ERIC Number: EJ971017
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0746-8342
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Tower and Glass Marbles Problem
Denman, Richard T.; Hailey, David; Rothenberg, Michael
College Mathematics Journal, v41 n5 p350-356 Nov 2010
The Catseye Marble company tests the strength of its marbles by dropping them from various levels of their office tower, to find the highest floor from which a marble will not break. We find the smallest number of drops required and from which floor each drop should be made. We also find out how these answers change if a restriction is placed on the number of marbles allocated for testing. Investigating this puzzle motivates algorithmic thinking, and leads to an interesting recursive solution.
Descriptors: Structural Elements (Construction), Mathematics, Tests, Problem Solving, College Mathematics, Research, Evaluation Methods, Mathematical Logic
Mathematical Association of America. 1529 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-741-9415; Tel: 202-387-5200; Fax: 202-387-1208; e-mail: maahq@maa.org; Web site: http://www.maa.org/pubs/cmj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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