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Cognitive Reflection Test

Apparently, 83% of folks miss at least one of the following questions:


(1) A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? _____ cents

(2) If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets? _____ minutes

(3) In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake? _____ days

33% of folks got them all wrong. I'm interested in how you did. :)

Elise and I took it and got all of them right; although, I don't know if it was intended to be a collaborative effort.

Comments

lillysmum said…
10 cents, 5 minutes and 47 days?
February 13, 2016 at 8:30 AM
Bill Cobabe said…
The ball costs five cents. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball so if the ball were ten cents the total would be $1.20. Otherwise, you're right on. You could go to Harvard. :)
February 13, 2016 at 9:11 AM
lillysmum said…
Embarrassing. Of course it's 5 cents.
February 13, 2016 at 11:17 AM
Bill Cobabe said…
Well. You didn't have Elise to help you. ;) no shame in that.
February 13, 2016 at 11:20 AM
Bill Cobabe said…
Also, if you want to get very clever about it, the lily pads could cover half the pond in one day, if it were the last day - 47 to cover the first half, one more to cover the remaining half.
February 13, 2016 at 11:22 AM
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