Solve Me

outaline

You have 12 red snooker balls. 11 of them are the same weight and one of them is a different weight. With only three goes of using a balance weighing scales, you must find the ball with the different weight and tell if it's heavier or lighter than the other balls. Solve.

Figment

can you put on the balls one at a time for each weighing?

Dave

I got it!!

You weigh 4 balls at a time then u take away the normal weith of the 4 balls from the slightly lighter one and you got the weight, something like that.

-Dave

Cloud

Sounds similar to one of these:

http://www.boards.ie/puzzles/

John.
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Figment

You still have to find the one ball!

Cloud

I was just going to say "where's it say it's lighter?!".

I wonder is he going to tell us there's only 9 balls after all!

J.
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Hobbes

Offer to sell the scales to someone if they will give you the answer?

Easy peesey.

a) First weigh them all. Like so.

123456 - 7890AB

b) Now for arguments sake the left side is lighter so we do this...

123 - 456

c) Now lets say the left side is lighter again so we do this.

14 - 53

If the left is lighter then it was ball 1.
If the right is lighter then it was ball 3.
If they weigh the same then it was ball 2.

Paladin

That was one of
"Paladins Puzzles" tm.@copyright 2000

FreaK_BrutheR

The puzzle is to find the lighter ball not to find a similar puzzle John "Cloud-Warrior" Breslin

1- Put 6 on one side 6 on the other. Heaviest side does not contain light ball.

2- Put 3 from the lighter side on one side 3 on the other. Heaviest side does no contain light ball.

3- put 1 of 3 left on either side. If they balance, the one not on scales is the light one. If one goes down the other is the light one.

D'OH! it doesn't say its lighter! i feel so unnecessary!

[This message has been edited by FreaK_BrutheR (edited 27-10-2000).]

LegacyUser

Why is it lighter for arguments sake?

darthmise

take 3 groups of 4 balls
two groups will way the same
take the group that weight is different and add 2 balls
U now have six balls split into 3 groups of two
repeat previos steps and get down to 3 balls.
two weigh the same, the other will obviously be heavier or lighter than the other 2.
(i think)

Skulka

11x +-y = t ...(1)

+-y = t/11x ...(2)

11x +-t/11x = t [replace solved y in eq (1)]
x = t² ...(3)


From the above equations we only need weight sum and the sign for y. Here is how we
extract them...

1) Divide 12 balls into 4 groups.
(3w, 3x, 3y and 3z)
2) Find weighted sum of all groups.
t is found. Next sign of y...
3) Find balanced pair by balancing two
pairs of groups. Since if one group does
not balance eg. 3w:3x we know that 3y:3z
will balance.
4) Combine the balanced pairs eg. 3y+3z
6yz. Combine unbalanced pairs eg. 3w:3x
6wx.
6) Find out if difference is positive or
negative by balancing the combined pairs
against eachother eg. 6yz:6wx. Found
sign.
7) Use equations to solve for weight of x
and y.
This isnt the full answer but its contributes to it id like to see what the answer is because it seems impossible.!

Dotsie~tmp

Bleh I hate puzzels, they are so ..ehh...puzzling.

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Dotsie
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