Math Riddles

These Math Riddles are based on math concepts and can be solved with a bit of math and logic. These fun riddles can surely give you a tough time.

Romantic Candlelight Dinner

A man lights two candles and begins a romantic candlelight dinner with his wife. The candles are of equal length, but one candle is thicker than the other.

The thick candle is designed to last for 6 hours while the thin candle is designed to last for 3 hours.

At the end of the dinner, the thick candle is twice as long as the thin candle. How long did the dinner last?

Riddle Answer

Cookie Problem

In a cookie jar, there are ten butter cookies and ten chocolate-chip cookies. Tom sneaks over to the cookie jar in the middle of the night and tries to figure out:

  • How many cookies do I need to take out of the jar if I want to make sure to get at least two of each kind?
  • How many cookies do I need to take out of the jar if I want to make sure to get at least two butter cookies?
Riddle Answer

Brilliant Sister

Peter says to his sister Bitsy, “Because I’m twice as old as you, I’m twice as smart, too.” His sister responds, “Yes, but in five years I’ll be twice as old as I am now, and you won’t.”

Peter is dumbfounded, and he stops to calculate how old he and his sister will be in five years. Do you know the answer?

Riddle Answer