Friday, July 19, 2013

More Math, Less Fighting #3

This one is also from The Moscow Puzzles and expands on the idea of yesterday's problem.
White and Black 
Take 4 black and 4 white checkers (or 4 pennies and 4 other coins) and put them on a table in a row, white, black, white, black, and so on. Leave a vacant place at one end which can hold 2 checkers. After 4 moves, all the black checkers should be on one side and the white ones on the other. 
A move consists of shifting 2 adjacent checkers, keeping their order, into any vacant space.
Solution from the book to appear in the comments tomorrow.

10 comments:

Michael Haz said...

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26).

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

"More Math, Less Fighting" with a serial number after it.

I think that's very, very good.

rhhardin said...

What do you ask natives who always try to deceive to find out the way to the village?

You ask, "Do you know that they're giving away free beer in the village?"

No matter what he says, follow him.

rhhardin said...

There's no timetable for getting the derailed NYC garbage train back on the tracks.

rhhardin said...

12 cars were derailed.

They can get them back on the tracks in 4096 moves.

rhhardin said...

If you use a Grey Code method, you can re-rail the cars in 2730 moves.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

THIS is why home schooled children are smarter, better educated and more able to THINK than those poor children who are processed like sausages in our abysmal public education system.

Challenge their young brains and they WILL rise to meet the test.

Freeman's children are blessed

deborah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
deborah said...

Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, 'it might have been.'

Oh, how I wish I could go back and have the patience and grace to home school. It could have been so fun, but I would have driven my kids and myself crazy with my need for solitude.

Freeman Hunt said...

Solution:

__WBWBWBWB
BWWBWBW__B
BWWB__WWBB
B__BWWWWBB
BBBBWWWW__