Can You Pass The World's Shortest IQ Test? - Answers Included

IQ Test

When was the last time you took an IQ Test...or something close? Back in High School? The SAT's? Good lord, I hope that is not an IQ barometer!! The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) was developed by psychologist Shane Frederick in 2005. In a paper published in The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Frederick explains that he picked the three questions for the CRT because they were all "found to yield impulsive erroneous responses." That is, the questions make it easy for people to quickly jump to conclusions, instead of closely analyzing the seemingly simple quiz items.

Only 17% of students from extremely smart schools got a perfect score on the questions listed below! I took the quiz - and in ALL HONESTY - I got all three correct!! My hint is - don't jump to quick conclusions - or what seems to be the most obvious answer! Good Luck - the answers are below - NO CHEATING! -Kevin

The Bat and Ball Problem

A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

The Widget-Making Machine Problem

If it takes five machines 5 minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

The Size-Double Lily Pad Patch Problem

There is a patch of lily pads in a lake. 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 the lake?

How did you do? Here's the answers - (remember, if you cheated, it actually lowers you're IQ! Lol)

The Bat and Ball Problem

The ball costs 5 cents. You probably guessed 10 cents, didn't you? No judgment. A ball that costs 5 cents plus a bat that costs $1.05 will set you back $1.10. And $1.05 is exactly $1 more expensive than 5 cents. A Princeton study found that people who answered 10 cents were significantly less patient than those who got it correct.

The Widget-Making Machine Problem

It would take 100 machines 5 minutes to make 100 widgets. Your gut might tell you the answer is 100 minutes. From the question, we know that it takes 5 minutes for one machine to make one widget. Thus, it would take 5 minutes for 100 machines to make 100 widgets. (Check out a similar, if not more difficult problem, here.)

The Size-Double Lily Pad Patch Problem

The lily pads would cover half the lake in 47 days. You might have guessed 24 days. It seems intuitive to halve the number of days because you're halving the size of the lilypad patch. But if the area of the lake covered in lilypads doubles every day, it would only take one day for it to go from being half covered to fully covered. Take one day away from 48 days and you're left with 47.


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