The Altarians use an interesting number system.
In Altarian, the natural numbers 1 to 5 are written r, s, sr, s/s, and ss. For what it's worth, the Altarians use z for 0.
Thus, s/s+ss=sr/sr and ssr+sr/sr=s/s/s/s. Obviously, s/s*ss=s/s/ss.
Give the Altarian equivalents of the Earth numbers 21 and 36.
Too easy? How about 37 and 38?
r = 1
s = 2
sr = 3
s/s = 4
ss = 5
eqn 1: s/s+ss = sr/sr
eqn 2: ssr+sr/sr = s/s/s/s
eqn 3: s/s*ss = s/s/ss
If + means + (addition)
/ means * (multiplication)
* means * (multiplication)
Then
For eqn 1:
s/s+ss = 4+5 = 9
sr/sr = 3*3 = 9
For eqn 3:
s/s*ss = 4*5 = 20
s/s/ss = 4*5 = 20
So equations 1 and 3 are explained with consistent rules.
The problem is figuring out what concatenation means.
For eqn 2:
s/s/s/s = 2*2*2*2 = 16
ssr+sr/sr = ssr + 3*3 = ssr + 9
suggests that ssr = 7
So how does 221 mean 7?
sr is like 21 and it means 3
ss is like 22 and it means 5
So it can't mean addition, multiplication, or exponentiation.
sr might be: 1^2 + 2^1 = 3
ss might be 1^2 + 2^2 = 5
ssr? 1^2 + 2^2 + 3^1 = 8 instead of 7
if ssr is grouped as (s)(sr) then 1^2 + 2^3 = 5 instead of 7
if ssr is grouped as (ss)(r) then 1^5 + 2^1 = 3 instead of 7
What if s refers somehow to primes?
s followed by nothing is the zero-th prime, 2
sr is like s1 the first prime, 3
ss is like s2, the 2nd prime, 5
s(sr) could mean the 3rd prime, 7. This fits.
21: 7*3 ... ssr/sr
36: 3*3*4 ... sr/sr/s/s
37: This is the 11th prime by our counting system (2 is the 0-th prime)
But 11 is the 4th prime
s/s is 4
ss/s is 11, the 4th prime
sss/s is 37 the 11th prime
38: This is 2 times 19, 19 is the 7th prime
ssr is 7
sssr is 19, the 7th prime
sssr/s 19*2 = 38
|
|
Posted by Larry
on 2025-05-30 17:20:24 |
Solution, not certain is is correct
