Afterschool Activities - a logic problem
by Margie Walsh and Ann Beardsley

Five parents pick-up their children at the Parkway Elementary School every Tuesday to bring the kids to their afterschool activity. Colleen and the four other children all attended a different afterschool activity and their parents always arrive at different times (between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm). Determine each child's full name, the first name of the parent picking them up (all the parents' last names are the same as their child's), the time each was picked up, and the activity each child is being brought to.

  1. Margie's best friend's mother, Mrs. Dobson, arrived before Cathy came to pick up her son. Mrs. Walsh picked up her daughter for fencing.
  2. Josh Steinway loved football as much as Donno liked chess, and they both liked being the last two to be picked up.
  3. David Holden picked up his daughter for her hiking as soon as he could, but Lynne was always there before he was.
  4. Margie liked being the first one picked up but she didn't take ballet or hiking.
  5. Lynne's daughter was not Margie.
  6. In order of their departure from school: Ann, the girl who took ballet, Mary Holden, the boy who took football, and Capri Johnson.

Use the grid to help solve the puzzle!

Feeding Time ~ a logic problem
by Shelly Hazard
Zookeeper George was in charge of feeding all of the animals in the morning. He had a regular schedule that he followed every day. Can you figure it out from the clues? /
  1. The giraffes were fed before the zebras but after the monkeys.
  2. The bears were fed 15 minutes after the monkeys.
  3. The lions were fed after the zebras.
Monkey Business ~ a logic problem
by Shelly Hazard /

Mrs. Robinson's 4th grade class took a field trip to the local zoo. The day was sunny and warm - a perfect day to spend at the zoo. The kids had a great time and the monkeys were voted the class favorite animal. The zoo had four monkeys - two males and two females. It was lunchtime for the monkeys and as the kids watched, each one ate a different fruit in their favorite resting place. Can you determine the name of each monkey, what kind of fruit each monkey ate, and where their favorite resting place was?

  1. Sam, who doesn't like bananas, likes sitting on the grass.
  2. The monkey who sat on the rock ate the apple. The monkey who ate the pear didn't sit on the tree branch.
  3. Anna sat by the stream but she didn't eat the pear.
  4. Harriet didn't sit on the tree branch. Mike doesn't like oranges.

Name of Monkey / Fruit Eaten / Favorite Resting Place

Farmyard Pandemonium - a logic problem
by Shelly Hazard

Jake Farmer woke up one morning to pandemonium in his barnyard. The gate had been left open and the animals had wandered out during the night. When he looked out the window, he could see the chickens and the sheep. By the time he got downstairs he could see the goats, too. But he had to hunt for the cows and the horses. After an hour of running around, Jake finally got all his animals back in their pens. Using the clues below, determine how many of each animal the farmer had to find, what kind of mischief each type of animal got into, and how long it took the farmer to return each group of animals to their pens.

  1. The animals running loose on the neighbor’s lawn were not the goats.
  2. The twelve chickens, who were not eating Jake’s vegetable garden, took the most time to return to their pen.
  3. Jake had five of one type of animal; he had an even number of all the other animals.
  4. The animals he had the least number of were the ones found in the grain room. The animals he had the most of took him twenty minutes to catch.
  5. The animals Jake had only two of took five minutes to catch while the animals he had six of took twice as long to catch.
  6. Jake had six more chickens than goats but two more goats than sheep.
  7. It took five minutes more to catch the horses than it took to catch the animals in the hay field but getting the horses took five minutes less than collecting the animals scattered around the barnyard.
  8. It took Jake the same amount of time to collect the four animals in the hay field as it did to collect the goats.

ANIMAL / Number of animals / Animals' location / time
CHICKENS / xxx / xxx / xxx
COWS / xxx / xxx / xxx
GOATS / x
xx / xxx / xxx
HORSES / x
xx / xxx / xxx
SHEEP / xx
x / xxx / xxx

Have you lost your child? - a logic problem
by Shelly Hazard

One day, five couples and their children (each couple had only one child) spent the day at an amusement park. They all enjoyed the day tremendously despite the fact that each child managed to get lost at some point during the day. Using the clues and the grids below, determine the full name of each couple, the name and age of each couple's child, and where each lost child was found.

  1. George, whose last name isn't Smith, is a good friend of Bill Walker, who is not Susie's father.
  2. The ages of the children from lowest to highest are the 6 year old, Ann, the one found by the teacups, George's son, and Jane's child.
  3. Michael Charming, whose 10-year-old child is the oldest, helped Stan find his daughter, who is a year younger than Ann, by the carousel. Stan's last name isn't Smith.
  4. The boy found at the ferris wheel is younger than John but older than Ann. Mary is older than Susie but younger than Tom.
  5. Sally Jackson didn't find her son at the teacups or the roller coaster. When she looked by the flume, she found Kim's 7-year-old child.
  6. Al and Linda's child, who is 8, is the best friend of Michelle's daughter, who is two years younger.

Use the grid to help solve the puzzle!

A Meeting of Friends - a logic problem
by Shelly Hazard

Five friends from across the United States planned to meet at a convention in Milwaukee. Each friend came from a different city and each was employed in a different profession. Use the clues to determine the full name of each friend, their home city, and each one's profession.

  1. The doctor and Mr. Cross both arrived a day early.
  2. By coincidence, the secretary from San Diego and the doctor, Ms. Forest, arrived at the hotel together.
  3. The lawyer arrived late. He was delayed by a case and had to catch a later flight from Baltimore.
  4. Jane, Mr. Smith, Mark, the mechanic, and the friend from Chicago all planned to spend the weekend after the convention together. Then on Monday, Ms. Trent and Tom would leave to return to work. Dan, the teacher, and Cindy would leave on Tuesday.
  5. Dan Richards does not live in Baltimore. Cindy does not live in St. Louis.
  6. Ms. Trent laughed when asked if she was a teacher. "No, he's from Atlanta," she said. "I'm from San Diego."