A man runs his car out of gas thereby completely emptying his 16 gallon tank. He only has a 3, a 6, and a 11 gallon container (and fortunately a wagon to carry the containers in) in his trunk. He has nothing else in which he can carry gas. He walks a few miles to a gas station, and as luck would have it the gauge on the pump is broken so he can not use that to measure the fuel. He is in a pretty remote area with only one gas station for miles. Gas costs $3.09⁹, and he only has a $50. Using only the containers provided, and only walking once to and from the gas station, how can he get exactly 16 gallons of gas into his car?

(In reply to Alternate Solution by Guest)

Again, I like your thinking, but I disagree with the last statement. If the gauge on the pump is broken, it can not meter gas, therefore it could not be programmed to shut off at 16 gallons.

Still not the solution I was looking for.

Posted by jduval on 2007-09-23 10:54:38