Breaking Balance (Part A)
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If we assume the classic balance puzzle (Twelve balls and a scale) is phrased like this:
You have 12 coins that are identical except for one counterfeit that is heavier or lighter. Can you use a balance scale three times to determine the counterfeit coin and say if it was heavier or lighter?
Can you design an object that could properly be called a "balance scale" that could solve the above problem with a single weighing instead of three?
Obviously any such object is a far cry from the intention of the original problem, and may be hard to draw or describe. I just think us Engineers deserve a little fun at the expense of of you math-riddle folk sometimes.
Part B and Part C will contain something like spoilers as to the two ways I thought of answering this, so if you want to take an unbiased stab at this, I would avoid those for now.
And before anybody mentions it, coins are always better than "balls" because they don't roll off the table and get lost under your desk. It is befuddling to me that so many people do these puzzles with balls.
open-ended weighing physics
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
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If we assume the classic balance puzzle (Twelve balls and a scale) is phrased like this:
You have 12 coins that are identical except for one counterfeit that is heavier or lighter. Can you use a balance scale three times to determine the counterfeit coin and say if it was heavier or lighter?
Can you design an object that could properly be called a "balance scale" that could solve the above problem with a single weighing instead of three?
Obviously any such object is a far cry from the intention of the original problem, and may be hard to draw or describe. I just think us Engineers deserve a little fun at the expense of of you math-riddle folk sometimes.
Part B and Part C will contain something like spoilers as to the two ways I thought of answering this, so if you want to take an unbiased stab at this, I would avoid those for now.
And before anybody mentions it, coins are always better than "balls" because they don't roll off the table and get lost under your desk. It is befuddling to me that so many people do these puzzles with balls.
open-ended weighing physics
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
If we assume the classic balance puzzle (Twelve balls and a scale) is phrased like this:
You have 12 coins that are identical except for one counterfeit that is heavier or lighter. Can you use a balance scale three times to determine the counterfeit coin and say if it was heavier or lighter?
Can you design an object that could properly be called a "balance scale" that could solve the above problem with a single weighing instead of three?
Obviously any such object is a far cry from the intention of the original problem, and may be hard to draw or describe. I just think us Engineers deserve a little fun at the expense of of you math-riddle folk sometimes.
Part B and Part C will contain something like spoilers as to the two ways I thought of answering this, so if you want to take an unbiased stab at this, I would avoid those for now.
And before anybody mentions it, coins are always better than "balls" because they don't roll off the table and get lost under your desk. It is befuddling to me that so many people do these puzzles with balls.
open-ended weighing physics
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
If we assume the classic balance puzzle (Twelve balls and a scale) is phrased like this:
You have 12 coins that are identical except for one counterfeit that is heavier or lighter. Can you use a balance scale three times to determine the counterfeit coin and say if it was heavier or lighter?
Can you design an object that could properly be called a "balance scale" that could solve the above problem with a single weighing instead of three?
Obviously any such object is a far cry from the intention of the original problem, and may be hard to draw or describe. I just think us Engineers deserve a little fun at the expense of of you math-riddle folk sometimes.
Part B and Part C will contain something like spoilers as to the two ways I thought of answering this, so if you want to take an unbiased stab at this, I would avoid those for now.
And before anybody mentions it, coins are always better than "balls" because they don't roll off the table and get lost under your desk. It is befuddling to me that so many people do these puzzles with balls.
open-ended weighing physics
open-ended weighing physics
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
asked 1 min ago
Dark ThunderDark Thunder
112
112
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Dark Thunder is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
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