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Who is the Engineer?

4 replies [Last post]
Wed, 2008-09-10 02:19
A D
User offline. Last seen 3 years 23 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 1027
Groups: Accreditation Editors
On a train, Smith, Robinson, and Jones are the fireman, brakeman, and the engineer, but NOT respectively.

Also aboard the train are three businessmen who have the same names: a Mr. Smith, a Mr. Robinson, and a Mr. Jones.

1. Mr. Robinson Lives in Detroit.
2. The brakeman lives exactly halfway between Chicago and Detroit
3. Mr. Jones earns exactly $20,000 per year.
4. The brakeman’s nearest neighbor, one of the passengers, earns exactly three times as much as the brakeman.
5. Smith beats the fireman in billiards.
6. The passenger whose name is the same as the brakeman’s lives in Chicago.

So, Who is the Engineer and why?
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Replies

Mon, 2008-09-15 23:16
#1
Jay S
User offline. Last seen 9 years 40 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Posts: 36
Groups: Petro-Chem / Oil & Gas
Smith is the engineer, because: the brakeman’s nearest neighbour cannot be Mr Robinson, since Mr Robinson lives in Detroit and the brakeman is halfway from there to Chicago. The brakeman’s nearest neighbour cannot be Mr Jones because 20,000 is not evenly divisible by 3. The brakeman’s nearest neighbour is one of those 3 passengers, so he must be Mr Smith.

The passenger with the same name as the brakeman lives in Chicago, and we know that Mr Robinson and Mr Smith do not live in Chicago, so Mr Jones must live in Chicago, so the brakeman must be Jones.

So Smith is either the fireman or the engineer, but since Smith beats the fireman at billiards, he cannot be the fireman, so he must be the engineer.
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Sat, 2008-09-13 03:17
#2
Neeraj Agarkar
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Joined: 25 Jul 2003
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yeah Mr. Mike. You are on right track there.
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Sat, 2008-09-13 02:57
#3
Mike Testro
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
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Groups: Building Information Modelling, Content Moderators, GPCCAR Editors
Hi Neeraj

Just read your contract and it will tell you who the engineer is.

By the way - when US trains had an Engineer and a fireman and a brakeman $20k would have bought half of Chicago.

Best regards

Mike Testro
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Thu, 2008-09-11 07:11
#4
Neeraj Agarkar
User offline. Last seen 5 years 14 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 25 Jul 2003
Posts: 61
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Smith is either the engineer or brakeman as he beat the fireman.

Mr. Robinson lives in Detroit, hence either Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones live in Chicago".

You cannot live in Chicago or Detroit with $20k salary. so Mr. Jones who earns $20k does not live in chicago or detroit. This leaves us with Mr. Robinson of Detroit and Mr. Smith of Chicago. If Mr. Smith lives in Chicago, smith lives in Chicago too. So smith is not the person who lives halfway between Chicago or Detroit, so cannot be breakman. and he is not the fireman either.

So smith is the Engineer.

Now you can comeup and take potshots at it yourself.
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