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There are several books on a bookshelf. If one book is the 4th from the left and 6th from the right, how many books are on the shelf?

Illustration for riddle: There are several books on a bookshelf. If one book is the 4th from the left and 6th from the right,

9. Try sketching the problem out to see it.

Why this works

This riddle is a fun logic puzzle that plays with the positioning of the books. When a book is the 4th from the left and also the 6th from the right, you can visualize the arrangement: the 4th book from the left means there are 3 books to its left, and the 6th from the right means there are 5 books to its right. To find the total number of books, you add these numbers together along with the book in question: 3 (left) + 5 (right) + 1 (the book itself) equals 9 books total. Sketching it out helps illustrate how the positions relate to the total count!

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Common Wrong Answers

“10”

This guess assumes there is one additional book beyond the counted positions, but it miscounts the total by not recognizing that the same book being counted from both sides creates a shared position.

“8”

This guess incorrectly assumes that the total number of books is simply the sum of positions without considering that the 4th from the left and 6th from the right overlap.

“7”

This guess fails to account for the positions correctly, mistakenly thinking that the book is positioned such that there are fewer books on the shelf than there actually are.

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