Mindboggling question

sirskizalot

sirskizalot

Active member
Ok, so this question may blow your minds, or you might figure it out really easily( i think it was on Jay Leno).

You have to buckets:one bucket holds 3liters and one bucket holds 5liters, you have unlimited water, how do you get one of the buckets to hold 4 liters?

Remember: all you have is the 2 buckets and unlimited water (no mesuring tools or anything and it must be exactly 4 liters)

If you figure out the answer right away dont say it yet, wait till thursday or somthing.

GO!
 
can you assume the buckets are very thin, so the 3L one would displace 3L of water?
 
with my superior estimating skills, haha, yeah I was joking about the halfway stuff, I've seen this problem before.
 
nope i'm gonna have to take this one.

get 3L bucket full, pour into 5L, fill 3 L again and pur into 5L leaving 1L in bucket. empty 5 litre bucket and fill with remaining 1L and another full 3L bucket = 4L
 
it's an easy way to do it. fill 5L bucket, displace 3L, pour that into 3L bucket. fill 5L bucket again, displace 3L again, pour the 2L from the 3L bucket into the big bucket.
 
Alright I think i got it.

Fill the 5 liter one up. pour it into the 3 liter until the three liter is full. dump the three liter bucket and put the rest of the 5 liter bucket's water (2 liters now) into the 3 liter bucket. Now refill the 5 liter, and fill up the 1 liter missing in the 3 liter bucket, andddd you have 4 liters.
 
fill 9, displace 4L, leaving 5. pour that into the 4L bucket, leaving 1 L in the big bucket. pour out the 4L and put the 1L into it. fill the big one and displace 4 leaving 5 again, pour 1L from the small bucket into it.
 
I KNOW I KNOW! fill each bucket half way and then pour the 3 liter buck water into the 5 liter! WOOP
 
I enjoy Gabriel's horn, infinite surface area, yet finite volume, meaning you can fill the inside to the brim with paint, but it won't ever have paint covering all of the surface area even after filling it to the brim
 
thats what i came up with too before scrolling down. i think most people are starting to think too complicated
 
yeah it's actually pretty damn easy. just think about moving the water back and forth between them and you'll get it
 
Question: How do you get one of the buckets to hold 4L of water

Answer: Since one of the buckets is capable of holding 5L of water it is also capable of holding 4L of water. The question asks nothing about filling the bucket with water *)
 
you fill the 5l one until it reaches the top and then what you will have left in the 3l is 1l.

get it?
 
I did it a little different.

Put the 3 litre bucket into the 5 litre bucket. Fill the whole thing up and take the 3 litre bucket out--thus leaviing 2 litres of water in the 5 litre bucket. Then the rest is the same.
 
fill the five liter bucket up, put the 3 L bucket inside the 5Lone; the smaller bucket should displace 3 L so there is 2 L left in the big bucket. Poor that water in the 3L bucket. Repeat the process so there is 2 L in the 5L bucket again, then poor the 2L from the 3 L bucket in so there is 4L in the 5L bucket.
 
yea just noticed how hard it would be to fill one half way. heres my new answer.... I cant believe im still doing this. Fill the 5l bucket all the way. pour out the 5 liter bucket into the 3 liter bucket until its full. pour out the 3 liter bucket. with a maker (i dont remember if he said you could use one or what) mark how much is in the 5 liter left. Pour the remains of the 5 liter bucket into the 3 liter. (now 2 liters in the 3 liter bucket.) fill the 5 liter bucket back up to the marker line and now pout the 2 liters from the 3l bucket into the 5 liter bucket. and you have 4 liters in the 5 liter bucket. Wow i dont think anyone would under stand that
 
seal-I-has-a-bucket.jpg

 
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