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72930

Retired
May 16, 2006
9,060
4
Can someone spot what this pattern is, and in doing so find what starting (numbers) have a finite sequence:

1: 1, 11, 21, 1112, 3112, 211213, 312213, 212223...
2: 2, 12, 1112, 3112...
3: 3, 13, 1113, 3113, 2113, 211213...
4: 4, 14, 1114, 3114, 211314, 31121314, 41122314, 31221324...
 

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
Can someone spot what this pattern is, and in doing so find what starting (numbers) have a finite sequence:

1: 1, 11, 21, 1112, 3112, 211213, 312213, 212223...
2: 2, 12, 1112, 3112...
3: 3, 13, 1113, 3113, 2113, 211213...
4: 4, 14, 1114, 3114, 211314, 31121314, 41122314, 31221324...

It's verbal. Each term is gotten by 'reading' the previous term.

For example, the top sequence starts with a 1 (or one 1), so the next term is 11, that is read as two 1's so the next term is 21, that is read as one 1, one 2, or 1112, and so on.

Edit: There seems to be a typo in sequence 3
3: 3, 13, 1113, 3113, 2123, 112213...

Edit2: None of the sequences are finite, but the sequence starting at 22 will just be 22,22,22,22,22,...
 

xlii

macrumors 68000
Sep 19, 2006
1,867
121
Millis, Massachusetts
Just going back to the original cat problem in post #1. The question says the girls are on the bus and the backpacks are on the bus and the big cats are in the backpacks so they are also on the bus...

BUT...

It doesn't say where the little cats are... so... it is just as valid to assume that the little cats are not on the bus so you do not count their legs...
 

Frisco

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 24, 2002
2,475
69
Utopia
Just going back to the original cat problem in post #1. The question says the girls are on the bus and the backpacks are on the bus and the big cats are in the backpacks so they are also on the bus...

BUT...

It doesn't say where the little cats are... so... it is just as valid to assume that the little cats are not on the bus so you do not count their legs...

Finally someone who was confused like myself. Makes me feel like less of an idiot now.

At least I got this great thread started with some very interesting math problems.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
It doesn't say where the little cats are... so... it is just as valid to assume that the little cats are not on the bus so you do not count their legs...
It also doesn't mention how many boys, adults, centipedes, or pianos are in the bus, so, yes, it's poorly specified.
 

penter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2006
600
29
Just going back to the original cat problem in post #1. The question says the girls are on the bus and the backpacks are on the bus and the big cats are in the backpacks so they are also on the bus...

BUT...

It doesn't say where the little cats are... so... it is just as valid to assume that the little cats are not on the bus so you do not count their legs...

lol just work out the problem however you can, and try inputting it into the spreadsheet's password. you'll get it eventually, i'm sure. it wasnt that hard lol

Now i just want to know if the spreadsheet should be uploaded after imputting my name, or something...
 

Baron58

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2004
450
3
Ok, since you asked. ;)

There are 3 doors. Behind 1 door lies immense wealth and riches. Behind the other two lie certain death.

A guard asks you to choose a door and you pick #2. The guard then reveals to you what's behind Door #1 and you see that behind it was one of two chances of certain death.

The guard now asks you if you would like to change your selection from Door #2 to Door #3.

Mathematically is there a probability increase that benefits you if you change doors?

BTW, I don't know the answer to this, but I've seen it thrown around a few times

Yes. You're always better off switching.
 

twistedlegato

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2006
1,494
1
This one stumped me for a long time. I felt so stupid when i realized how easy it was.

"You are a bus driver. At your 1st stop you pick up 20 people. At your 2nd you drop off 10 and pick up 13. At your 3rd stop you drop off 11 and pick up 24. And at your 4th stop you pick drop off 7 people and pick up 9. What colour are the bus driver's eyes?"
 

EricNau

Moderator emeritus
Apr 27, 2005
10,728
281
San Francisco, CA
This one stumped me for a long time. I felt so stupid when i realized how easy it was.

"You are a bus driver. At your 1st stop you pick up 20 people. At your 2nd you drop off 10 and pick up 13. At your 3rd stop you drop off 11 and pick up 24. And at your 4th stop you pick drop off 7 people and pick up 9. What colour are the bus driver's eyes?"
Blue. :p

...That's a classic, although every time I've heard it, it ended with "How old is the bus driver?".
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,782
7,514
Los Angeles
It also doesn't mention how many boys, adults, centipedes, or pianos are in the bus, so, yes, it's poorly specified.
A bus has stopped and the driver and all passengers, pets, and other living creatures have gotten off, except that one centipede remains on the floor under a seat. On top of the same seat is a take-out food carton, in which a passenger accidentally left a turkey leg and a lucky rabbit's foot.

How many legs are on the bus?
 
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swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
Ok, since you asked. ;)

There are 3 doors. Behind 1 door lies immense wealth and riches. Behind the other two lie certain death.

A guard asks you to choose a door and you pick #2. The guard then reveals to you what's behind Door #1 and you see that behind it was one of two chances of certain death.

The guard now asks you if you would like to change your selection from Door #2 to Door #3.

Mathematically is there a probability increase that benefits you if you change doors?

BTW, I don't know the answer to this, but I've seen it thrown around a few times

This is a classic problem known as the Monty Hall problem. It is a classic example in conditional probability. If you don't switch the probability of winning is 1/3, if you do switch it is 2/3, so you should always switch.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
A bus has stopped and the driver and all passengers, pets, and other living creatures have gotten off, except that one centipede remains on the floor under a seat. On top of the same seat is a take-out food carton, in which a passenger accidentally left a turkey leg and a lucky rabbit's foot.

How many legs are on the bus?
The problem remains insufficiently specified, as centipedes - assuming non-mutant ones with all of their legs - have between 30 (the typical number) and 354 legs. We at least need to know the species.

And there was no mention of the occurrence or lack thereof of non-biological legs.
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,782
7,514
Los Angeles
The problem remains insufficiently specified.
That is the correct answer. But you should have waited for somebody else to say 101, so we could tease them for not knowing their entomology.

There could also be legs on the bus seats, but we'll ignore that.
 
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