BRAINTEASERS: My Sister Was Half My Age

My Sister Was Half My Age Riddle Brainteaser – Answer And Explanation

BRAINTEASERS – In this topic, we are going to know the answer and explanation of one of the easiest brainteasers of all time.

The Oxford dictionary defines a brainteaser as a problem or puzzle, typically one designed to be solved for amusement. It is the informal term of puzzles, problems, or riddles.

It is a type of puzzle where it is hard to find the answer but amuses people as they try to solve it. The problems seems simple enough but tricks you into answering the wrong question.

Now, we will know one of its easiest examples. The riddle is as follows:

“When I was 6 my sister was half my age. Now I’m 70 how old is my sister?”

Before we answer this question, yes, I did say that this is one of the easiest of the like, yet there are certain people who were still boggled by the question. This could be explained why later on.

Answer

So what is the answer to the question “When I was 6 my sister was half my age. Now I’m 70 how old is my sister?”.

It’s actually simple but the answer is 67. She is now 67 years old.

Explanation

It is a brainteaser after all. People would think that the answer is 35. This is because of the statement “my sister was half my age“.

So in that line of thinking, if I was 6, than she must have been 3 years old. Now that I’m 70 years old, she is 35, since she was half my age, and 70 ÷ 2 = 35, right?

But that’s the wrong answer for the very simple logical reason that it’s not how age works.

So, applying this logic, it is true that she was 3 years old when I was 6, hence, she was half my age back then, and we know that she is three years younger than me.

Now that I am 70 years old, she is no longer half my age, but rather, she is three years younger. Hence 70 – 3 = 67.