Peter was standing there in the farm opposite to 100 trees that stood one after the other; each 1 meter away from the next one, the first being placed 1 meter away from a hard brick wall. He was holding in his hands two identical large spherical marbles and a launcher. John, his neighbor, was passing by when he saw Peter weirded out by the normal looking trees.
-"What's with the trees, neighbor?"
-"Oh, John! It's nothing. I'm just as often trying to puzzle myself!"
-"What's in your head today?"
-"I was thinking of the most efficient method to figure out which is the closest tree from the wall, from which I should launch a marble given that the marble should not break. I have only two marbles, do you have an idea how can I do it most efficiently?"
-"Do you care if both of them break during the test?"
-"No! I just want to know THE tree!"
-"Your problem is solved!"
Devise a method in which the maximum number of tries is the least possible.
What is the maximum number of tries in this method you devised? Explain the method.
Assumptions:
1-The launcher can launch 1 marble only at a time. The launcher's power is constant and enough to make the marble hit the wall even if it was launched from the farthest tree of all.
2-The wall is unbreakable, and the marble's toughness does not change if it was not broken.
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Peter was standing there in the farm opposite to 100 trees that stood one after the other; each 1 meter away from the next one, the first being placed 1 meter away from a hard brick wall. He was holding in his hands two identical large spherical marbles and a launcher. John, his neighbor, was passing by when he saw Peter weirded out by the normal looking trees.
-"What's with the trees, neighbor?"
-"Oh, John! It's nothing. I'm just as often trying to puzzle myself!"
-"What's in your head today?"
-"I was thinking of the most efficient method to figure out which is the closest tree from the wall, from which I should launch a marble given that the marble should not break. I have only two marbles, do you have an idea how can I do it most efficiently?"
-"Do you care if both of them break during the test?"
-"No! I just want to know THE tree!"
-"Your problem is solved!"
Devise a method in which the maximum number of tries is the least possible.
What is the maximum number of tries in this method you devised? Explain the method.
Assumptions:
1-The launcher can launch 1 marble only at a time. The launcher's power is constant and enough to make the marble hit the wall even if it was launched from the farthest tree of all.
2-The wall is unbreakable, and the marble's toughness does not change if it was not broken.
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