Table of contents
1.
Introduction 
2.
Puzzle Description
3.
Solution
4.
Frequently Asked Questions
4.1.
Why do Helium balloons rise?
4.2.
How to approach a puzzle interview problem?
4.3.
 
4.4.
Why are puzzles asked in interviews?
4.5.
What do you mean by puzzle reasoning?
5.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Helium Balloon

Author SHIVANGI MALL
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Introduction 

Puzzles are a good measure of one's analytical skills and lateral thinking. Many product-based companies ask the puzzles to help them filter candidates based on their real-world problem-solving skills to approach a problem they have not seen before.

A puzzle may have multiple solutions. The interviewer is generally interested in the candidate's approach to solving the mystery and the approach to building and thinking creatively about the answer to the puzzle.

Puzzle Description

You're in an automobile car with a helium balloon on a string tied to the floor. The car windows are closed. What happens to the balloon when you step at the accelerator—does it pass forward, pass backward, or stay put?

Solution

The correct answer is forward. When the car accelerates, the air is driven backward simply as your move. It will result in sending that Helium balloon forward, which in comparison with air, is lighter. When we apply brakes, the air piles up in the front of the windshield. Using brakes sends the balloon backward.

Hence, the Helium balloon actions during the car's acceleration, i.e., When the auto moves backward, the Helium balloon returns.

Check out this problem - 8 Queens Problem

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Helium balloons rise?

Helium balloons rise because the helium inside the balloon weighs less than the air it displaces.

 

How to approach a puzzle interview problem?

Some of the approaches are thinking about the problem, clarity regarding a problem, using brute force first, trying to make logic, and getting the solution.

 

Why are puzzles asked in interviews?

To see how you will approach a real-time and tricky situation.

 

What do you mean by puzzle reasoning?

It simply means analyzing the data given in the puzzle and arranging data to get the correct solution.

Conclusion

This article is about Interview puzzles and how they can be used in daily life and check our approach in an interview. We have seen the Helium Balloon problem directly related to our lives, and we must have encountered this situation sometimes.

Refer to our guided paths on Coding Ninjas Studio to learn more about DSA, Competitive Programming, JavaScript, System Design, etc. Enroll in our courses and refer to the mock test and problems available, interview puzzles, take a look at the interview experiences, and interview bundle for placement preparations.

We hope that this blog has helped you enhance your knowledge regarding puzzles, and if you liked this blog, check other links. Do upvote our blog to help other ninjas grow. Happy Coding!

 

 

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