Mum gave me a Puzzle of the Day calendar for Christmas. I thought I might post some of these, perhaps one a week?
Today's puzzle (no its not the 1 Jan puzzle) is:
Ten red socks and ten blue socks are all mixed up in a dresser drawer. The twenty socks are exactly alike except for their colour. The room is in pitch darkness and you want two matching socks. What is the smallest number of socks you must take out of the drawer in order to be certain that you have a pair that matches?
11 comments:
3, this is a test my Dad gives all the potential In-laws from his kids down to the grandkids!!!
I would have no clue as to how to figure that out Mel, lol, sorry. Maybe eleven?!?
I thought four, but then Nancy came with the three, which I know is right, because I've heard the puzzle before...
Two. Who the heck cares what colour socks you wear and anyway, I like to be different. whistle whistle.............Cant you just tell that this is my "I'm going to be awkward" year. te he
Yep...three. with two you have a 50/50 chance of being wrong but with three...then two of the socks will match since you are only dealing with 2 color variables.
When I first read out the question I over-thought the answer and thought well depending on what sock you pulled out first you would then need to pull another 10 socks to guarantee a match with the first one. Then mum read out the answer as 3 and I went d'oh!
Of course its three - as Nate the Teacher has so nicely explained!
Another puzzle next week .... or later today if I get bored with stitching .....
Yeah, these things drive me crazy, because I usually over-think them. Given enough room, I can rationalize just about any answer - that's why I prefer essay tests, and absolutely hate true/false. Probably why I also blow at math :)
LOL Karen - I'm the same. My EMT test every three years is a nightmare for me because I tend to have a really hard time taking JUST the information in the question and not read into it.
I also initially thought 11, but once Nat so nicely explanied it, it made perfect sense!!
sorry...it is true though I cannot hide the teacher in me.
Nor should you - its a facet of your personality and thus should never be hidden !!!!
Anyway - I can't wait until I get to a medical question and Dr Steph will pipe up, or a question on Morse code for Mariann to comment on etc etc etc. But yes Teacher Nate, we do expect you to get most of these right :) :) :) :)
Oh no....I am not very good at puzzles, sometimes I just get lucky
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