I'm posting one puzzle, riddle, math, or statistical problem a day. Try to answer each one and post your answers in the comments section. I'll post the answer the next day. Even if you have the same answer as someone else, feel free to put up your answer, too!
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Pen is Mightier than the Pig
How can you build pig pens so you can put nine pigs in four pens such that each pen has an odd number of pigs?
Hmmm...none of these answers work. The outer pen in each case has no pig of its own, it just surrounds the inner pens. My answer is the most dubious of all, with only the one central pen containing any pigs.
That some puzzles are unsolvable is a solution in itself!
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Could the pens be four concentric circles, with all the pigs in the middle?
ReplyDeleteMaybe one large pen, separated into 3 smaller pens with 3 pigs each?
ReplyDeleteDoes that count?
Put three pigs into each of three pens. Then build the fourth pen around the first three pens.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...none of these answers work. The outer pen in each case has no pig of its own, it just surrounds the inner pens. My answer is the most dubious of all, with only the one central pen containing any pigs.
ReplyDeleteThat some puzzles are unsolvable is a solution in itself!