A French foreign legion general must make a trip across the deserts of Tunis to a remote outpost. He must travel on foot from the nearest town, and the distance is such that it will take a person six days to cover it.

The problem is that a person on foot can only carry enough water and provisions to last him four days. The general can take with him any number of assistants to help him carry the supplies, but they must be fed as well, and cannot be left stranded in the desert.

How will the general make it across, and how many assistants will he need to help him? (Find the smallest number.)

the general needs 4 days provision at the end of two days. Assistant needs two days provision to go back. minum he needs to give one days provision to general. day before both have to have 4 days provision they have to receive two days provision from another person. Hence two assistants required 

 

Posted by salil on 2006-02-25 12:35:38