Thread: HELP need a math brain teaser
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Old 10-30-2008, 05:28 PM
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AfterMyNap AfterMyNap is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
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15 yr Member
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4!

Sorry, she didn't ask for the answer, just the question, then I had to take a nap! The minimum number of cuts needed to be made is 4 for a chain with 119 links. If the links are numbered serially from 1 to 119, then the cuts would be made on the following links: 6, 17, 38, and 79.

Start paying with the cut links, 1+1+1+1, at the end of the fifth week, the 5-link piece is given and the 4 one-link pieces are taken back; at the end of the tenth week, the 10-link piece is given and the 4 one-link pieces as well as the 5-link piece are taken back, and so on.
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