You must be capable of weighing out any whole-number amount of spice from 1 gram up to 63 grams on a balance scale, placing weights only on one pan. What is the minimum count of individual fixed weights you must carry?
6 weights
Using powers of two (binary system), you can represent any integer from 1 to 2^k - 1 using k weights. For weights of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 grams, k = 6 and their sum is 63 grams.
About this riddle
Math riddles hide a calculation inside a short story. Pull out the numbers, work out what is being asked, and watch for a trick such as a unit change.
Difficulty: Medium. More like this: Math riddles with answers or try Target 24 for a different kind of puzzle.
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