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Fake coins again, but now the scale is broken, too

Source: Germany 2014 - Problem 5

December 4, 2022
combinatoricsweightscoins

Problem Statement

There are 99 visually indistinguishable coins, and one of them is fake and thus lighter. We are given 33 indistinguishable balance scales to find the fake coin; however, one of the scales is defective and shows a random result each time. Show that the fake coin can still be found with 44 weighings.