A farmer has a basket of eggs. If he counts them by 2s, 3s, or 4s, he always has 1 egg left over. But if he counts them by 5s, he has none left over. What is the smallest possible number of eggs in his basket?
25
The number minus 1 must be divisible by 2, 3, and 4 (least common multiple is 12). Numbers of the form 12k + 1 are 13, 25, 37... 25 is the smallest that is divisible by 5.
About this riddle
Math riddles hide a calculation inside a short story. Pull out the numbers, work out what is being asked, and watch for a trick such as a unit change.
Difficulty: Hard. More like this: Math riddles with answers or try Target 24 for a different kind of puzzle.
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