Liquid Assets
At the reading of their father's will, 3 sons of a wine merchant learn their father left them:
7 full barrels of wine
7 half barrels of wine
7 empty barrels
The will stipulates that each son receive the same number of full barrels, half full barrels, and empty barrels.
The lawyer, reading the will, exclaims "Oh my goodness ... how is this possible?"
- Zaux
7 full barrels of wine
7 half barrels of wine
7 empty barrels
The will stipulates that each son receive the same number of full barrels, half full barrels, and empty barrels.
The lawyer, reading the will, exclaims "Oh my goodness ... how is this possible?"
- Zaux
Labels: logic, SharedPuzzle, thinktank
posted by Rajesh Lal at
5:05 AM
11 Comments:
Liquid Assests
Total # barrels = 7+7+7 =21
Total volume of wine = 7*1+7*0.5= 10.5 barrels
divide the barrels by 3
21/3=7
divide the wine by 3
10.5/3=3.5
Pour the wine to give each son 3.5 barrels
i.e.
1 son takes
3 full barrels, 1 half full barrels
3 empty barrels
2nd son takes
3 full barrels, 1 half full barrels, 3 empty barrels
3rd son is left with
1 full barrel, 5 half full barrels, 1 empty barrel
He pours 2 half empty barrels into the other half barrels, leaving him with:
3 full barrels, 1 half full barrel, 3 empty barrels
Cam
Fill 7 empty barrels from the full barrels = 21 half full barrels.
Give the ungrateful , money grubbing progeny 7 half filled barrels each.
They all get the same number of full barrels - 0, empty barrels - 0 and half full barrels - 7.
A third approach . . .
Tip half of a full barrel into an empty one.
Each son then gets 2 full, 3 half and 2 empty barrels.
Empty, Half Full, Full
0,7,0
1,5,1
2,3,2
3,1,3
for all the possible ways to do it.
Cam
How do you accurately pour half a barrel?
Chris, I agree that without special equipment you can't accurately measure out half a barrel.
You could try a variation of the old schoolboy approach to dividing a cake equally, i.e. one cuts and the other chooses which half he wants. In this case one pours and the other chooses.
Cam's approach (the 3,1,3 division) avoids this problem, so he should get the prize.
Hi Wiz. I agree with you. That's was the real meaning of my question.
While Chris and WoOz are trying to find a way of equally distributing wines between casks - consider decreasing the quantity of sons - disposing of 2...
Or am I still working on the deer thinning problem...?
For the record, my answer was going to be:
Each son takes one half full barrel. Two of the remaining half barrels are used to fill the other two half barrels. Each son then takes three full barrels and three empty barrels (and their half full barrel).
Karl .... in Scotland, would that be son culling or murder? ... depending upon what side of the law one is on!
Here in New Orleans, the three sons and the lawyer would drink until all the barrels are empty. They'd soon refill the barrels through normal bodily functions and leave all 21 of them for the trash man to collect.
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