Four coins are placed in a row: Heads, Tails, Heads, Tails. In one move, you must flip any two adjacent coins. What is the minimum number of moves required to make all four coins show Heads?
2 moves
Initial state: H T H T. Move 1: Flip the middle two coins (indices 2 and 3, which are T and H), turning them into H and T respectively? No, flip adjacent coins 2 and 3 (T and H) -> H H H T. Move 2: Flip the last two coins (H and T) -> H H H H. Total moves: 2.
About this riddle
Logic riddles give you a few facts and ask what must be true. List what you know, cross out what cannot be, and see what is left.
Difficulty: Medium. More like this: Logic riddles with answers or try Einstein's Logic Grid for a different kind of puzzle.
More logic riddles
You have two hourglasses: a 4-minute timer and a 7-minute timer. Without using any other measuring devices, how can you measure exactly 9 minutes?
You have 10 bags of gold coins. 9 of the bags contain genuine coins weighing 10 grams each, but 1 bag contains fake coins weighing 9 grams each. You have a digital scale that gives exact weight readings in grams, but you can only use it ONCE. How can you identify the bag with the fake coins?
You have 9 identical-looking coins, but one is a counterfeit that is lighter than the other 8 genuine coins. Using a balance scale only twice, how can you guarantee finding the fake coin?
A line goes: swimmer, shell, swimmer, shell, swimmer. What comes next?
Three friends—Alex, Blake, and Casey—wear hats of different colors: red, blue, and green. None of them wears the hat that matches their initials (e.g., Alex does not wear red). Blake looks at Casey, who is wearing the green hat. What color hat is Alex wearing?
A merchant has a bag of 8 identical-looking gold coins, but one is counterfeit and weighs slightly less than the others. Using a balance scale with no weights, what is the minimum number of weighings required to guarantee finding the counterfeit coin?

