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There are 10 stacks of 10 coins each. Each coin weights 10 gms. However, one stack of coins is defective and each coin in that stack weights only 9 gms. What is the minimum number of weights you need to take to find which stack is defective? How?
Explanation :
No Best Answer on this question yet!Asked In : Tech Mahindra
The trick in solving this puzzle lies in creating a weighted stack for measurement. You can find the defective stack in one measurement. How? You take 1 coin from the first stack, 2 coins from the second, 3 from the third and so on. In total you will have 55 coins. If all of them were non-defective, they would weigh 550 gms. If stack 1 is defective, the measure would read 549 gms. If stack 2 is defective, you will read 548 gms. and so on. So by taking one measurement you can identify, which is the defective stack.
