Linguistic Equation: An IQ Test

I'm back this week with a new set of brain teasers for you. This was passed on to me by my husband (Well, he wanted to find out if I'll do better than him), and later I learned from one site that this is actually an IQ test called "Linguistic Equation".

And same as in the previous entry, Brain Teaser For You and Your Students to Try (which I know many have liked!), this one is as interesting and as useful in the classroom. You may use it as a motivational activity to a related topic, as a group game, as an energizer to sustain attention, or simply as bonus questions for extra points.

All you have to do is to come up with the common phrase that is being referred to by the initials given in each item. Let me give you an example:

• 24 H in a D = 24 Hours in a Day

No time limit but no cheating as well. Use your common sense. It's that simple. If you get all 25, then I must say, you're a genius! Wow! Ready to show how much of a genius you are? Well, what are you waiting for? Ready, set, go...

1. 7 D a W
2. 12 M in a Y
3. 2 W of a B
4. 9 L of a C
5. 3 H of a C
6. 7 D S
7. 9 M of P
8. 8 T of an O
9. 7 C of the W
10. 10 Y in a D
11. 28 D in F
12. 6 S of a H
13. 10 C in a M
14. 7 W of the W
15. 5 T in a F
16. 366 D in a L Y
17. 7 C in a R
18. 60 S in a M
19. 26 L of the A
20. 4 C of a S
21. 2 S of a C
22. 4 H of the A
23. 3 W M
24. 12 I in a F
25. 1001 T of the A N

You've reached the end of this test. Are you now ready now to find out how well you've fared in this test?

1. 7 Days in a Week 2.12 Months in a Year 3. 2 Wheels of a Bicycle 4. 9 Lives of a Cat 5. 3 Hands of a Clock 6. 7 Deadly Sins 7. 9 Months of Pregnancy 8. Tentacles of an Octopus 9. 7 Continents of the World 10. 10 Years in a Decade 11. 28 Days in February 12. 6 Sides of a Hexagon 13. 10 Centuries in a Millennium 14. 7 Wonders of the World 15. 5 Toes in a Foot 16. 366 Days in a Leap Year 17. 7 Colors in a Rainbow 18. 60 Seconds in a Minute 19. 26 letters of the Alphabet 20. 4 Corners of a Square 21. 2 Sides of a Coin 22. 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse 23. 3 Wise Men 24. 12 Inches in a Foot 25. 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights

A BRAIN TEASER for you and your students to try

Let me share with you a brain teaser I got from Readers' Digest More Tests and Teasers.

Use it in your class as either a day starter or an enrichment activity. You can even have it as a group game to make it more exciting for the students. Use it in any way you like and I'm sure the kids will love it.


SO YOU THINK YOU'RE CLEVER by John Henry Cutler

Here's a quiz that is likely to tie you up in mental knots for an hour or so. Afterwards, you can repair your shattered ego by trying some of these teasers on your students.

1. If 3 cats can kill 3 rats in 3 minutes, how long will it take 100 cats to kill 100 rats?

2. A little Indian and a big Indian are walking down a path. The little Indian is the big Indian's son. The big Indian is not the little Indian's father. Who is it?

3. Which is correct: 8 and 8 are 15 or 8 and 8 is 15?

4. Is it legal for a man to marry his widow's sister?

5. Take two apples from three apples and what have you got?

6. A shepherd had 17 sheep. All but nine died. How many did he have left?

7. A boat will carry only 200 pounds. How may a man weighing 200 pounds and his two sons, each of whom weighs 100 pounds, use it to cross a river?

8. The number of eggs in a basket doubles every minute. The basket is full of eggs in an hour. When was the basket half full?

9. What is the smallest number of ducks that could sim in this formation: two ducks in front of a duck, two ducks behind a duck, and a duck between two ducks?

10. In which book of the Bible does it tell about Abel's slaying cain?

Answers: 1. Three minutes 2.Mother 3. Neither 4. Only dead men have widows 5. Two apples of course 6. Nine 7. Two sons go first. One brings back the boat, and Father rows over. Then the other sons returns for his brother. 8. In 59 minutes. If the basket is full in 60 minutes, it was half full a minute later, or at the end of 59 minutes. 9. Three ducks in a row, one after the other 10. None. Cain slew Abel.