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Riddle #1: Water Container

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by cmellon, Feb 17, 2003.

  1. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    I have decided to post some pure logic riddles focusing on some fairly simple reasoning solution to see if any of you is interested. If I got a lot of response, I will post many other riddles.

    Here is the first one:

    You have two water containers. The first container is a 3-gallon container, and the other is a 5-gallon container. You want to take 4-gallon of water from a river using just those two containers. You can't use approximation, it has to be exactly 4-gallon of water, and there is no other container except those two.

    How would you do it?
     
    #1 cmellon, Feb 17, 2003
  2. codell

    codell Member

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    You fill the 3-gal container up half way and the 5-gal container half way. That would be 4 gallons total. :)

    Of course, it cant be that easy and I am sure I missed it somehow.
     
    #2 codell, Feb 17, 2003
  3. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    Nope. You use approximation when you fill the containers up half way. You can't really measure exact half containers.

    Try again.
     
    #3 cmellon, Feb 17, 2003
  4. getsmartnow

    getsmartnow Member

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    Wasn't this riddle in 'Die Hard: With Avengance' ?
     
    #4 getsmartnow, Feb 17, 2003
  5. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    If it was, I'm not aware of it. But I got tons of really good logic riddles with pure reasoning solution. No gimmicks.

    Btw, there are two solutions to this riddle.
     
    #5 cmellon, Feb 17, 2003
  6. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    You take the water buckets, knock out the hermit living by the river, and steal 4 gallons of arrowhead he's been stocking for the terrorist alert.

    next question...
     
    #6 moestavern19, Feb 17, 2003
  7. drapg

    drapg Member

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    how about this?

    1. fill up the 5 gallon container.
    2. take the contents of the 5-gallon container to fill up the 3-gallon container. (now you have 2 gallons of water in the 5-gallon container)
    3. empty out the 3-gallon container
    4. transfer the 2 gallons of water from the 5-gallon container into the 3-gallon container
    5. fill up the 5 gallon container
    6. fill up the 3-gallon container with water from the 5-gallon container
    7. you should now have 4 gallons of water in the 5-gallon container.

    do i win something? ;)
     
    #7 drapg, Feb 17, 2003
  8. SmeggySmeg

    SmeggySmeg Member

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    Fill 5 up, pour into 3

    empty the 3 out and this leaves 2L in the 5L

    pour this into 3

    Fill 5 again and pour into 3 until the 3 is full which should mean 1L has been taken out of the full 5L

    giving 4 L
     
    #8 SmeggySmeg, Feb 17, 2003
  9. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    Hahaha... nice try.

    Like I said, I promise my riddle has a real solution based on fairly simple reasoning.
     
    #9 cmellon, Feb 17, 2003
  10. codell

    codell Member

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    Ok I got it. I knew there wasn't an easy solution.

    Fill up the 5 gal container completely and empty as much as you can into the 3 gal container. Then empty the 3 gal container and pour what is left in the 5 gal container (2 gals) into the 3 gal container. Then fill up the 5 gal container again and poor as much as you can into the space that is left in the 3 gal container.

    That should leave you with exactly 4 gals in the 5 gal container. :D
     
    #10 codell, Feb 17, 2003
  11. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    drapg and SmeggySmeg got it. This is too easy. I post some others.

    Another solution:

    1. Fill up the 3-gallon container.
    2. Pour it in the 5-gallon container.
    3. Fill up the 3-gallon container again.
    4. Pour it in the 5-gallon container until it's full, and you have 1
    gallon water left in the 3-gallon container.
    5. Pour out the water from 5-gallon container back to the river.
    6. Transfer the 1-gallon water in the 3-gallon container to the
    5-gallon container.
    7. Fill up the 3-gallon container.

    You end up with 3-gallon water in the 3-gallon container and 1-gallon water in the 5-gallon container for a total of 4-gallon water.
     
    #11 cmellon, Feb 17, 2003
  12. codell

    codell Member

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    A woman has 7 children, half of them are boys.
    How can this be possible?
     
    #12 codell, Feb 17, 2003
  13. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    One of her kids is a hermaphrodite. Too easy, way too easy:p


    edit: had strange feeling after i posted this that some might take it seriously, please don't.
     
    #13 Oski2005, Feb 17, 2003
  14. codell

    codell Member

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    The funny thing is, thats the first thing that popped into my mind too. heh heh heh

    Wrong answer though.
     
    #14 codell, Feb 17, 2003
  15. LeisureSuitMoochie

    LeisureSuitMoochie Member

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    All 7 children are boys, therefore half are boys, the other half are also boys.
     
    #15 LeisureSuitMoochie, Feb 18, 2003
  16. Falcons Talon

    Falcons Talon Member

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    "Shoot the hostage."
     
    #16 Falcons Talon, Feb 18, 2003
  17. MoBalls

    MoBalls Member

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    It doesnt matter............Michael Jackson would let all of them sleep with him in his bed..........ooh that wasnt right........
     
    #17 MoBalls, Feb 18, 2003
  18. Jebus

    Jebus Member

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    I didn't look at any replies yet..

    how about this:

    fill up the 5, pour it into the 3. This leaves you with 2 in the 5 gallon.
    discard the 3.
    pur the 2 gallons from the 5 into the 3.
    fill up the 5.
    pour from the 5 into the 3 (1 gallon to fill it).
    then you have four gallons in the 5 gallon container.

    right?
     
    #18 Jebus, Feb 21, 2003
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