Wednesday, November 11, 2009

a big pair of....


(jugs by Gary Rith)

I came across this puzzle, which is not exactly what I would call easy to understand:

You have 2 jugs. A 5 gallon jug and a 7 gallon jug. There are no marks on the jug to show the difference between each gallon.

How do you get 6 gallons exactly?

The Answer:

First fill up the 5 gallon jug and pour it into the 7 gallon jug. Now there are exactly 5 gallons in the 7 gallon jug. Then fill the 5 gallon jug up again and pour as much as possible in the 7 gallon jug. Only 2 more gallons will fit in the 7 gallon jug so there will be 3 gallons left in the 5 gallon jug. Next pour out the 7 gallon jug and pour the three gallons that are in the 5 gallon jug into the 7 gallon jug. There should now be 3 gallons in the 7 gallon jug. Now fill the 5 gallon jug up again and pour as much that will fit into the 7 gallon jug. Only 4 gallons will fit so there should be 1 gallon left in the 5 gallon jug. Again pour out the 7 gallon jug. Pour the 1 gallon the is in the 5 gallon jug into the 7 gallon jug. There should now be one gallon in the 7 gallon jug. Now fill up the 5 gallon jug and pour all of it in the 7 gallon jug. That plus the 1 gallon that is already in there equals to 6 gallon.
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15 comments:

  1. Nancy L.K. BoyceNovember 11, 2009 at 8:29 AM

    Hey Gary- I haven't been keeping up with the blogs! Your new one looks FAB! Love the jugs!

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  2. AnonymousNovember 11, 2009 at 9:06 AM

    Hey Gary, nice jugs! But I'm sure you get that a lot! :-)

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  3. JayNovember 11, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    That's a lot of math at 8:14 am. I'm just gonna take your word for it. haha ;-)

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  4. klineolaNovember 11, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    Have to send this one over to Doug! There oughtta be more math with jugs/pottery. Don't you think? I'll propose this at the next Board of Education meeting!!

    Excellent.

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  5. cindy shakeNovember 11, 2009 at 11:01 AM

    I love the glaze on your pitchers!! Beautiful.

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  6. AnonymousNovember 11, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Haha that is way too much math for me this early in the morning!

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  7. Real Live LesbianNovember 11, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    Cute jugs! And no math, please. My brain just exploded!

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  8. Susan as HerselfNovember 11, 2009 at 2:12 PM

    All I know is, I need a cold beer after reading that math problem. And I don't care how much is in the glass. :D

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  9. UnknownNovember 11, 2009 at 4:27 PM

    You lost me, kid, after about the second pour. I'll take your word for it, okay? and maybe forward it to my son, the engineer, who's good with numbers and see if he agrees. Aside from that, the jugs really ARE beautiful and a nice crisp cold beer would be loverly.

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  10. Michèle HastingsNovember 11, 2009 at 9:53 PM

    ...way to much math for me!

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  11. denisNovember 12, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    this was a fun post!

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  12. LyndaNovember 12, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    Hey, I actually get it. Didn't I see something similar in some Mel Gibson (one of the Lethal Weapon) movies or maybe a Samuel L Jackson movies... darn, now I can't remember.

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  13. LyndaNovember 12, 2009 at 10:45 AM

    This is almost like the Lethal Weapon problem for Mel Gibson and Danny Glover - remember???

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  14. soubriquetNovember 12, 2009 at 1:01 PM

    If I understand it right, and i probably don't, because I'm numerically challenged, or, as they say here, "as thick as two short planks".
    But... if I understand right, in order to get six gallons exactly, you pour out fourteen gallons. Hope that's not wasted beer.
    Hm.
    Them's big jugs. A seven galloner would contain nearly sixty pounds weight of water!

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  15. Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_FullNovember 12, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    I would have filled up the 5 gallon jug and poured it into the 7 gallon jug. Then, I would have filled up the remaining space 1/2 way in the 7 gallon jug. That would be 5 plus half the space of 7 gallons, equaling 6 gallons.

    But, that's just me... :-D

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