Riddle Me This: Water Buckets
Test your skills of deduction with the October 2020 edition of Riddle Me This: Water Buckets.
You have a 5-gallon bucket, a 3-gallon bucket, and a water faucet. How can you accurately put four gallons of water into the 5-gallon bucket?
Click to Reveal Answer
1. Completely dill five gal bucket.
2. Pour three gal into 3 gal bucket then empty 3 gal bucket. This leaves 2 gal in 5 gal bucket.
3. Put 2 gal in 3 gal bucket
4. Fill 5 gal bucket
5. Push in 3 gal bucket to displace 3 gal over sides leaving 2 gal
6. Add 2 gal from 3 gal bucket into remaining 2 gal in 5 gal bucket
Fill the Five Gallon Bucket
Pour three gallons from A in to the Three Gallon bucket.
Empty the Three gallon Bucket onto plants you wish to water or something.
Pour the remaining two gallons of water into the Three Gallon bucket.
Fill the Five Gallon Bucket again.
Pour one gallon from the five gallon bucket to top up the two gallons in the Three Gallon Bucket.
Voila! Four Gallons remain in the Five Gallon Bucket
You time while filling the 3 gallon bucket and dump in the 5 gallon bucket. Place the 3 gallon bucket back under the spigot for 1/3rd of the time and place that in the 5 gallon bucket. 4 gallons.
That’s one way. The other is to fill the 3 gallon bucket and dump it into the 5 gallon bucket. Fill the 3 gallon bucket again and pour it into the 5 gallon bucket until it is full leaving 1 gallon in the 3 gallon bucket. Dump out the 5 gallon bucket and pour the 1 gallon into the 5 gallon bucket. Then fill the 3 gallon bucket and dump it into the 5 gallon bucket to make 4 gallons in the 5 gallon bucket. Of course I wasted 2 more gallons of water than you did, unless there is a third bucket.
1. Fill the 5 gal bucket to the top.
2. Pour 3 gallons into the 3 gal bucket.
3. Empty 3 gal bucket.
4. Pour remaining 2 gals into 3 gal bucket.
5. Refill 5 gal bucket.
6. Pour 1 gal into 3 gal bucket (fill to top).
7. 4 gals will remain in 5 gal bucket.
Some clever answers posted! Here’s a different solution:
1. Fill 5 gallon bucket & pour 3 gallons of it into the smaller bucket, leaving 2 gallons in the larger bucket.
2. Mark the water level of 2 gallons on the 5 gallon bucket.
3. Empty the 3 gallon bucket and transfer the 2 gallons from the large bucket into it.
4. Fill the 5 gal. bucket up to your 2 gallon mark.
5. Add the 2 gallons that are in the smaller bucket. Done.
Fill 5 gallon bucket.
Insert empty 3 gallon bucket into full 5 gallon bucket to displace 3 gallons.
Pour remaining 2 gallons into 3 gallon bucket.
Fill 5 gallon bucket again, again use 3 gallon bucket (with two gallons of water inside) to displace 3 gallons.
Pour water out of 3 gallon bucket into 5 gallon bucket to total 4 gallons.