Viewing Single Post From: Math Challenge

Viewing Single Post From: Math Challenge
insecure	Oct 21 2005, 10:46 AM
Elite member Posts: 381 Group: Trusted Member Member #10 Joined: September 9, 2005	Revelation Oct 21 2005, 10:17 AM This looks like nonsense to me. First you claim he can hack 2n+2 computers a day. So y = 2n+2, where y is the number of PCs. Then you say that on the Nth day, he can hack N computers, so y=n. that makes n=2n+2=>n=-2, because a day in the month is also a day in the week. He actually said n2 + 2, not 2n + 2. I think he meant n * n + 2 (i.e. n to the power 2, plus 2). The following reasoning assumes this, but if he did mean 2n + 2 then the mathematics should be adjusted accordingly, but the logic still works even though the numbers will be different. So, during a week he can hack: Code: `Day Hackable machines 1 3 2 6 3 11 4 18 5 27 6 38 7 51` without going to jail. However, there is an additional constraint, which is that he can't hack more than n machines on day n of the month without being banned from hacking. So, if we keep this example simple by restricting our attention to January, where the beginning of the week coincides with the beginning of the month, the above table becomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 for the first week. In the second week, it becomes 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. In the third week, it will be 3, 6, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21. In the fourth, it will be 3, 6, 11, 18, 26, 27, 28. And the fifth week (in which we roll over to Feb halfway through), it will be 3, 6, 11, 1, 2, 3, 4. Get the idea now?


Math Challenge · Off-topic