Easy Brain Teasers With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page offers 42 easy brain teasers with answers: simple word tricks, everyday logic and gentle number puzzles that anyone can solve. It suits families, classrooms and beginners who want a quick mental warm-up. The warm-up set is the gentlest, the main set adds a twist, the toughest set stretches you a little, and the quick-fire set is short and snappy.
Warm-Up Easy Brain Teasers
I am hard to crack, I wear a shell, and squirrels love to collect me. What am I?
A nut.
What is easy to get into but hard to get out of?
Trouble.
What is bigger than an elephant but weighs nothing at all?
Its shadow.
What has branches but no leaves, and you keep your money in it?
A bank.
What gets sharper the more you use it?
Your brain.
Which month do soldiers like least?
March, because they have to march.
What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
A deck of cards.
What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A mushroom.
What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear.
Where does Friday come before Thursday?
In the dictionary.
If you drop me I am sure to crack, but give me a smile and I will smile back. What am I?
A mirror.
What invention lets you look right through a wall?
A window.
Main Set Easy Brain Teasers
Three people each take one apple from a basket of three apples, but one apple is still in the basket. How?
The last person took the basket with the apple still inside it.
How far can a dog run into a forest?
Halfway. After that, it is running out of the forest.
A tank has 12 fish. Half of them drown. How many fish are left?
12, because fish cannot drown.
A clock takes 5 seconds to strike 6 times. How long does it take to strike 12?
11 seconds. 6 strikes have 5 gaps, so each gap is 1 second, and 12 strikes have 11 gaps.
A ship has a rope ladder hanging over the side with the rungs 30 centimetres apart. The tide rises 15 centimetres an hour. How many rungs are covered after 3 hours?
None. The ship rises with the water.
I am as light as a feather, yet the strongest person cannot hold me for more than a few minutes. What am I?
Breath.
You see a boat packed with people, yet there is not a single person on board. How?
Everyone on board is married, so no one is single.
The rich need me, the poor have me, and if you eat me you will die. What am I?
Nothing.
Add up 1000 + 40 + 1000 + 30 + 1000 + 20 + 1000 + 10. What is the total?
4100, not 5000. The four thousands make 4000 and 40 + 30 + 20 + 10 = 100.
Six glasses stand in a row: full, empty, full, empty, full, empty. By touching only one glass, how do you get the full ones together and the empty ones together?
Pour the fifth glass (full) into the second glass (empty).
You drive a bus. At the first stop 10 people get off and 4 get on, and at the second stop 3 get off and 7 get on. How old is the driver?
Your own age, because you are the driver.
How many months of the year have 31 days?
7: January, March, May, July, August, October and December.
Toughest Easy Brain Teasers
Tom is taller than Sue, Sue is taller than Raj, and Raj is taller than Lee. Who is the second shortest?
Raj. The order from tallest is Tom, Sue, Raj, Lee.
What number comes next: 2, 3, 5, 9, 17, ...?
33. The gaps double: 1, 2, 4, 8, so the next gap is 16 and 17 + 16 = 33.
If 2 + 3 = 10, 7 + 2 = 63, 6 + 5 = 66 and 8 + 4 = 96, what is 9 + 7?
144. The rule is to add the numbers and multiply by the first: 16 x 9 = 144.
A hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half. How many eggs does one hen lay in three days?
2. One hen lays one egg in a day and a half, so in three days it lays two.
What is the greatest number of pieces you can cut a round pizza into with three straight cuts?
7, when each cut crosses the other two inside the pizza.
How do you cut a round cake into 8 equal pieces with only three straight cuts?
Cut it into quarters with two cuts across the top, then slice horizontally through the middle with the third.
A 3 by 3 by 3 cube is painted on the outside and cut into 27 small cubes. How many small cubes have exactly two painted faces?
12, one in the middle of each of the cube's 12 edges.
Two numbers multiply to 36 and add up to 15. What are they?
12 and 3, because 12 x 3 = 36 and 12 + 3 = 15.
A plane flies from town A to town B at 600 kilometres an hour and returns at 400 kilometres an hour. What is its average speed for the round trip?
480 kilometres an hour. For a distance of 1200 km each way, the times are 2 h and 3 h, so 2400 / 5 = 480.
How many two-digit numbers are multiples of 11?
9: 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88 and 99.
Quick-Fire Easy Brain Teasers
It has a case but is not a suitcase, and you rest your head on it.
Pillow.
It has teeth but cannot bite.
Comb.
It has a tongue but cannot talk.
Shoe.
It has a head and a foot but no body.
Bed.
It goes through towns and fields but never moves.
Road.
You can serve it but never eat it.
Tennis ball.
It is full of keys but cannot open a single door.
Piano.
It vanishes the moment you wake up.
A dream.
How to Use These Easy Brain Teasers
Easy brain teasers are best enjoyed in a relaxed way. Read one aloud, let everyone guess, and only reveal the answer once the room has stopped laughing at the wrong ones. Many of them depend on a single word having two meanings.
If a teaser has numbers, write them down. The clock puzzle, the average speed question and the pizza cuts all become easy once you draw them. Short working beats a lucky guess every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good easy brain teaser to start with?
Try this one: how far can a dog run into a forest? The answer is halfway, because after that the dog is running out. It is a quick example of a brain teaser built on wording.
How do I get better at solving brain teasers?
Read the question slowly and look for words with two meanings. Ask what the question assumes, draw a quick diagram for number problems, and check your answer against every clue before you finish.
Are easy brain teasers good for children?
Yes. The warm-up set uses everyday objects and simple wordplay, so it suits children of about eight and above. Younger children can enjoy the quick-fire teasers with a parent reading aloud.
How long should I spend on an easy brain teaser?
Give yourself a minute or two before looking at the answer. If you are stuck, re-read the question for tricks of wording, because most easy teasers are solved by the way they are phrased.
