Truth Lies SNAP 2020
1. The police rounded up Tolu, Molu and Golu yesterday because one of them was suspected of robbing the local bank. The 3 suspects gave following statements after intensive questioning:
Tolu: I’m innocent.
Molu: I’m innocent.
Golu: Molu is the guilty one.
Who robbed the bank among the three persons, if only one of the statements will be true?
A. Molu
B. Tolu
C. Golu
D. None of these
EXPLANATION
Answer: B
Solution: Let us assume Molu as the robber. So we can see that statement of Tolu is correct. But statement given by Molu is wrong. The statement given by Golu is also correct as he is pointing towards Molu as the robber. So 2 statements are correct which is the violation of the given condition.
Assume Tolu is the robber. Then we can see that except Molu’s statement, remaining two statements becomes false. So Tolu is the robber.
Q4. Three persons A, B and C gave these statements:
A said, either Freedom Party or Green Party won the elections.
B said, Freedom Party won.
C said, neither Freedom Party nor Green Party won the elections.
Of these persons, only one person is wrong.
Who won the elections?
A. Freedom Party
B. Green Party
C. Data Inadequate
D. None of these
EXPLANATION
Answer: A
As only one person is wrong, so other two persons are telling the truth.
Assume that the Freedom Party won the election. So, the statements of A and B are true as they satisfy our condition that 2 of them are truth tellers. Hence the Freedom Party wins the election. If you assume that the Green Party won the election, statements of B and C become false which is violating the given condition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tolu-Molu-Golu truth-lies puzzle about?
Three suspects (Tolu, Molu, Golu) each make a statement about a bank robbery, and only one of the three statements is true - you must deduce who actually robbed the bank.
What is the correct answer and reasoning?
The answer is Tolu (option B). Assuming Molu is the robber makes Tolu's 'I'm innocent' statement true, but it also makes Golu's statement about Molu true, giving two true statements - which fails the puzzle's 'only one true' condition, so the solver must test each case to find the one that yields exactly one true statement.
What skill does this puzzle type test?
It tests systematic hypothesis-testing - trying each suspect as the guilty party and checking whether exactly one statement turns out true for that scenario.