The Tower of Hanoi

In the temple of Banares, says he, beneath the dome which

marks the centre of the World, rests a brass plate in which
are placed 3 diamond needles, each a cubit high and as thick
as the body of a bee. On one of these needles, at the
creation, god placed 64 discs of pure gold, the largest disc
resting on the brass plate and the others getting smaller and
smaller up to the top one. This is the tower of brahma. Day
and night unceasingly the priests transfer the discs from one
diamond needle to another according to the fixed and
immutable laws of brahma, which require that the priest on
duty must not move more than one disc at a time and that he
must place this disc on a needle so that there is no smaller
disc below it. When the 64 discs shall have been thus
transferred from the needle on which at the creation god
placed them to one of the other needles, tower, temple and
Brahmans alike will crumble into dust and with a thunder clap
the world will vanish.
Edouard Lucas (1884) Probably

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

A
Illegal Move

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

A
Demo 3
tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
3 Tower
7 Moves

The Tower of Hanoi

Confirm that you can move a 3 tower to another peg in a minimum
of 7 moves.
Investigate the minimum number of moves required to move
different sized towers to another peg.
Try to devise a recording system that helps you keep track of
the position of the discs in each tower.
Try to get a feel for how the individual discs move. A good way
to start is to learn how to move a 3 tower from any peg to
another of your choice in the minimum number of 7 moves.
Record moves for each tower, tabulate results look for patterns
make predictions (conjecture) about the minimum number of
moves for larger towers, 8, 9, 10,64 discs. Justification is
needed.
How many moves for n disks?

Investigation

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

A
4 Tower show

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
4 Tower
15
Moves

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

A
5 Tower show

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower

The Tower of
Hanoi
5 Tower
31
Moves

The Tower of Hanoi

Discs

Moves

15

31

63

127

255

64

264? -1

2n?- 1

Un = 2Un-1 + 1

This is called a
recursive function.

Why does it happen?

Can you find a way to write

this indexed number out in
full?
How long would it take at a
rate of 1 disc/second?
Results Table

Can you use your calculator and knowledge of the

laws of indices to work out 264?
264 = 232 x 232

4294967296
x
4294967296
2 5 7 6 9 8 0 3 7 7 6
3 8 6 5 4 7 0 5 6 6 4 0
8 5 8 9 9 3 4 5 9 2 0 0
3 0 0 6 4 7 7 1 0 7 2 0 0 0

2 5 7 6 9 8 0 3 7 7 6 0 0 0 0
3 8 6 5 4 7 0 5 6 6 4 0 0 0 0 0
1 7 1 7 9 8 6 9 1 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 8 6 5 4 7 0 5 6 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 5 8 9 9 3 4 5 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8
1 7 1 7 9 8 6 9 1 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

264 1 =

1 8 4 4 6 7 4 4 0 7 3 7 0 9 5 5 1 6 1 65

Trillions

Billions

Millions

18446744073709551615
Moves needed to transfer all 64 discs.
How long would it take if 1 disc/second was moved?

264 1
5.85x 1011 years
(60x 60x 24x 365)
585 000 000 000 years
Seconds in a year.

The age of the Universe is currently put at between

15 and 20 000 000 000 years.

The Tower of Hanoi

Discs

Moves

15

31

63

127

255

2n - 1

This is called a
recursive function.

Un = 2Un-1 + 1

The proof depends first on

proving that the recursive
function above is true for all n.
Then using a technique called
mathematical induction. This is
quite a difficult type of proof to
learn so I have decided to leave it
out. There is nothing stopping you
researching it though if you are
interested.

We can never be absolutely certain that the minimum number of

moves m(n) = 2n 1 unless we prove it. How do we know for sure that
the rule will not fail at some future value of n? If it did then this
would be a counter example to the rule and would disprove it.
Results Table

2
1

3
5

Points

Regions

5
n

16
2n-1

31

A counter example!

Historical Note

Edouard Lucas
(1842-1891)

The Tower of Hanoi was invented by the French

mathematician Edouard Lucas and sold as a toy in 1883.
It originally bore the name ofProf.Claus of the college
of Li-Sou-Stain, but these were soon discovered to be
anagrams for Prof.Lucas of the college of Saint
Loius, the university where he worked in Paris.

Lucas studied the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, (named

after the medieval mathematician, Leonardo of Pisa). Lucas may have
been the first person to derive the famous formula for the nth term
of this sequence involving the Golden Ratio: 1.61803 (1 + 5).
Lucas/Binet
formula

Fn

(1 5)n (1 5)n

(1180-1250)

2n 5

Lucas also has his own related sequence named after him: 2,1,3,4,7,11, He
went on to devise methods for testing the primality of large numbers and
in 1876 he proved that the Mersenne number 2127 1 was prime. This
remains the largest prime ever found without the aid of a computer.

2127 1 = 170,141,183,460,469,231,731,687,303,715,884,105,727

Histori
cal
Note

The Kings Chessboard

According to an old legend King Shirham of India wanted to
reward his servant Sissa Ban Dahir for inventing and presenting
him with the game of chess. The desire of his servant seemed
very modest: Give me a grain of wheat to put on the first
square of this chessboard, and two grains to put on the second
square, and four grains to put on the third, and eight grains to
put on the fourth and so on, doubling for each successive square,
give me enough grain to cover all 64 squares.
You dont ask for much, oh my faithful servant exclaimed the
king. Your wish will certainly be granted.
Based on an extract from One, Two, ThreeInfinity, Dover Publications.

Kings
Chessboard

How many grains of wheat are on the chessboard?

1

16

32

64

nth

2n-1

64

-1

The King has

a problem.

The sum of all the grains is:

Sn= 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + .+ 2n-2 + 2n-1

We need a formula for the sum of this Geometric series.

If Sn= 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + .+ 2n-2 + 2n-1
2Sn= ?21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + .+ 2n-1 + 2n
2Sn Sn= ?2n - 20
S n = 2n - 1

Large
numbers

Reading Large Numbers

The numbers given below are the original (British) definitions which are
based on powers of a thousand. They are easier to remember however if you
write them as powers of a million. They are mostly obsolete these days as the
American definitions (smaller) apply in most cases.

Million

1 000 0001 = 1 000 000 = 106

Billion*

1 000 0002 = 1000 000 000 000 = 1012 (American Trillion)

Trillion

1 000 0003 = 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 = 10 18

Quadrillion

1 000 0004 = 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 = 10 24

Quintillion

1 000 0005 = 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 = 10 30

Sextillion
Septillion

1 000 0006 = 1036

1 000 0007 = 1042

Googol 10

100
10100

Googolplex 10

Upper limit
of a
scientific
calculator.

* The American billion is = 1 000 000 000 and is the one in common usage. A
world population of 6.4 billion means 6 400 000 000.

Reading very large numbers

Edouard Lucas
(1842-1891)

To read a very large number simply section off

in groups of 6 from the right and apply Bi, Tri,
Quad, Quint, Sext, etc.

2127 1 = 170 141 183 460 469 231 731 687 303 715 884 105 727
One hundred and seventy sextillion,
one hundred and forty one thousand, one hundred and eighty three quintillion,
four hundred and sixty thousand, four hundred and sixty nine quadrillion,
two hundred and thirty one thousand, seven hundred and thirty one trillion,
six hundred and eighty seven thousand, three hundred and three billion,
seven hundred and fifteen thousand, eight hundred and eighty four million,
one hundred and five thousand, seven hundred and twenty seven.

Reading very large numbers

To read a very large number simply section off in groups of 6
from the right and apply Bi, Tri, Quad, Quint, Sext, etc.

Try some of these

M
Q
B
T
41 183 460 385 231 191 687 317 716 884

Q
Q
M
T
B
57 786 765 432 167 876 564 875 432 897 675 432
Q
Q
T
S
M
B
9 412 675 987 453 256 645 321 786 765 786 444 329 576
Q
S
Q
T
M
B
S
678 876 543 786 543 987 579 953 237 896 764 345 675 876 453 231

How big is a Googol?

Googol 10

100

Upper limit
of a
scientific
calculator.

10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000.
1 followed by 100 zeros
The googol was introduced to the world by the American
mathematician Edward Kasner (1878-1955). The story goes that
when he asked his 8 year old nephew, Milton, what name he
would like to give to a really large number, he replied googol.
Kasner also defined the Googolplex as 10googol, that is 1 followed
by a googol of zeros.
Do we need a number this large? Does it have any physical meaning?
Google

How big is a Googol?

Googol 10100
10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000.
1 followed by 100 zeros
We saw how big 264 was when we converted that many seconds
to years: 585 000 000 000 years. What about a googol of
seconds? Who many times bigger is a googol than 2 64? Use your
scientific calculator to get an approximation.

100

10
80

5.4
x
10
264
Google

So 5.4x 1080 x 5.85x 1011

3x1092 years.

How big is a Googol?

Googol 10

100

Upper limit
of a
scientific
calculator.

10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000.
Supposing that the Earth was composed
solely of the lightest of all atoms
(Hydrogen), how many would be
contained within the planet?

Earth Mass = 5.98 x 1027 g

5.98x 1027
51

3.58
x
10
Googol
24
1.67x 10
The total number of a atoms in the
universe has been estimated at 1080.

Hydrogen atom
Mass = 1.67 x 10-24g

Is there a quantity as large as a Googol?

Find all possible arrangements for the sets of numbered cards below.

1 2

1 2 3

1, 2

3, 1, 2

2, 1
2

Can you write the number of

arrangements as a product of
successive integers?

4, 3, 1, 2

4, 1, 2, 3

4, 2, 3, 1

1, 3, 2
1, 2, 3

3, 4, 1, 2

1, 4, 2, 3

2, 4, 3, 1

3, 1, 4, 2

1, 2, 4, 3

2, 3, 4, 1

3, 2, 1

3, 1, 2, 4

1, 2, 3, 4

2, 3, 1, 4

4, 1, 3, 2

4, 3, 2, 1

4, 2, 1, 3

1, 4, 3, 2

3, 4, 2, 1

2, 4, 1, 3

1, 3, 4, 2
1, 3, 2, 4

3, 2, 4, 1
3, 2, 1, 4

2, 1, 4, 3

2, 3, 1
2, 1, 3

Objects

arrangements

n!

2x1

3x2x1

24

4x3x2x1

120

5x4x3x2x1

Factorials

1 2 3 4

2, 1, 3, 4

What about if 5 is introduced.Can

24 you see what will happen?

n! is read as n factorial).

1 2 3 4 5
120

Is there a quantity as large as a Googol?

The number of possible arrangements of a set of n objects is given
by n! (n factorial). As the number of objects increase the number
of arrangements grows very rapidly.
How many arrangements are there
for the books on this shelf?

8! = 40 320

How many arrangements are there

for a suit in a deck of cards?

13! = 6 227 020 800

Is there a quantity as large as a Googol?

The number of possible arrangements of a set of n objects is given
by n!.(n factorial) As the number of objects increases the number
of arrangements grows very rapidly.

16 3 2 13
5 10 11 8

How many arrangements are there for

placing the numbers 1 to 16 in the grid?

9 6

7 12
4 15 14 1

16! = 2.1 x 1013

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
How many arrangements are there
for the letters of the Alphabet?

26! = 4 x 1026

Is there a quantity as large as a Googol?

The number of possible arrangements of a set of n objects is given
by n!.(n factorial) As the number of objects increases the number
of arrangements grows very rapidly.
Find other factorial values on your calculator. What is the
largest value that the calculator can display?
20!

2.4 x 1018

30!

2.7 x 1032

40!

8.2 x 1047

50!

3.0 x 1064

52!

8.1 x 1067

60!

8.3 x 1081

69!

1.7 x 1098

70!

Error

70! 10100 = Googol

So although a googol of physical
objects does not exist, if you
hold 70 numbered cards in your
hand you could theoretically
arrange them in a googol number
of ways. (An infinite amount of
time of course would be needed).

What about a Googolplex?

A Googolplex 10

googol

A number so big that it can

never be written out in full!
There isnt enough ink,time
or paper.

10

1010 1 with a 100 zeros (a googol)

103

1 with a 1000 zeros

106

1 with a 1 000 000 zeros

10
10

1012

10

The table shown gives

you a feel for how
truly unimaginable this
number is!

10100

1 with a 1 billion zeros

18

1010 1 with a 1 trillion zeros

1024

1 with a quadrillion zeros

1030

1 with a quintillion zeros

1036

1 with a sextilion zeros

10
10
10

42

1010 1 with a septilion zeros

10100

10
Googolplex

1 with a googol zeros

And
Finally

2000 digits on a page.

How many pages needed?

10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.

10100

A Googolplex 10

1 followed by 10100 zeros .

10100
96
Pages needed

5
x
10
2x103

The End!

The Tower of Hanoi

In the temple of Banares, says he, beneath the dome which
marks the centre of the World, rests a brass plate in which
are placed 3 diamond needles, each a cubit high and as thick
as the body of a bee. On one of these needles, at the
creation, god placed 64 discs of pure gold, the largest disc
resting on the brass plate and the others getting smaller and
smaller up to the top one. This is the tower of brahma. Day
and night unceasingly the priests transfer the discs from one
diamond needle to another according to the fixed and
immutable laws of brahma, which require that the priest on
duty must not move more than one disc at a time and that he
must place this disc on a needle so that there is no smaller
disc below it. When the 64 discs shall have been thus
transferred from the needle on which at the creation god
placed them to one of the other needles, tower, temple and
Brahmans alike will crumble into dust and with a thunder clap
the world will vanish.
Worksheets

The Tower of Hanoi

Tower of Hanoi
Confirm that you can move a 3 tower to another peg in a minimum
of 7 moves.
Investigate the minimum number of moves required to move
different sized towers to another peg.
Try to devise a recording system that helps you keep track of
the position of the discs in each tower.
Try to get a feel for how the individual discs move. A good way
to start is to learn how to move a 3 tower from any peg to
another of your choice in the minimum number of 7 moves.
Record moves for each tower, tabulate results look for patterns
make predictions (conjecture) about the minimum number of
moves for larger towers, 8, 9, 10,64 discs. Justification is
needed.
How many moves for n disks?

2
1

Points
2
3
4
5
n

3
5

Regions

Reading very large numbers

To read a very large number simply section off in groups of 6
from the right and apply Bi, Tri, Quad, Quint, Sext, etc.

Try some of these

41 183 460 385 231 191 687 317 716 884

57 786 765 432 167 876 564 875 432 897 675 432

9 412 675 987 453 256 645 321 786 765 786 444 329 576

678 876 543 786 543 987 579 953 237 896 764 345 675 876 453 231