Measuring four gallons with 5- and 3-gallon jugs
Question
You have an unlimited water supply, an unmarked 5-gallon jug and an unmarked 3-gallon jug. How can you end up with exactly 4 gallons?
Short answer
Fill, pour, empty, repeat. Fill the 5, pour into the 3 (leaving in the 5), empty the 3, pour the gallons into the 3, refill the 5, then top up the 3 (which needs just gallon), leaving exactly gallons in the 5. It works because , an integer combination of the jug sizes.
Adapted from Crack, Heard on the Street, Q5.5.13, p.55; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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