Phi? Like a circle with a vertical line through it? Don't see how that helps...
@dleon,
pi - phi was a typo. The LC
loves pi.
AHH well that certainly changes things. XD OKAY I finally got it. I guess I won't be in the top 250 though.
Thanks guys!
im having trouble getting to the answer. it still doesnt make any sence to me ? help.
This puzzle was based on the digits of pi (3.14159 etc). Start at letter 3 (W), then count 1 letter (H), then 4 (O), etc. You'll get the phrase, "WHO BROUGHT ABOUT THE FAERIES RUIN", and the answer, as you'll remember from the recent plot, is Xandra.
New one is out: (prize: Eo Codestone)
A faerie gave a codestone to three lucky pets. The next day, those three pets each gave a codestone to another pet. The next day, those pets gave codestones to four other pets. The next day, those pets each gave a codestone to one other pet. The next day, those pets gave codestones to five other pets. And so on, in a fairly recognizable pattern.
Assuming each pet in Neopia received only one codestone, how many days would it take for every pet in Neopia to receive a codestone? Please round up to the nearest full day, and submit only the number as your answer.
pretty straightforward. i already submitted.
Agreed, straight-forward math. Use a spreadsheet. Oh, if you need it, the number of Neopets in Neopia is on the home page. Click the Neopets logo on the top left.
@lennyfan,
Well wouldn't the number of neopets change every day? People are always creating new pets...
yes -- people Are always creating new pets.
but if you work it out, you'll find that after a few days the numbers start to grow astronomically. people would have to create a WHOLE BUNCH of pets for that to effect your answer.
I understand the math, but is the pattern Pi again? 3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, etc. or is it 3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 1, 6, 1, 7, etc.?
@skutn1em,
That is an open question and I personally went with the latter. However, given the LC's fondness for pi, I think I was pretty likely wrong.
well, i choose the 'pi' interpretation of the sequence, based on past LC puzzles and when i saw the series 3,1,4,1,5 that was the first thing that popped into my mind.
but since, pi was part of the solution to last week's, it may be a red herring.
the 3,1,4,1,5,1,6 pattern is an equally "fairly recognizable pattern"
unless TNT wanted to reinforce the 'pi' aspect of the LC yet again (since last week's solution Could have been arrived at by a relevant-wild guess.) <shrug>
so, take your pick i suppose -- both lennyfan and i are typically correct. it's rare that our answers disagree.
another area of debate that has arisen is the actual word-for-word interpretation of the problem: "each" does not appear in every line describing the transactions.
make of this what you will.
to clarify the semantic debate:
"A faerie gave a codestone to three lucky pets."
hmm.. the use of the indefinite article 'a' in the phase "a codestone" opens the questions as to whether the pets were expected to share a single codestone, or each was given one. were 3 given out, or just the 1?
"The next day, those three pets each gave a codestone to another pet." -- that's clear enough. on the second day, 3 pets get a codestone (3 new ones for this day).
"The next day, those pets gave codestones to four other pets." -- note this line does Not use the word "each." so, does that mean that only 4 codestones were given out this day? or are we to take it to mean that 12 (3 pets x 4 codestones) were handed out?
how you decide to interpret these vague inconsistencies will effect your final answer.
perhaps i've been trained too well to nitpick about language.
words do have specific meanings, but often they imply more than one.
when certain contexts are considered, those meanings can become ambiguous.
For Example: once i discovered the last week's question "WHO BROUGHT ABOUT THE FAERIES RUIN?" i was severely tempted to write in to TNT that, if i were representing Xandra in a court of law i could successfully argue that, in fact, the Faerie's ruin was brought on by the faeries themselves, and specifically Fyora. -- all 3 answers should have been acceptable.
Xandra would not have done what she did without the influence of Fyora and her minions. They gave her both cause And means (by training her and oppressing Neopia). in effect, the faerie's ruin was brought on by the faeries themselves.
@jjbuttcrack,
I just came across this thread =)
but Umm I'm on that one too, but knowing myself, I don't do the conundrums. I am trying for the avatar this time since it seems fairly simple.
but on a piece of paper I just done like 'Day 1' on the left hand side and drew circles for each pet and since there are 54 species I put numbers above the circles and I followed the pattern 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6 and so on. But I do not know if I am doing it correctly. Its seems a little to simple for the conundrum but I'm guessing they throw something simple out there to throw people off and make them over think the problem. *shrugs*
@SquidToes,
You didn't read the question very well. They ask: "How many days would it take for every pet in Neopia to receive a codestone?" Note, 'every pet in Neopia,' which means all 270 million.
in fact there are 270.177.012 neopets...
@jjbuttcrack,
well, "The next day, those pets gave codestones to four other pets" i think that is 4 codestones out in total that day... but in the first phrase, i THINK that the 3 neopets only have 1 codestone... i think, im not sure lol
The next day, those pets gave codestones to four other pets... how many codestones they gave that day??? it just said gave codestones... not how many.
