Spot 1 of 99 purses with 2 fake coins using 3 weighings?

Question by Zo Maar

Each of 99 purses has 2 coins. One purse has 2 identical fake coins. All other coins are genuine.
Fake coins look like genuine coins, but they are somewhat lighter. The exact coins weights are
unknown. There is a balance that measures the weight difference between its two sides.

How to find fake coins using the balance 3 times?

Answer by Alex Smirnoff

Let’s think in terms of entropy and configuration space.

The configuration space is initially 1 out of 99.

Each weighting can produce 1 out of three outcomes:
greater
equal
less

The configuration space is reduced by three weightings by a factor 3x3x3 = 27, which is not
enough to reduce 99 to 1.

Hence we must treat the weightings more carefully. That is outcome of each weighting must be
+2
+1
0
-1
-2
but unless we catch two weightings to compare the ratio, we do not know how to discriminate
between 2 and 1.

Lets consider a a slightly different problem 124 purses with two good coins, and 1 purse with
two fake coins, each of which has 1 gram deficit of weight. Altogether we have 125 = 5³ purses.

Arrange the purses in cubic grid 5x5x5. Now each purse has integer coordinates [x,y,z] from the
range {-2,-1,0,+1,+2}.

Use three measurements to determine three coordinates x,y,z each in one measurement, and we
have coordinates [x,y,z] of the bad purse.

Coordinate z for example is measured by

taking 2 coins from each of 25 purses in bottom z = -2 layer and placing them on the left plate

taking 1 coin from each of 25 purses in the next z = -1 layer and placing them on the left plate

ignoring 25 purses in the middle z = 0 layer

taking 1 coins from each of 25 purses in the next z = +1 layer and placing them on the right plate

taking 2 coins from each of 25 purses in top z =+-2 layer and placing them on the right plate

The scale will immediately show one of five possible results {-2,-1,0,+1,+2} which is simply
equal to the value of z.

Three weightings is each x- y- and z-direction give the coordinates of unique bad purse.

But if do not know the value of deficit of weight of counterfeit coins in advance, then weighing
result
(0 gram, +1.3 gram, -1.3 gram) can point to either
purse [0,+1,-1] or the purse [0,+2,-2] and we would be unable to distinguish between them.

There are exactly 26 pairs of such collinear purses. Lets throw away 26 purses, those that are
neither on the surface, nor the one in the center, and now we have 98 spaces for purses on the
surface of the cube 5x5x5 and one purse [0,0,0] in the center. Altogether 98 + 1 = 99 perfectly
distinguishable spaces.

Now we weight the coins in the proportion

25*(-2) + 16*(-1) + 17*(0) + 16*(+1) + 25*(+2) and if the measurement comes out (0 gram,
+1.3 gram, -1.3 gram) we know that the purse [0,+1,-1] does not exist and hence the bad purse
must be [0,+2,-2].

Finally let’s relax the condition that counterfeit coins have equal weights. Note that each of 98
purses has at least one coordinate either +2 or -2. Hence except for the purse [000] sitting in the
center, at least one of three weighting will give us COMBINED deficit of weight of counterfeit
coins.

Say the measurement was

(+1.2g, -1.3g, -2.5g)
the largest component is 2.5g, which is combined deficit of weight. Such measurement evaluates
to the purse [+1,-1,-2]

Say the measurement was

(0g, +2.5g, -2.5g)
Such measurement evaluates to the purse [0 ,+2,-2]