Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Three Jug Problem with tri linear coordinates


One of the famous problem in Mathematics is : Suppose you have 3 jugs of size 3 gallon, 5 gallon and 8 gallons. At the beginning 8 gallon jug is full, then how can you measure 4 gallons without spilling. Also there are no submarks on jugs. The solution to this problem can be had by trial and error and it takes 7-8 steps depending on when you start counting. The following solution is based on the tri linear co-ordinate system which always elicit an aha response from anyone who sees it for the first time. This is a problem which is so simple that any one can solve it with some effort and when you see the solution infact bunch of solutions using the graphical method it instantaneously drives home the message why mathematics is so fascinating !

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