by Apoorva Bellapu

January 9, 2022

Considering how profusely the organizations are becoming reliant on data, it is quite evident that data is high in demand. With such high data demand, what follows is heavy reliance on data science. This is because raw data is absolute of no use to the organizations unless it is transformed in a manner that aids in better decision making. It is exactly here that data science comes to the rescue.

As data science is one of the hottest career professions, looking for ways to get through it is quite obvious. Data science has a lot to do with critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. This is where puzzle questions come into play. Puzzle questions serve to be an excellent medium of accessing one’s critical thinking capability. Therefore, having a fair understanding of how you’d be tested on these fronts is always advised. On that note, have a look at the top 10 puzzle questions asked in data science interviews.

1. There are 5 lanes on a race track. You are asked to find out the 3 fastest leopards among the 25. In such a situation, what is the minimum number of races to be conducted in order to determine the fastest three?

2. There are 100 black balls and 100 white balls all of which are mixed up in a drawer. How many balls will you be required to take out to be sure that you have a matching pair of balls? (Note – You are to pick up the balls blindly from the drawer)

3. If there are two sand timers that show 4 minutes and 7 minutes respectively then what would be the best approach to get a time of 9 minutes using both the sand timers, at one time or one after another or in any other combination?

4. If a lion has two eyes, a tiger has two eyes, and an elephant has two eyes, how many eyes do we have?

5. In a jungle, one rabbit saw 6 elephants while going towards River. Each elephant saw that 2 monkeys are going towards the same river. Each monkey holds one tortoise in its hands. How many animals are going towards the river?

6. Two trains X and Y (80 km from each other) are running towards each other on the same track. The trains are running at a speed of 40km/hr. Meanwhile, a bird starts from train X and travels towards train Y with a constant speed of 100km/hr. As soon as it reaches train Y, it turns and starts moving toward train X. the bird does this till the two trains collide …….

Source: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-puzzle-questions-asked-in-data-science-interviews/