1SmartEngineer

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A gang of 17 thieves stealls a bag of gold coins....

I saw this riddle at EngineeringDaily.net and I cannot figure it out. Here is goes, A gang of 17 thieves steals a bag of gold coins. In trying to share the coins equally, there are three coins remaining. In the ensuing fight over these three coins, one of the gang members is killed. In the next attempt to equally distribute the coins, there are 10 coins remaining. Again the gang fights, and another member dies. The third attempt is successful.

What is the smallest number of coins stolen?

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engineering, stock market, ..., e.g. finance

Posted 2009-04-29T04:51:31Z
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FB91Kev

30 answers

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3930.

However, the real answer is not the number but how I got there. ;)

Posted 2009-05-06T18:53:52Z

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George~

2815 answers

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If it's funny, laugh. If it isn't funny, laugh anyway!

So, How did you get there pray tell...?

Posted 2009-05-06T19:03:14Z

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FB91Kev

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It's actually posted on the sight ... but I did it a different way first.

17x + 3 = 16y + 10 = 15z = Total Coins.

Key: x, y, and z are INTEGERS. So, count up from 15 by 15s (z rule here) to get to the solution.

0 (t-3)/17 (t-10)/16 15 0.705882 0.3125 30 1.588235 1.25 45 2.470588 2.1875

... etc ...

3885 228.3529 242.1875 3900 229.2353 243.125 3915 230.1176 244.0625 3930 231 245

Note: Excel is such a cheat!

Posted 2009-05-06T19:17:23Z

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George~

2815 answers

582 helpful answers

If it's funny, laugh. If it isn't funny, laugh anyway!

Thanks Kev, 2 thumbs up!

Pretty basic I guess, but I never let that class interupt my naps....

Have a good one....George~

Posted 2009-05-06T19:40:42Z

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OronD

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Love is the battery of life....

Hi, -------- You can do it without calculation using Excell. At column A type 1, 2, 3 etc..... (1 at A1, 2 at A2, 3 at A3..... etc). at B1 type = A1 * 17 + 3 -------- at C1 type = A1 * 16 + 10 and at D1 type = A1*15..... Drag it down.... It's clear that the number you are looking ends with 5 or 0 so chech what number (that ends with 5 or 0) appear at all 3 columns. It will take you 3 minutes and you find that the answer is 3930. ---------- Best regards,

Posted 2009-05-10T05:33:02Z

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