An apple costs 20 cents, an orange costs 40 cents and a grapefruit costs 60 cents, how much is a pear?

This question is meant to be asked verbally so what you hear is Pear but what they mean is PAIR. So the issue is can you think beyond past paterns or are you predisposed to thinking linearly. Oh yeah... a pair is 2.

After reading this thread, I have decided not to continue with the interview process. What a bunch of stupid crap. Seriously? This is how they determine who can execute a project and give excellent customer service. SMH!

your numbers are off a bit..its apple = 40 orange = 60 grapefruit = 80..the answer is 40 cents because its 20 cents per vowel in the word...tricky but right...

How about this: it has to do with the color spectrum. A red apple, then an orange, then a yellow grapefuit, and finally a green pear. Each color is +20, so the pear is 80 cents.

The original poster on this thread left out the original beginning of the question: "Under certain circumstances, an apple costs 40 cents, a banana costs 60 cents, and a grapefruit costs 80 cents. How much does a pear cost?" This is on the math-reasoning portion of the test so it's valid to approach this from a numbers standpoint. The first clause, "Under certain circumstances" invites you to look for those circumstances within the sentence - here, a correlation between the number of vowels and the price of the fruit. Doing this we come to a rate of 20 cents per vowel. So, like an ApplE, a pEAr costs 40 cents.

a fruit is worth 10 cents for every space between a vowel and a consonant. orange= o/r/a/ng/e= 40 cents; a pear is worth 20 cents.

i agree with candicerate and alan. assume that they've given you complete and accurate information.

my husband's answer (not in computer science): is this a job or a game show?

It's free.. cuz the store where u bought this from had the offer ' Buy 1 qty of Apple,Orange and Grape Fruit and get a Pear Absolutely free'

I would say that if you are going by vowels a pear having two vowels= 20, an orange has 3 vowels costing 40 cents and a grapefruit having four vowels =60. Then 20 would be logical. I think they are just looking for you to come up with a reasonable answer. I would laugh a little and than say well a Pear's price is primarily determined by supply and demand which is determined by a multitude of factors, thus with the given information, there is no way to determine the exact price of a pear simply because you have stated the price of other fruits.

A pear could cost anything between 10 cents to a dollar...as long as it is acceptable for a buyer in the fruit market...why bother about correlation between name of the fruit and its price...that said, whoever came up with correlation between vowels in the fruit name and the price, that was some really good thinking

The price is as much as the market would accept and buy. The cost is the minimum, keeping with the product condtions one desire. It's not a math problem.

What simple logic said. Just because there are numbers in the question, it doesn't make it a math problem.

They are probably looking at the different possible answers and gauging some answers as being smarter/ more creative than others. So there is no "right" answer but rather an insight into how the interviewee thinks. Or the manager is just weird.

Not possible to answer exactly with the information given.

In Florida, oranges would be cheaper than apples, so we are talking about colder climates where oranges and grapefruits are not cultivated locally and you have to pay for transport. Since pears have similar climactic requirements as apples, they would be priced similarly.

I went with the homophone answer (pear/pair) but wondered if the question was written or verbal. Then, I went with "it's whatever you say" because you set the market price wherever you want. I thought the other answers were excellent, and well thought out.

Who ever asks for a "pair" of apples or oranges? "Hey, Mac, gimme a head of lettuce and a pair of apples!" "Yeah, I'll give you a pair, pal." The correct answer is whatever the market is charging for single pears. Three unrelated data points cannot be used to infer another unrelated data point. Unrelated data doesn't acquire meaning just because it's recited in order. I know, I know, heretical... RstJ

In what part of the world, what type of pear, in what season and in what currency?

Pears aren't for sale. I PICK THINGS UP AND PUT THEM DOWN!

interviewed last week: your numbers are off a bit..its apple = 40 orange = 60 grapefruit = 80..the answer is 40 cents because its 20 cents per vowel in the word...tricky but right... --- IS not correct as gr-a-p-e-fr-u-i-t has 4 vovles that makes it 80 points, but in the question it says grapefruit = 60.