Puzzle#4 - What should you ask them in order to escape from the room?

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

Could you please check for any grammatical errors?

You are in trapped in a room in which there are two exits, exit 1 and exit 2. You are behind the exit 1, a hungry lion is behind the exit 2. There are two more persons Ren and Rex along with you. Ren is a nice man who always tell the truth, but Rex always lies. Both of them know what is behind the each door, but you do not know who is the nice guy and who is a lier. You may ask one of them just one question.

What should you ask them in order to escape from the room and also avoid a hungry lion?

 

[emsr2d2]

Could you please check for any grammatical errors?

You are in trapped in a room in which there are two exits, Exit 1 and Exit 2. You are behind [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Exit 1 (no comma required here) and a hungry lion is behind [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Exit 2. There are two more [STRIKE]persons[/STRIKE] people (Ren and Rex) [STRIKE]along[/STRIKE] with you. Ren is a nice man who always tells the truth, but Rex always lies. Both of them know what is behind [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] each door, but you do not know who is the nice guy and who is a [STRIKE]lier[/STRIKE] liar. You may ask one of them just one question.

What should you ask them in order to escape from the room and also avoid a hungry lion?

Note my corrections above. I have capitalised "Exit 1" and "Exit 2" as they are effectively the "titles" or "names" of the exits. When you are using those names, you don't need to use the definite article in front of them.

Is it mere coincidence that Rex and Ren were also the names of the men in your previous thread about scaffolding trade tests?

 

[MikeNewYork]

You ask both of them which door the the other man will say the lion is behind. Choose the opposite door.

 

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

Sorry, The above is wrong answer. I didn't read properly. You (trapped man) can ask anyone of them (either Ren or Rex).

 

[emsr2d2]

Mike's suggested solution (and your agreement) don't fit your original post. In the original, it clearly says you can ask only one of the men one question. If I remember rightly, you ask person A this "If I asked person B which exit to take, would he tell me to take Exit 1?" From there, you can extrapolate that whether person A is telling the truth or lying, the result is the same. Apologies if I've messed that up. It's very early in the morning! ;-)

 

[Rover_KE]

I agree. Additionally, I think it's necessary to specify that Ren and Rex are aware of each other's honesty (or lack of same).

 

[MikeNewYork]

He says you can ask "them" one question. That implies that both men can be asked. I agree that the puzzle was not set up correctly.

 

[Raymott]

And the immediately preceding sentence: "You may ask one of them just one question". That implies that, when you ask them, you can only ask one of them.

 

[Raymott]

Close ems, but "If I asked person B which exit to take, would he tell me to take Exit 1?" doesn't work. You need to ask "If I asked person B which exit the lion was behind, would he say Exit 1?" The answer is supposed to be something with a truth value (of true or false). Either a liar or a truth-teller may not care if you are eaten by a lion.

Also, if you are behind Exit 1 with two other people, and lion is behind Exit 2, it doesn't work. You all have to be in front of two exits, behind one of which is a lion.

Otherwise, it's correct. You only have to ask one question of one man, as stated. So it's not much of a puzzle if you're allowed more questions.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

There is a more elegant and less convoluted question that works, asssuming that they are aware of each other's honesty or lack thereof.

'Does the liar guard the door to freedom?' If the answer is 'no' you take that door, if it's 'yes' you take the other one.

 

[Raymott]

'Does the liar guard the door to freedom?' If the answer is 'no' you take that door, if it's 'yes' you take the other one.

There are hundreds of ways you can present the puzzle. That's not an answer to the OP's problem of a lion being behind one door, and neither of them are guarding the exits. It might be the correct answer to a different puzzle.

 

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

He says you can ask "them" one question. That implies that both men can be asked. I agree that the puzzle was not set up correctly.

No, You (trapped man) should ask either Ren or Rex only one question.

 

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

Mike's suggested solution (and your agreement) don't fit your original post. In the original, it clearly says you can ask only one of the men one question. If I remember rightly, you ask person A this "If I asked person B which exit to take, would he tell me to take Exit 1?" From there, you can extrapolate that whether person A is telling the truth or lying, the result is the same. Apologies if I've messed that up. It's very early in the morning! ;-)

Yes. Your answer is correct. Apologies for my earlier reply in post#4. Here is my explanations. Please check for any correctons.

1. You ask Ren(A): “If I asked Rex, which exit to take, what he would have been told?'' (Rex always tells lies, so he might replied: Exit 2)
2. You ask Rex(B) : “If I asked Ren, which exit to take, what he would have been told?" (Ren always tells the truth, so he might replied: Exit 2)

So, just choose the other exit (Exit 1) in order to escape.

 

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

Why can't I write "persons" instead of "people" in the above corrected one?

 

[emsr2d2]

We rarely use "persons" as the plural of "person". The standard word is "people". "Persons" is used in legal terms and in one particular context - inside a lift (elevator) there is always a sign giving the maximum capacity of the lift. For some reason, it always says "Maximum [number] persons". I don't know why.

 

[Rover_KE]

Mani Kandan, welcome to the forum, but please read this extract from the rules:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice provide the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion.

 

[Raymott]

1. You ask Ren(A): “If I asked Rex, which exit to take, what he would have been told?'' (Rex always tells lies, so he might replied: Exit 2)
2. You ask Rex(B) : “If I asked Ren, which exit to take, what he would have been told?" (Ren always tells the truth, so he might replied: Exit 2)
So, just choose the other exit (Exit 1) in order to escape.

Yes, but I have to repeat, telling a person to take the exit behind which there is a lion is neither lying nor telling the truth. Your puzzle, as given, doesn't work.