The Golden Guitar Puzzle

The Puzzle

You and your friend Thomas have located some ancient map hidden in the old city library. The text tells you the precise location of a long lost golden harp buried on a nearby island. 

Happy you look at Tom, but it seems like Tom has other plans, temptation has got to his head and he wants to destroy the treasure and melt it down for all the money it's worth. But there's a catch, the ancient text states only one person can claim the harp. 

This may be your only chance to save the treasure and show the world what you're capable of. You must get to the treasure first and claim it before tom arrives... 

Tom runs out of the library and enters his car. You know his car can only goes halfway to the island then he will have to run the rest of the way. If you take your bicycle then Tom is 4 times as fast as you in his automobile, but you are then 2 times as fast as him while he is running.

You decide to take your bike as you have no other choice. Who will arrive to the treasure first?

The Answer

Notice how the puzzle does not give you a distance, this is because the distance does not matter.

For the sake of explaining lets call the distance 1000km.

Lets also assume Tom goes 100km/h in his car, because he is 4 times as fast as you, your speed is 25km/h.

Since you do not leave your bicycle, we can calculate how long it takes you to get there.

1000/25 = 40, it will take you 40 hours by bike.

Now lets calculate how long it takes tom, tom arrives to the halfway point and then has to run, so he reaches 500km in 5 hours because he was travelling 100km/h.

The next 500km he will be running at half the speed of your bike, because the riddle says you are twice as fast as him when he is running. So 12.5km/h.

500/12.5 = 40. Plus the other 5 hours from the first half = 45 hours

Therefore you will arrive 5 hours before Tom.

I love you,

Two Minute IQ

PS, Doing a puzzle once a day can help prevent age related decline and diseases like Dementia, Parkinsons and Alzheimers.