A French foreign legion general must make a trip across the deserts of Tunis to a remote outpost. He must travel on foot from the nearest town, and the distance is such that it will take a person six days to cover it.
The problem is that a person on foot can only carry enough water and provisions to last him four days. The general can take with him any number of assistants to help him carry the supplies, but they must be fed as well, and cannot be left stranded in the desert.
How will the general make it across, and how many assistants will he need to help him? (Find the smallest number.)
(In reply to
re: More efficient answer by TomM)
haven't looked at the solution yet...and I'm not sure if someone has said this, but I'll put my thought anyway...
The general has two assistants...One stops after one day, gives his two day's supplies he won't need to the general and other assistant, and takes the remaining day to go back to the starting place.
Assistant two goes another day with the general, so again they only have three day's worth of supplies. He need two day's worth to get back, and gives his last day to the general.
And voila, the general has four day's worth of supplies to make his way across the desert!
re: re: More efficient answer
