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Numbered Balls in Test Tubes 2 (Posted on 2020-08-10) Difficulty: 2 of 5
Three test tubes contain numbered balls. The first tube can contain three balls, the middle tube two, and the last tube only one. They start out in the configuration shown at left, and your task is to move one ball at a time from one tube to another without exceeding the tube's capacity, until the numbered balls are in the configuration on the right.

What's the minimum number of moves of individual balls and what's the sequence of moves?

 | |                      | |
 |3|   | |        ====>   |3|   | |
 |1|   |2|   | |          |2|   | |   |1|
  =     =     =            =     =     =

From Daily Brain Games calendar 2020, by HAPPYneuron, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, MO. Puzzle for July 10.

See The Solution Submitted by Charlie    
Rating: 3.0000 (1 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
re: two ways Comment 5 of 5 |
(In reply to two ways by hoodat)

Nice hack.  Inspired by Method 2, here's a five move solution that ends with balls in specified tubes.


1.  Ball 2 to tube 3
2.  Ball 3 to tube 2
3.  Ball 2 to tube 2
4.  Ball 1 to tube 3
5.  Upend tube 2 into tube 1

  Posted by xdog on 2020-08-12 10:49:55
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