Other Puzzles

This week a logic Jia Zi Sudoku puzzle with eight given digits was presented. In accompany to this difficult puzzle, a very interesting logic puzzle with equal difficulty is presented for reader to solve.

This is one of my favorite logic puzzles. I encountered this puzzle when I was serving in the Chinese Marine Corps (中國海軍陸戰隊, zhong guo hai jun lu zhan dui) between 1968 and 1969 on an island offshore of Taiwan. A second lieutenant (少尉 shao wei) asked me this Twelve balls puzzle (十二球問題, shi er qiu wen ti) during an outing on the way back to our base in an evening. When I showed him my answer two hours later, he was surprised that my answer was different from his. Later I found out this puzzle actually having numerous solutions.

This Twelve balls puzzle is excellent for logic exercise. It is not as easy as you may think. A correct answer is not very simple but a little complicated. A successful solution should cover all possible cases.

Here is the puzzle:

Twelve green-balls all look alike. They all have same weight, except one is slightly different with no information on its weight. Given a simple double-pan balance (秤, cheng) with no weights, can you find the odd ball with only three weighing (秤三次, cheng san ci) and be able to tell whether it is lighter or heavier?

十二個一模一樣的綠色球.只有一個重量稍微不同.現給您一個簡單且沒有砝碼的雙盤天平秤.您能只秤三次就將它找出,並知道是輕些還是重些嗎?(本題答案需包含所有的可能性.解有許多個.難度倒是和本週只給八個已知數的"甲子數魔"邏輯題相當.)

十二个一模一样的绿色球.只有一个重量稍微不同.现给您一个简单且没有砝码的双盘天平秤.您能只秤三次就将它找出,并知道是轻些还是重些吗?(本题答案需包含所有的可能性.解有许多个.难度倒是和本周只给八个已知数的"甲子数魔"逻辑题相当.)

Drjsguo 5-25-2007

This is another one of my favorite puzzles. A coworker sent me this quiz via an e-mail few years ago. At first I wasn’t paying much attention so I ignored it. Shortly, that e-mail had generated many responds for more clarification and discussion floating around the cyberspace. I then realized this puzzle is not an ordinary one.

When I started working on it, amazingly the puzzle turned alive. Imagine all digits jump around if you change them fast enough for searching the correct answer. It is a fantastic feeling. It is recommended that you solve it on a computer to experience the digits jumping. This puzzle has two solutions.

Fill in the blanks:

"In this sentence the number of occurrences of 0 is __, of 1 is __, of 2 is__, of 3 is __, of 4 is __, of 5 is __, of 6 is __, of 7 is __, of 8 is __, of 9 is __."

Each blank is to be filled with a numeral of one or more digits.

在底下的空格裡請填入個位數或多位數數字:

“在這句話裡頭一共有__ 個 0, __ 個 1, __ 個 2, __ 個 3, __ 個 4, __ 個 5, __ 個 6, __ 個 7, __ 個 8, __ 個 9.”

本題應有兩個答案.

在底下的空格里请填入个位数或多位数数字:

“在这句话里头一共有__ 个 0, __ 个 1, __ 个 2, __ 个 3, __ 个 4, __ 个 5, __ 个 6, __ 个 7, __ 个 8, __ 个 9.”

本题应有两个答案.

Drjsguo 6-1-07


				*Other Puzzles*



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		Number and Logic Puzzles Twelve Balls Puzzle 十二球問題 This week a logic Jia Zi Sudoku puzzle with eight given digits was presented. In accompany to this difficult puzzle, a very interesting logic puzzle with equal difficulty is presented for reader to solve. This is one of my favorite logic puzzles. I encountered this puzzle when I was serving in the Chinese Marine Corps (中國海軍陸戰隊, zhong guo hai jun lu zhan dui) between 1968 and 1969 on an island offshore of Taiwan. A second lieutenant (少尉 shao wei) asked me this Twelve balls puzzle (十二球問題, shi er qiu wen ti) during an outing on the way back to our base in an evening. When I showed him my answer two hours later, he was surprised that my answer was different from his. Later I found out this puzzle actually having numerous solutions. This Twelve balls puzzle is excellent for logic exercise. It is not as easy as you may think. A correct answer is not very simple but a little complicated. A successful solution should cover all possible cases. Here is the puzzle: Twelve green-balls all look alike. They all have same weight, except one is slightly different with no information on its weight. Given a simple double-pan balance (秤, cheng) with no weights, can you find the odd ball with only three weighing (秤三次, cheng san ci) and be able to tell whether it is lighter or heavier? 十二個一模一樣的綠色球.只有一個重量稍微不同.現給您一個簡單且沒有砝碼的雙盤天平秤.您能只秤三次就將它找出,並知道是輕些還是重些嗎?(本題答案需包含所有的可能性.解有許多個.難度倒是和本週只給八個已知數的"甲子數魔"邏輯題相當.) 十二个一模一样的绿色球.只有一个重量稍微不同.现给您一个简单且没有砝码的双盘天平秤.您能只秤三次就将它找出,并知道是轻些还是重些吗?(本题答案需包含所有的可能性.解有许多个.难度倒是和本周只给八个已知数的"甲子数魔"逻辑题相当.) Drjsguo 5-25-2007 Counting Puzzle 填數遊戲 This is another one of my favorite puzzles. A coworker sent me this quiz via an e-mail few years ago. At first I wasn’t paying much attention so I ignored it. Shortly, that e-mail had generated many responds for more clarification and discussion floating around the cyberspace. I then realized this puzzle is not an ordinary one. When I started working on it, amazingly the puzzle turned alive. Imagine all digits jump around if you change them fast enough for searching the correct answer. It is a fantastic feeling. It is recommended that you solve it on a computer to experience the digits jumping. This puzzle has two solutions. Fill in the blanks: "In this sentence the number of occurrences of 0 is __, of 1 is __, of 2 is__, of 3 is __, of 4 is __, of 5 is __, of 6 is __, of 7 is __, of 8 is __, of 9 is __." Each blank is to be filled with a numeral of one or more digits. 在底下的空格裡請填入個位數或多位數數字: “在這句話裡頭一共有__ 個 0, __ 個 1, __ 個 2, __ 個 3, __ 個 4, __ 個 5, __ 個 6, __ 個 7, __ 個 8, __ 個 9.” 本題應有兩個答案. 在底下的空格里请填入个位数或多位数数字: “在这句话里头一共有__ 个 0, __ 个 1, __ 个 2, __ 个 3, __ 个 4, __ 个 5, __ 个 6, __ 个 7, __ 个 8, __ 个 9.” 本题应有两个答案. Drjsguo 6-1-07