Daily Math Puzzle: 2026-06-13
Sharpen your mathematical thinking with fresh puzzles delivered daily.
🧩 New Puzzle Every Day — Free
2026-06-13
An interstellar probe is traveling directly away from Earth at a constant speed of 50 km/s. It is currently 1.5 billion kilometers from Earth. At this exact moment, it transmits a crucial data packet back towards Earth. Assuming the data signal travels at the speed of light (approximately 300,000 km/s), how far away from Earth will the probe be *at the exact instant* Earth receives the data packet?
🔥 Build your streak — solve daily in the app
Solution
1,500,250,000 km — The key to this puzzle is understanding that the probe continues to move *away* from Earth during the time the data signal is traveling towards Earth.
1. **Calculate the time for the signal to reach Earth:**
The signal travels at the speed of light (300,000 km/s) from an initial distance of 1.5 billion km (1,500,000,000 km).
Time = Distance / Speed = 1,500,000,000 km / 300,000 km/s = 5,000 seconds.
2. **Calculate how much further the probe travels during this time:**
The probe travels at 50 km/s.
Distance traveled by probe = Probe Speed × Time = 50 km/s × 5,000 s = 250,000 km.
3. **Add this distance to the probe's initial distance from Earth:**
When Earth receives the signal, the probe will have moved an additional 250,000 km from its initial position.
Final distance = Initial distance + Distance traveled by probe = 1,500,000,000 km + 250,000 km = 1,500,250,000 km.
Never Miss a Daily Puzzle
Download TestPrepMagic and get push notifications for each day's puzzle. Build daily streaks and track your improvement.
Download Free AppRelated Puzzles
Math Puzzle: 2026-06-12
An astronaut lands on a newly discovered asteroid, which is entirely enveloped in a strange, thick, swirling 'fog'. This 'fog' is intensely bio-luminescent, emitting so much light that it causes complete optical whiteout (visibility zero). Despite being unable to see anything, the astronaut expertly navigates to precise mining coordinates, extracts a rare mineral, and returns to their ship without incident. How did the astronaut accomplish this feat?
Math Puzzle: 2026-06-11
In a single‑elimination sports tournament with 16 teams, each match eliminates one team. If the tournament runs for 15 matches, and Team A wins all its matches, how many teams can be eliminated in total before Team A meets the eventual tournament runner‑up?
Math Puzzle: 2026-06-10
Chef Marco is known for his incredibly specific and complex recipes. For his 'Triple Threat Marinade,' he *must* select exactly three ingredients from a list of five: Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Honey, Ginger, and Sesame Oil. His ancient recipe book outlines these four strict rules:
1. If Soy Sauce is used, then Vinegar must also be used.
2. He uses Honey if and only if he does NOT use Ginger.
3. He uses Sesame Oil, OR he uses both Soy Sauce and Honey (or all three).
4. He cannot use both Vinegar and Honey.
Which set of three ingredients is the only possible combination for Chef Marco's 'Triple Threat Marinade'?