Yet another hard weighting problem
Source: Kvant Magazine No. 5 2023 M2749
January 9, 2024
combinatoricsweights
Problem Statement
We have coins, one of which is fake, which differs in weight from the real ones and a two-pan scale which works correctly if the weights on the pans are different, but can show any outcome if the weights on the pans are equal. For what can we determine which coin is fake and whether it is lighter or heavier than the real coins, in at most weightings?Proposed by A. Zaslavsky