Since no one seems to have made any progress on #4, here is the answer:
[a href=\'http://www.cut-the-knot.com/blue/OddballProblem2.shtml\' target=\'_blank\']Weighing 12 Coins[/a]
If you still want to figure it out for yourself, don't click that link.
In the meantime, I'll present another math-related puzzle. It's a very famous puzzle which every university math major has seen at least once. Let's call this riddle #5 to avoid confusion...
5. Five men and a monkey are stranded on a desert island. They spend their first day gathering a large pile of coconuts for food. They plan to divide it up among themselves the next day.
During the night, the first man wakes up and decides to grab a share early. He divdes the pile into 5 equal shares. He has one coconut left over which he gives to the monkey. He then takes his own fifth out and puts the remaining coconuts back in one large pile.
Later on, the second man wakes up with the same plan. He again divdes the pile into 5 equal shares. He also has one coconut left over which he gives to the monkey. He takes his own fifth out and puts the remaining coconuts back in one large pile.
As the night goes on, the third, fourth and fifth man all do the same thing - steal one-fifth of the remaning coconuts, with one coconut going to the monkey each time.
In the morning, since no one will admit he stole anything overnight, they divide up the remaining coconuts among the 5 men. This time the coconuts divide evenly - nothing left over for the monkey.
How many coconuts did they begin with?
Note: there are multiple possible right answers. Your task is to find the
lowest possible right answer.
If you're very good at math, this will take you 5-10 minutes to solve. If you're only average, it will take much much longer. [!--emo&
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