top button
Flag Notify
    Connect to us
      Site Registration

Site Registration

You have 32 numbers. What is the least number of comparison needed to find the 2nd smallest out of them?

0 votes
807 views
You have 32 numbers. What is the least number of comparison needed to find the 2nd smallest out of them?
posted Nov 22, 2014 by anonymous

Share this puzzle
Facebook Share Button Twitter Share Button LinkedIn Share Button

1 Answer

0 votes

n + logn - 2

i.e. 35

answer Dec 19, 2014 by Shashi Kant



Similar Puzzles
+1 vote

You have 64 numbers. What is the least number of comparison needed to find the 2nd smallest out of them?

0 votes

There are 40 gloves in a drawer: 10 pair of white gloves, 5 pairs of black gloves, 3 pairs of brown, and 2 pairs of gray. You select the gloves in the dark and can check them only after a selection has been made. What is the smallest number of gloves you need to select to guarantee at least one matching pair?

+1 vote

In order to complete the racing competition, the London racetrack has to submit its top and the most famous three horses to win the competition. Due to a electrical storm, all the records are cleared and no one knows which horse holds the record. They all look identical and it becomes even more difficult to differentiate the horses. There are 25 horses in the London racetrack. But there can be only five horses at a time on the track. Due to the electrical storm, time recording is impossible.
What will the least number of races that can be conducted to find out the three fastest horses?

+2 votes

There are a group of airplanes on an island. The tank of each airplane contains just enough fuel to fly halfway around the world. Any amount of fuel can be transferred from one plane to another while in the air. The only fuel source is on the island. It is assumed that all planes burn fuel at the same rate and fly at the same speed.
What is the smallest number of airplanes needed to ensure the complete flight of one plane around the world?
All planes should return safely to the island.

...