Four friends are gathered at a pub. They have in front of them two 8-pint trankards full of beer, and an empty 3-pint mug.

Since they are still sober, they quickly calculate that they have 16 pints for the four of them, which comes out to an even 4 pints per person.

Can they divide the beer equally with the containers they have available?

with one, 8-pint fill 2 cups up(3 pints) leaving 2 pints in it. fill another cup full, using the 2 pints and taking 1 from the other 8 pint making 3 cups needing 1 more pint. and 7 pints left. fill the last cup up leaving 4 pints left. pour half of the remaining into the other 8-pint container, then pour the 2 pints into 2 cups, half each. and do the same with the remaining 2.

Posted by bob on 2002-06-12 10:48:22