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The mixed pills

Pure logicLevel 1/5

The situation seems ruined only as long as we think of pills as indivisible units. The happy twist to this problem is to change the scale of the distribution and thus regain control.

A person must take one blue and one red pill each day. He has exactly two blue and two red left.

By accident they get mixed up and you can no longer distinguish one from the other. You can't risk taking two of the same color in one day.

Can you still ensure the correct dosage for two days?

Hints

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  1. There is no need to recognize which pill is which if you manage to distribute each one over two days.
  2. Try to get half of each available pill each day.
  3. If you cut the four pills in half and take one half of each, each day you get one blue and one red in total.

Solution

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Answer: Yes. Explanation: Cut the four pills in half. Then: - on the first day take one half of each of the four pills;

  • on the second day take the other four halves. Why does it work? Because among the four pills there are exactly: - 2 blue,
  • 2 red. When taking half of each pill, on the first day eat: - 1 full blue pill in total (two half blue ones),
  • and 1 full red pill in total (two red half pills). On the second day, exactly the same thing happens with the remaining halves. This way, without distinguishing colors, you get the correct dose both days.

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