Mensa Mensa IQ Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A clock shows exactly 3:15. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands?
- 0°
- 7.5° (Correct answer)
- 15°
- 22.5°
Correct answer: 7.5°
At 3:15, the minute hand is at 90° and the hour hand has moved 7.5° past the 3 (one-quarter of the 30° between hour marks), leaving an angle of 7.5° between them.
Question 2: You are in a dark room with one match, a candle, a wood stove, and a gas lamp. Which do you light first?
- The candle
- The wood stove
- The gas lamp
- The match (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The match
You must light the match first before you can ignite any other item in the room.
Question 3: If you overtake the runner in second place during a race, what position are you now in?
- First place
- Second place (Correct answer)
- Third place
- It cannot be determined
Correct answer: Second place
By passing the second-place runner, you assume their position — second place — since the first-place runner is still ahead of you.
Question 4: A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. That evening, they go to dinner together. How is this possible?
- He was wearing a bulletproof vest and held his breath
- She used a tranquilizer dart and revived him afterwards
- She is a photographer who took his picture, then developed it in a water-filled darkroom tray (Correct answer)
- He escaped before she could seriously harm him
Correct answer: She is a photographer who took his picture, then developed it in a water-filled darkroom tray
In photography, 'shooting' means taking a picture, and 'holding underwater' refers to submerging the photo in developer solution in the darkroom.
Question 5: There are 3 apples on the table and you take away 2. How many apples do YOU have?
- 1
- 2 (Correct answer)
- 3
- 0
Correct answer: 2
You took 2 apples, so you personally have 2 — 1 apple remains on the table, but the question asks how many you have, not how many are left.
Question 6: Two fathers and two sons sit down to eat eggs for breakfast. They eat exactly three eggs, with each person eating exactly one egg. How is this possible?
- One egg was shared between two people and counted for both
- The group is a grandfather, his son, and his grandson — three people total (Correct answer)
- One person did not actually eat their egg
- Two of the eggs were double-yolked and counted as two servings each
Correct answer: The group is a grandfather, his son, and his grandson — three people total
A grandfather, father, and grandson are three people: the grandfather and father are the 'two fathers,' and the father and grandson are the 'two sons,' with the father counting in both roles.
Question 7: A rooster sits on the peak of a barn roof. It lays an egg. Which side of the roof does the egg roll down?
- The south side
- The windward side
- The steeper side
- Roosters do not lay eggs (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Roosters do not lay eggs
Roosters are male chickens and are biologically incapable of laying eggs — the premise of the question is false.
Mensa Mensa IQ Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2
A clock shows exactly 3:15.
What is the angle between the hour and minute hands?