A swan sits at the center of a perfectly circular lake. At an edge of the lake stands a ravenous monster waiting to devour the swan. The monster can not enter the water, but it will run around the circumference of the lake to try to catch the swan as soon as it reaches the shore. The monster moves at 4 times the speed of the swan, and it will always move in the direction along the shore that brings it closer to the swan the quickest. Both the swan and the the monster can change directions in an instant.
The swan knows that if it can reach the lake's shore without the monster right on top of it, it can instantly escape into the surrounding forest.

How can the swan successfully escape?

A chess tournament is taking place on knock-out terms (the one who loses the match is out of the game).
(a) If 10 matches are played in total, how many players participated?
(b) If 20 players took part in the tournament, how many matches were played?

What number comes next in the series?

5 15 5 18 5 24 14 20 _

In front of you, there are 9 coins. They all look absolutely identical, but one of the coins is fake. However, you know that the fake coin is lighter than the rest, and in front of you is a balance scale. What is the least number of weightings you can use to find the counterfeit coin?

A man hijacks an aeroplane transporting both passengers(8 of them) and valuable cargo. After taking the cargo, the man demands nine parachutes, puts one of them on, and jumps, leaving the other eight behind. Why did he want eight?

You are an expert on paranormal activity and have been hired to locate a spirit haunting an old resort hotel. Strong signs indicate that the spirit lies behind one of four doors. The inscriptions on each door read as follows:

Door A: It's behind B or C
Door B: Its behind A or D
Door C: It's in here
Door D: It's not in here

Your psychic powers have told you three of the inscriptions are false, and one is true. Behind which door will you find the spirit?

Six people park their car in an underground parking of a store. The store has six floors in all. Each one of them goes to a different floor. Simon stays in the lift for the longest. Sia gets out before Peter but after Tracy. The first one to get out is Harold. Debra leaves after Tracy who gets out on the third floor.

Can you find out who leaves the lift on which floor?

You are provided with a grid (as shown in the picture). Can you fill the squares with numbers 1-8 in a manner that none of the two consecutive numbers are placed next to each other in any direction (vertically, horizontally or diagonally?)

Can you find out the missing number?

? 4 5 3 5

9 5 7 10 3

There is an ancient kingdom where every married woman keeps information regarding the fidelity of other men. However, what they don't know is the fidelity of their own husbands. Also, there is an ancient belief that they don't tell each other about the fidelity of their husbands.

On a certain day, the queen of the kingdom declares that she has identified at least one unfaithful man in the kingdom. She allows the wives to identify and gives them authority to kill their husbands if they are unfaithful at midnight.

How will the wives manage it?