On Friday I posted this puzzle. This triangle is constructed from 10 coins. What is the smallest number of coins that need to be moved to make the triangle point downwards?
If you have not tried to solve it, have a go now. For everyone else the answer is after the break.
The answer is…..three!
Did you solve it? Any other answers?
I have produced an ebook containing 101 of the previous Friday Puzzles! It is called PUZZLED and is available for the Kindle (UK here and USA here) and on the iBookstore (UK here in the USA here). You can try 101 of the puzzles for free here.
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July 25, 2011 at 6:02 am |
The answer was hinted at in my reply to the puzzle, 3 seconds.. 3 moves.
July 25, 2011 at 6:06 am |
Just turn your monitor, or walk to the other side of the table. Then you need to move 0 coins…
July 25, 2011 at 7:00 am
I like this answer.
July 25, 2011 at 7:45 am
If the triangle is flat on a table then it doesn’t point downwards, wherever you stand
July 25, 2011 at 7:50 am
Had the same idea, but turnig the monitor would include that all coins where moved ….
Walking around the talbe includes that the the coins are not arranged pointing downward… (rather forward or backward)….
Flipping the whole universe.. includes moving all other coins…
Just redefine upward as downward and downward as upward… than it is not even necessarry to walk around the table..
July 25, 2011 at 8:54 am
No need to flip the whole universe, you just have to move the earth so that gravity points in the opposite direction!
July 26, 2011 at 6:58 pm
… or tilt your head 60 degrees to one side
July 25, 2011 at 6:23 am |
As I was doodling with bearing balls some time ago I came up with a figure that combines those two triangles (think of adding three circles instead of moving them). I realized then that it is the Star of David and there is a central circle which represents Messiah and then 12 circles surrounding it. This answered my never vocalized question why Jesus had to have 12 apostles.
July 25, 2011 at 6:26 am
Uh… Right… No…
July 25, 2011 at 6:57 am
WTF?
July 25, 2011 at 7:00 am
WTF? Its a puzzle, chap, not a religious forum. Maybe find a more appropriate site to express your religious balls theory?
July 25, 2011 at 7:33 am
Erm, guys, I think there’s a tongue very firmly in Leszek’s cheek here!
July 25, 2011 at 6:25 am |
Got it
July 25, 2011 at 6:28 am |
Hang on, hang on. This solution doesn’t make sense. Which three from the top triangle are removed? Can the coins be numbered 1-10 to show where they end up in the answer?
I’m so confused!
July 25, 2011 at 6:42 am
Original layout:
10
8,9
5,6,7
1,2,3,4
Solved one:
1,8,9,4
5,6,7
2,3
10
July 25, 2011 at 6:45 am
top to bottom left to right are 1-10.
10 becomes the downwards point
7 and 1 goes to the base either side of 2 and 3
July 25, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Oh yeah…. I’m such an idiot. Thanks for both the explanations.
July 25, 2011 at 7:17 am |
I don’t need to move any coins, or change the orientation. I simply add 18 coins to make the triangle point downwards (albeit creating a larger triangle).
July 25, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Hmmm would that not involve moving 18 coins?
July 25, 2011 at 7:20 am |
Woohoo! I got it. Not too hard.
July 25, 2011 at 8:03 am |
I “got it” insofar as I already knew the answer for this is another puzzle that’s quite classic.
July 25, 2011 at 8:10 am |
got it. may be 10 sec
July 25, 2011 at 8:21 am |
Got it fairly quickly, and for once, I must acknowledge the local church, where we go every Christmas for helping me with this puzzle. There is a stained glass wall with a similar circular pattern, and a picture of some biblical scene. I spent numerous hours trying to find the biggest triangles possible, and in what directions they could be made. Time well spent.
July 25, 2011 at 9:25 am |
What are the other solutions people were claiming?
July 25, 2011 at 9:43 am |
Got it.
July 25, 2011 at 10:51 am |
Nope, i thought that the triangle is made with balls, standing on a table and our job is to make to fall the triangle point downwards by removing balls.
But which can be the triangle point ? In this case we have three of them.
July 25, 2011 at 2:58 pm |
I solved it in Excel.
July 25, 2011 at 3:24 pm |
My reply on Friday also hinted at the solution. The central core of the diagram looks like flower with a center circle and six petal circles. Once you see that pattern, it is easy to see how the additional three circles on the periphery can be moved around to make the arrow point in the desired direction.
July 25, 2011 at 4:06 pm |
I got 4 because, like a complete fool, I failed to take symmetry into account
July 25, 2011 at 6:50 pm |
For once I can say that I completely figured out this one!
Yep, three.
July 25, 2011 at 10:05 pm |
Turning myself (first answer) was not answering the question about moving the coins. 3 was my second answer, moving 2 then 1. I have seen it before though.
July 27, 2011 at 9:14 am |
Solved it real quick! Think i’ve seen it before though….
July 27, 2011 at 10:26 pm |
it depends on your definition of “downward.” you didn’t say “straight downward”, so theoretically, you could keep it as is and have the left point of the triangle be the bottom.