All about flooble | fun stuff | Get a free chatterbox | Free JavaScript | Avatars    
perplexus dot info

Home > Logic > Weights and Scales
Yet one more coin sorting problem (Posted on 2004-05-31) Difficulty: 3 of 5
You have five coins, apparently alike, but actually of different weights. You also have a two arm scale.

Can you manage to sort the coins in ascending order, using the scale only seven times?

Bonus question: can it be done in fewer weighings?

See The Solution Submitted by Federico Kereki    
Rating: 4.0000 (4 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
re(2): Solution based on the O-Sort sorting algorithm | Comment 13 of 20 |
(In reply to re: Solution based on the O-Sort sorting algorithm by Charlie)

Ack!  You're absolutely correct.

The O-Sort is different from the shell sort in a cuople of ways.  the shell sort starts with a step size of 3 where the O-Sort starts with a step size of n/2-1, and the shell sort decrements the step by 1 whereas the O-Sort's step size decrements by some factor between .78 and .86, depending on which version.

I never tested the O-Sort on a sample size this small before.


  Posted by Erik on 2004-06-02 13:11:05
Please log in:
Login:
Password:
Remember me:
Sign up! | Forgot password


Search:
Search body:
Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (14)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:
Copyright © 2002 - 2024 by Animus Pactum Consulting. All rights reserved. Privacy Information