Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6872415 | Discrete Applied Mathematics | 2014 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Consider a line of n nickels and n pennies with all nickels arranged to the left of all pennies, where nâ¥3. The puzzle asks the player to rearrange the coins such that nickels and pennies alternate in the line. In each move, the player is allowed to slide k adjacent coins to new positions without rotating. We first prove that for any integer kâ¥2 it takes at least n moves to achieve the goal. A well-known optimal solution for the case k=2 matches the lower bound. We also give optimal solutions for the case k=3.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Computer Science
Computational Theory and Mathematics
Authors
Ting-Yu Lin, Shi-Chun Tsai, Wen-Nung Tsai, Jong-Chuang Tsay,