour (Ex. 6:00, 6:30, then 7:00)
8. White
9. Half way, then he's running out
10. 50 cents and a nickel (one's not a nickel, the
other is)
11. 10 (9 teammates and the batter from the other
team)_
12. 9
13. 70
14. They didn't play each other
15. None, Noah went
16. Two apples
17. Don't bury survivors
18. None, if any, then the hole would be bigger
19. No B.C. date, can't predict the future
20. They're sisters
21. No, he's dead
22. 3
23. Misspelled
24. Can't dig half a hole
25. The dimes
26. 12
27. 8 days
28. Neither
29. Three minutes
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