Help for Solving Riddles:
As I have already mentioned, I am extremely happy with how well many of you have done with answering the riddles I have given you. I choose most of these riddles because they encourage critical thinking. However, some of your answers that I did not originally think of have been correct ways to answer the riddles. This is a great example of thinking "out-of-the-box." I just want to give you all a few tips on how to solve the riddles most effectively.
My personal favorite riddle that I have given you all so far is this one: "Mr. C is a famous magician. He can throw a ball a short distance, make the ball stop and come right back to him. There are no strings attached to the ball and it does not bounce off of anything. How is this possible?" Alot of you came up with the answer that I would roll the ball up a hill. Technically this is a correct answer since the ball would not really bounce off a hill but roll. Nonetheless, lets work through the thought process of solving this riddle with the answer that I had in mind. Okay so lets try and imagine what this magic trick would look like. I, Mr. C, am standing with a small ball in my hand. I have to think of a way to throw the ball and have it stop, then come right back to me without bouncing it off of anything. Lets think of all the ways I can throw the ball. If I throw it straight down it will hit the ground and bounce right back to me without stopping. Since the ball would both bounce off the ground and not come to a stop, this cannot be the answer.
I could also throw the ball sideways like I was playing catch with a friend. The ball would hit the ground and eventually come to a stop, but the ball would not come back to me without me having a string attached to it. So, this cannot be the answer. There is only one more way which I can throw the ball, straight up. So lets think, if i throw the ball straight up what will happen? Lets say I don't throw it hard enough to hit the ceiling, which means it will not bounce off of anything. Will the ball stop and then come right back to me though? Try it for yourself. Take a small ball and toss it straight up in the air. As you can see the ball will come right back to you. Now for the stopping part. It takes a little higher level of education to understand exactly how gravity works, but trust me the ball actually will come to a complete stop for a very small amount of time.
I hope that this helped you all in getting a better idea of how to go about solving these riddles. Remember, whenever a riddle seems confusing when you are reading it, sometimes it helps to visualize, act out, or draw a picture of the riddle. This way it can help you to have a better idea of what to start with when solving it. Another good tip that we used to solve this riddle together is thinking of all the possible ways that we could do what the riddle is asking us to do. Good Luck Students in solving the future riddles I will give you!!!
My personal favorite riddle that I have given you all so far is this one: "Mr. C is a famous magician. He can throw a ball a short distance, make the ball stop and come right back to him. There are no strings attached to the ball and it does not bounce off of anything. How is this possible?" Alot of you came up with the answer that I would roll the ball up a hill. Technically this is a correct answer since the ball would not really bounce off a hill but roll. Nonetheless, lets work through the thought process of solving this riddle with the answer that I had in mind. Okay so lets try and imagine what this magic trick would look like. I, Mr. C, am standing with a small ball in my hand. I have to think of a way to throw the ball and have it stop, then come right back to me without bouncing it off of anything. Lets think of all the ways I can throw the ball. If I throw it straight down it will hit the ground and bounce right back to me without stopping. Since the ball would both bounce off the ground and not come to a stop, this cannot be the answer.
I could also throw the ball sideways like I was playing catch with a friend. The ball would hit the ground and eventually come to a stop, but the ball would not come back to me without me having a string attached to it. So, this cannot be the answer. There is only one more way which I can throw the ball, straight up. So lets think, if i throw the ball straight up what will happen? Lets say I don't throw it hard enough to hit the ceiling, which means it will not bounce off of anything. Will the ball stop and then come right back to me though? Try it for yourself. Take a small ball and toss it straight up in the air. As you can see the ball will come right back to you. Now for the stopping part. It takes a little higher level of education to understand exactly how gravity works, but trust me the ball actually will come to a complete stop for a very small amount of time.
I hope that this helped you all in getting a better idea of how to go about solving these riddles. Remember, whenever a riddle seems confusing when you are reading it, sometimes it helps to visualize, act out, or draw a picture of the riddle. This way it can help you to have a better idea of what to start with when solving it. Another good tip that we used to solve this riddle together is thinking of all the possible ways that we could do what the riddle is asking us to do. Good Luck Students in solving the future riddles I will give you!!!