Question: If you stacked decks of standard 52 playing cards on top of each other, how many decks would be needed to be as tall as the Burj Khalifa?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

How many stacked pennies would equal the height of the Empire State Building?

Follow-up questions:

Can you explain me how did you arrive at this number?
What formulae did you use?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Unconventional

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Mathematics,Complex Problem Solving,Systems Analysis

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility),Cognitive – Deductive Reasoning,Cognitive – Flexibility of Closure (Pattern Detection),Cognitive – Mathematical Reasoning,Cognitive – Number Facility (Math Solving Speed),Cognitive – Speed of Closure (Thinking Speed),Cognitive – Visualisation

Work Activity (Task):

Mental Processes – Analyzing Data or Information,Mental Processes – Processing Information

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Analytical Thinking,Attention to Detail

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

Look for the candidate’s clarity in thoughts and calculations.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the candidate uses unrelated method for calculation.

Sample Answer:

Answer is roughly 51,863 decks based on a deck of cards being about 1.6cm thick and the Burj Khalifa being 829.8m tall. You are not looking necessarily for the correct answer, but the thought process of the interviewee.

Question Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/top-interview-questions-and-answers