I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

A frog is at the bottom of a 30-meter well. Each day he summons enough energy for one 3-meter leap up the well. Exhausted, he then hangs there for the rest of the day. At night, while he is asleep, he slips 2 meters backwards. How many days does it take him to escape from the well?

Its something that each of us devours,
Not just us but birds, beats, trees, and flowers,
Frets iron and nibbles steel,
Toil hard stones to meal,
Exterminates king, collapse town,
And blows the mountains down.

A boy and his father are caught in a traffic accident, and the father dies. Immediately the boy is rushed to a hospital, suffering from injuries. But the attending surgeon at the hospital, upon seeing the boy, says 'I cannot operate. This boy is my son.' How is this situation explained?

I look at you, you look at me, I raise my right, you raise your left. What am I?

What is both possible and impossible at the same time?

Place a mathematical symbol between the numerals 5 and 9 in such a way that the resulting number is greater than 5 but smaller than 9.

Until it is measured, not known. Yet how you miss it when it has gone. What is it?

A non-stop marathon is the shared favourite sport of three brothers.

*The oldest one is fat and short and trudges slowly on.
*The middle brother's tall and slim and keeps a steady pace.
*The youngest runs just like the wind, speeding through the race.

"He is young in years, we let him run!" the other two brothers explained, "'because though he is surely number one, he is second, in a way." Why is it?

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?