The firehouse problem
Parker's class was given this problem the other day. You have to put down the smallest number of firehouses such that each firehouse is only one block away from a house. The circles below are either a house or firehouse. Parker quickly got to 7 and thought that it was impossible to get any fewer, but had heard another kid got to 6. We all worked out it and got nowhere last night. I even emailed it to the Marcuses hoping one of those smart people down there would figure it out and fill us in.
Then I went shopping this morning and while I was there, I got a text from Michael with a picture of the solution with 6. Parker figured it out after he gave up and was working on another problem trying to do 3 blocks away.
Go ahead. Try it. If you get 6 in less than 24 hours, let us know. You'll be officially smarter than Parker.
2 comments:
Oliver and I looked at it for a few minutes and guessed there might be something non-obvious, like using a low value node or putting 2 firehouses adjacent. I went away, and about 5 minutes later he had it solved. He says he just got lucky. He had no strategy.
Yeah, I think the low value node was key. I knew you smart kids would figure it out. :)
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