A woman owns four cups. She breaks one cup and throws it away. How many cups does she still own?
Answer: 3 cups.
She begins with four cups. Once one is broken and then thrown away, she is left with the three cups that remain in her possession.
The wording can make the puzzle feel trickier than it is because “breaks one” and “throws it away” describe two actions involving the same cup. You do not subtract two cups.
Only one cup leaves her collection, so 4 − 1 = 3.
Therefore, after throwing away the broken cup, she still owns 3 cups.


