Brain Teasers
Firefighter
A firefighter stood on the middle rung of a ladder, spraying water on a burning house. He then climbed up 6 rungs before the heat of the flames caused him to come down 10 rungs. After some minutes he was able to climb 18 rungs to the very top of the ladder. How many rungs did the ladder have?
Answer
29 rungsThe firefighter is standing on the middle rung. He goes up 6 rungs so he is now at M+6, he now goes down 10 rungs so he is now at M-4 he goes up 18 rungs so he is now at M+14=T. 14 rungs from the top, 14 rungs from the bottom and the middle rung. 14+14+1=29!
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Comments
I don't get it. When you count up 18 rungs you get 18. Miscalculation!
No 29 is the correct answer! The firefighter is standing on the middle rung. He goes up 6 rungs so he is now at M+6, he now goes down 10 rungs so he is now at M-4 he goes up 18 rungs so he is now at M+14=T. 14 rungs from the top, 14 rungs from the bottom and the middle rung. 14+14+1=29!
Jun 28, 2002
I got "hung" on the Middle rung! Ha ha, I came up with 30 -- counted the middle rung twice. I should've known the answer would have to be an uneven number if there is a middle rung.
I thought middle meant somewhere in the middle, not the exact middle, so I got 24
i got 28 bcoz i forgot the last rung. Thats a well gud riddle!
i done it i one it 2 easy
I did it too! this is quite an achievement for me- i've never done a math teaser before!!!
i dont think they make ladders with an uneven number of rungs...also i dont think the guy would stand on the very top one, it dosent seem safe or stable....
Someone please tell me why the man whose comment is above mine even bothered to comment on whether the firefighter would have stood on the top rung???
Great teaser, simple concept with a twist... as mentioned in above comments - which I will not mention as I don't want to give the answer in my comment.
i got 28 too, forgot the middle one. all in all, this is not bad a teaser
I agree with strangeman and steph.
well..i don't get...too hard
but a good quest
but a good quest
I mis added and came up with M12=T so my anser was 25 I was even like oh that is sooooo easy
I concur tedjohnson!!
I mean what a BALANCING act... Surely inertia from the hose would have caused him to topple!!!!!
I mean what a BALANCING act... Surely inertia from the hose would have caused him to topple!!!!!
that was great! I was very close to the answer
this teaser is terrible! Number one, half of 29 is 14.5. How can you be standing on half a rung?? Number two, when this is done correctly you get 28.5 rungs not 29. I dont kno how you can have half a rung, but thats just me!
Hey one extra rung isn't just a half a rung! Great job on the teaser, very clever!
Dec 17, 2004
That was fun and easy!
That was really good, but it was really easy...which is why i got it.... but it was clever!!
this was way to easy and i suck at math brain teasers!!!
A middle rung means there must be an odd number of rungs. I think it was a good teaser because that was the twist that makes it harder than it appears.
I poop on Firemen.
i got this'n right! all i did was draw the middle line(just a lonely line all by its self) and then added lines up, wnet down lines, then went back up. then all i had to do was count em there lines!!! lol
Good for you, I miscalculated everything, like always
i told you m not good in math but i enjoy it rerlly!!! keep up the good work
i thought it was a fairly good brainteaser. i got it worng thinking it ws 18. after i read the answer i relized my mistake. it was cool .i liked it
Dec 19, 2004
i don't get it
interesting little no-brainer, easy-breezy - 29 it is.
I agree with strangeman.......jonhoe: it wouldn't be half a rung, it is the middle rung......glennyboy explained it just fine in the answer.......did you even read it?
Normally I don't like math teasers, but this one's an exception. Cute, fun, and made me think... great job!
I got twenty eight. I could have gotten it right if I had thought more. that was a really well written and fun teaser. nice job!
Wow, a lot of comments for such a simple teaser. I thought it was so simple that I didn't even understand why it was a teaser, but I guess the "middle rung" thing tripped some people up. Obviously, if you HAVE a middle rung there are an odd number of rungs...
This is the like the exact same problem as
http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/
17721/monk-steps.html
and they are neither difficult nor interesting.
http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/
17721/monk-steps.html
and they are neither difficult nor interesting.
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