[Prof. Templeton]

Long before Professor Templeton started his career at the Redrum University he had a job at Whiskey distillery in Tennessee. Once, while working there, it was found that a fellow employee was stealing whiskey from the same 40 gallon barrel every night that he worked and replacing it with water. The employee would drain 1 gallon of whiskey every time and fill the barrel back up with 1 gallon of water. This went on for 17 nights before the employee was finally confronted. Since he was a good worker otherwise, the management decided to dock him 1 day of pay for every gallon of whiskey that he took if he promised never to do it again. How many days pay did the employee lose?

[Guest]

Long before Professor Templeton started his career at the Redrum University he had a job at Whiskey distillery in Tennessee. Once, while working there, it was found that a fellow employee was stealing whiskey from the same 40 gallon barrel every night that he worked and replacing it with water. The employee would drain 1 gallon of whiskey every time and fill the barrel back up with 1 gallon of water. This went on for 17 nights before the employee was finally confronted. Since he was a good worker otherwise, the management decided to dock him 1 day of pay for every gallon of whiskey that he took if he promised never to do it again. How many days pay did the employee lose?

This problem requires more detail. But I will put my thoughts like this:

Since whiskey and water are immiscible then I would say he was docked 17 days pay since he probably made off with 17 gallons of whiskey.

He could skim off 1 gallon of whiskey from the top, pour in the gallon of water (which would sink to the bottom) and repeat the process for 17 days.

[Prof. Templeton]

This problem requires more detail. But I will put my thoughts like this:

Since whiskey and water are immiscible then I would say he was docked 17 days pay since he probably made off with 17 gallons of whiskey.

He could skim off 1 gallon of whiskey from the top, pour in the gallon of water (which would sink to the bottom) and repeat the process for 17 days.

For this puzzle lets assume that whiskey and water are miscible, or that the barrels are rotated often thereby mixing the contents, or if all else fails we'll change it to wine.

[Guest]

This problem requires more detail. But I will put my thoughts like this:

Since whiskey and water are immiscible then I would say he was docked 17 days pay since he probably made off with 17 gallons of whiskey.

He could skim off 1 gallon of whiskey from the top, pour in the gallon of water (which would sink to the bottom) and repeat the process for 17 days.

Water and alchol are highly miscible, if I were to to add water to my scotch then it would certainly mix, although I would prefer it neat!

It seems like this is going to be roughly 1 + 39/40 + 38/40 + .... + 24/40 = 13.6 gallons of whiskey

[Guest]

It seems like this is going to be roughly 1 + 39/40 + 38/40 + .... + 24/40 = 13.6 gallons of whiskey

Water and alchol are highly miscible, if I were to to add water to my scotch then it would certainly mix, although I would prefer it neat!

Exactly, in fact whiskey is largely water. Just because you can pour a black and tan doesn't mean that Guinness and Harp are immiscible!

My answer is similar

different.

on day 17, he has taken 13.99 gallons of the original whiskey.

So 14 days wages are docked if the owner is super nice, else he should just dock him 17.

Edited January 16, 2009 by xucam

[Guest]

For this puzzle lets assume that whiskey and water are miscible, or that the barrels are rotated often thereby mixing the contents, or if all else fails we'll change it to wine.

LOL. I kinda figured that was the case but I wanted to take the easy way out. It is Friday and all...

But if you insist they're miscible, then I will have to go with:

Since he'll be taking a "little less" than 1 gallon for every day since he replaced it with water then he'll end up taking 16.51525663 gallons of whiskey over 17 days so they should dock him ~16.5 days of pay.

[Guest]

My answer is similar

different.

on day 17, he has taken 13.99 gallons of the original whiskey.

So 14 days wages are docked if the owner is super nice, else he should just dock him 17.

Yours is correct, mine was an approximation because I was being lazy

[Guest]

Yours is correct, mine was an approximation because I was being lazy

Yeah, I did it your way first but it didn't quite make sense so I tried it again using these iterations. They are:

Day Gallons Whiskey in Barrel Total Taken that night

40

1 39 1

2 38.025 0.975

3 37.05 0.975

4 36.07564103 0.974358974

5 35.10193951 0.973701512

6 34.12893007 0.973009447

7 33.1566496 0.972280465

8 32.18513806 0.971511546

9 31.21443871 0.970699345

10 30.24459857 0.969840137

11 29.27566881 0.968929759

12 28.30770527 0.967963544

13 27.34076903 0.966936245

14 26.37492708 0.965841942

15 25.41025316 0.964673929

16 24.44682857 0.963424584

17 23.48474337 0.962085203

Total 16.51525663

[Guest]

Yeah, I did it your way first but it didn't quite make sense so I tried it again using these iterations. They are:

Day Gallons Whiskey in Barrel Total Taken that night

40

1 39 1

2 38.025 0.975

3 37.05 0.975

4 36.07564103 0.974358974

5 35.10193951 0.973701512

6 34.12893007 0.973009447

7 33.1566496 0.972280465

8 32.18513806 0.971511546

9 31.21443871 0.970699345

10 30.24459857 0.969840137

11 29.27566881 0.968929759

12 28.30770527 0.967963544

13 27.34076903 0.966936245

14 26.37492708 0.965841942

15 25.41025316 0.964673929

16 24.44682857 0.963424584

17 23.48474337 0.962085203

Total 16.51525663

For example can't be the same amount taken on second and third day. I'm pretty sure the answer is 13.99

[Guest]

Yeah, I did it your way first but it didn't quite make sense so I tried it again using these iterations. They are:

Day Gallons Whiskey in Barrel Total Taken that night

40

1 39 1

2 38.025 0.975

3 37.05 0.975

4 36.07564103 0.974358974

5 35.10193951 0.973701512

6 34.12893007 0.973009447

7 33.1566496 0.972280465

8 32.18513806 0.971511546

9 31.21443871 0.970699345

10 30.24459857 0.969840137

11 29.27566881 0.968929759

12 28.30770527 0.967963544

13 27.34076903 0.966936245

14 26.37492708 0.965841942

15 25.41025316 0.964673929

16 24.44682857 0.963424584

17 23.48474337 0.962085203

Total 16.51525663

Hmm, my

were:

Day 1, 1 gallons

Day 2, 1.975 gallons

Day 3, 2.925625 gallons

Day 4, 3.852484375 gallons

Day 5, 4.756172265625 gallons

Day 6, 5.63726795898437 gallons

Day 7, 6.49633626000976 gallons

Day 8, 7.33392785350952 gallons

Day 9, 8.15057965717178 gallons

Day 10, 8.94681516574249 gallons

Day 11, 9.72314478659892 gallons

Day 12, 10.480066166934 gallons

Day 13, 11.2180645127606 gallons

Day 14, 11.9376128999416 gallons

Day 15, 12.639172577443 gallons

Day 16, 13.323193263007 gallons

Day 17, 13.9901134314318 gallons

Of course I was using miscible whiskey!

[Guest]

This is in Tennessee?

He stole 17 gallons...because in Tennessee, they don't let a barrel full of whiskey sit around for more than a day. The barrel was emptied and refilled every night

[HoustonHokie]

This is in Tennessee?

He stole 17 gallons...because in Tennessee, they don't let a barrel full of whiskey sit around for more than a day. The barrel was emptied and refilled every night

In which case I think he should owe for the 40 * 17 = 680 gallons he diluted! Don't give me that watered down stuff...

[Guest]

Long before Professor Templeton started his career at the Redrum University he had a job at Whiskey distillery in Tennessee. Once, while working there, it was found that a fellow employee was stealing whiskey from the same 40 gallon barrel every night that he worked and replacing it with water. The employee would drain 1 gallon of whiskey every time and fill the barrel back up with 1 gallon of water. This went on for 17 nights before the employee was finally confronted. Since he was a good worker otherwise, the management decided to dock him 1 day of pay for every gallon of whiskey that he took if he promised never to do it again. How many days pay did the employee lose?

The employee lost 13.9901 Days of pay

[Prof. Templeton]

Exactly, in fact whiskey is largely water. Just because you can pour a black and tan doesn't mean that Guinness and Harp are immiscible!

My answer is similar

different.

on day 17, he has taken 13.99 gallons of the original whiskey.

So 14 days wages are docked if the owner is super nice, else he should just dock him 17.

Right on!

This is in Tennessee?

He stole 17 gallons...because in Tennessee, they don't let a barrel full of whiskey sit around for more than a day. The barrel was emptied and refilled every night

In which case I think he should owe for the 40 * 17 = 680 gallons he diluted! Don't give me that watered down stuff...

They would shoot you in the Wild West for that.

The employee lost 13.9901 Days of pay

Correct.

39¹⁷ / 40¹⁶ = 26 gallons left or 14 missing.

[Guest]

I couldn't just leave this one alone, if I can point out...

The employee would drain 1 gallon of whiskey every time

It does NOT say 1 gallon of liquid every time, over 17 nights at 1 gallon of whiskey a night he would be docked 17 days pay

I thank you

Edited January 17, 2009 by arbitraryuser

[Prof. Templeton]

I couldn't just leave this one alone, if I can point out...

It does NOT say 1 gallon of liquid every time, over 17 nights at 1 gallon of whiskey a night he would be docked 17 days pay

I thank you

I must be more cautious in my wording.

[Guest]

I think 14 days pay.

[Guest]

Long before Professor Templeton started his career at the Redrum University he had a job at Whiskey distillery in Tennessee. Once, while working there, it was found that a fellow employee was stealing whiskey from the same 40 gallon barrel every night that he worked and replacing it with water. The employee would drain 1 gallon of whiskey every time and fill the barrel back up with 1 gallon of water. This went on for 17 nights before the employee was finally confronted. Since he was a good worker otherwise, the management decided to dock him 1 day of pay for every gallon of whiskey that he took if he promised never to do it again. How many days pay did the employee lose?

I haven't seen this answer yet, so>>>

The thief draws a gallon out first, then effectively dilutes the remainder by a factor of 39/40. So the series 1+39/40+(39/40)^2+(39/40)^3+...+(39/40)^16 sums the total amount of whiskey stolen. This equals 13.01511343 according to my calculations. Of course, at the end of the thief's endeavor he has diluted the whiskey in the barrel to about 0.65 of its original strength, effectively ruining the whole batch...he should get charged for the whole 40 gallons for wasting good whiskey!

[Guest]

First time contributing, but just had to add this

Typically, whiskey is 80 to 100 proof upon distillation, which means it already contains 50 to 60 percent water. Does this make a difference?

[Guest]

So considering a fifth of Jack Daniel's costs about $20 at most liquor stores, that's $100 per gallon. So if the man works 8 hours a day, he must be making over $12.50 an hour or else he got a pretty good deal! And that's assuming the whiskey was basic Jack and not Gentleman Jack ($30) or Single Barrel ($45)!

[Guest]

First time contributing, but just had to add this

Typically, whiskey is 80 to 100 proof upon distillation, which means it already contains 50 to 60 percent water. Does this make a difference?

Because the definition of whiskey includes that water, but presumably not the extra water he added.

Of course, if 'whiskey' includes the notion of a variable proof, then he could argue that there's just as much whiskey in the barrel as there was before he took any...it's just a lower proof whiskey

[Guest]

This is what I think the answer would be:

If they are docking him a DAYS pay and the man works at NIGHT then he wouldn't be docked any pay...

[Guest]

my opinion is 0

because he worked nights not days soo how can u take a day from someone???