What has hands, but can’t clap?

The first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire world signifies a great woman. What is the word?

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.

Can anyone tell me a word in the English dictionary which has a silent 'z'?

There is a barrel with no lid and some wine in it. 'This barrel of wine is more than half full,' said Curly. 'No it's not,' says Mo. 'It's less than half full.' Without any measuring implements and without removing any wine from the barrel, how can they easily determine who is correct?

If 5 cats catch 5 mice in 5 minutes, how long will it take one cat to catch a mouse?

A bank customer had $100 in his account. He then made 6 withdrawals. He kept a record of these withdrawals, and the balance remaining in the account, as follows:

Withdrawals Balance left
$50 $50
$25 $25
$10 $15
$8 $7
$5 $2
$2 $0
----- -----
$100 $99

Why are the Totals not tallying?

In a jungle where there are no street lights or any other artificial source of lights, I notice a black snake crossing the road.
How did I get sight of the snake?

You need to complete the maze by entering from the entrance marked below in the figure near the yellow circle, bottom left and leaving from the exit point near the green circle, bottom middle.

Rule of Game: You can move only by exchanging green and yellow circles.

How many Watermelons are there in the below picture?