Fun math problem

[TecHNooB]

An elephant has to walk 1000km to the next town. He has to transport 3000 schokoballz. Each km he walks, he has to eat 1 schokoball. The maximum value of schokoballz he can take at once is 1000. What's the greatest number of schokoballz the elephant can bring to the next town?

Clarification:
He has 3000 shokoballz to start with.
He must eat one every km. EVEN ON THE WAY BACK!
The answer is not zero.

 

[Kirby]

He'd eat all the balls at once then decide not to go.

 

[newb111]

400. The elephant would make 1 trip out 400km with 1000, leave 200 there, and walk 400km back. He'd do that 3 times, and end up at 400km with 1000. He'd then walk the remaining 600km with the 1000, leaving 400 to deliver.

Start: 3000 balls at 0km, elephant at 0km
After 1 trips: 2000 balls at 0km, 200 balls at 400km, elephant at 0km
After 2 trips: 1000 balls at 0km, 400 balls at 400km, elephant at 0km
After 3 trips: 0 balls at 0km, 1000 balls at 400km, elephant at 400km

 

[TecHNooB]

You both fail

 

[OdiN]

0

 

[Chronoshock]

None, the value of schokoballs pales in comparison to the price the ivory will get on the black market. The poor elephant is shot by poachers at the 5th kilometer of his journey and bleeds to death in the desert heat

 

[makken]

.

 

[Jeff7]

3000 schokoballz. He can run, rather than walk.

 

[Amadan83]

well, whomever is trying to take those balls to the next town, fails... cause if the elephant can only take 1000 of the balls, and must eat one per Km, on a 1000 Km journey, he won't have any when he gets there... then he's gotta turn around, get the next 1000 balls, and eat them on his way to the town, realize he's retarded, and come back for the last 1000, and eat them....

so, the amount he can bring to the next town would be 0

 

[makken]

wait, miscounted.

467

 

[TecHNooB]

All wrong so far

 

[Gibson486]

pfff....0....they realized the wonders of technology and Fed Ex, used a priority overnight express, made the delivery and left the elephant for dead.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Amadan83
well, whomever is trying to take those balls to the next town, fails... cause if the elephant can only take 1000 of the balls, and must eat one per Km, on a 1000 Km journey, he won't have any when he gets there... then he's gotta turn around, get the next 1000 balls, and eat them on his way to the town, realize he's retarded, and come back for the last 1000, and eat them....

so, the amount he can bring to the next town would be 0

But he can't even walk back because he will have no balls.

Total distance for the trip would be 5000 Kilometers.

He has to walk there - 1000
Back - 1000
There again - 1000
Back again - 1000
There last time - 1000

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Amadan83
well, whomever is trying to take those balls to the next town, fails... cause if the elephant can only take 1000 of the balls, and must eat one per Km, on a 1000 Km journey, he won't have any when he gets there... then he's gotta turn around, get the next 1000 balls, and eat them on his way to the town, realize he's retarded, and come back for the last 1000, and eat them....

so, the amount he can bring to the next town would be 0

You've already said he doesn't eat any on the return trip. So if this is the case, say he brought 1,000 balls to the halfway point. He drops the 500 remaining balls. He then returns to the base and gets another 1,000. He gets to the half way point and only has 500 left. He picks up the remaining 500 balls he has dropped. So now he's at the halfway point and has 1,000 balls. If he walks the 500km, he'll have 500 balls left.

If that's not the case, then I don't feel like thinking any more about this.

If it is the case, then it's all about optimizing the drop point.

 

[newb111]

I changed my answer to 400

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
All wrong so far

I'm not wrong. You're wrong.

 

[dlock13]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
An elephant has to walk 1000km to the next town. He has to transport 3000 schokoballz. Each km he walks, he has to eat 1 schokoball. The maximum value of schokoballz he can take at once is 1000. What's the greatest number of shockoballz the elephant can bring to the next town?

None because he doesn't have any Shockoballz. He has Schokoballz.

 

[MBrown]

0?

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Its obviously zero... Unless this is one of those stupid tricks

Since the elephant would eat every single ball by the time he got to the town, he wouldnt even have strength to go back for more balls, so him having 3000 balls is pointless... To get even 1 ball to the town he would need to carry 1001 at least /problem

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: ShadowOfMyself
Its obviously zero... Unless this is one of those stupid tricks

Since the elephant would eat every single ball by the time he got to the town, he wouldnt even have strength to go back for more balls, so him having 3000 balls is pointless... To get even 1 ball to the town he would need to carry 1001 at least /problem

but he says max value. We are never given an amount for the value of one ball.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: ShadowOfMyself
Its obviously zero... Unless this is one of those stupid tricks

Since the elephant would eat every single ball by the time he got to the town, he wouldnt even have strength to go back for more balls, so him having 3000 balls is pointless... To get even 1 ball to the town he would need to carry 1001 at least /problem

But he can go part of the way, drop some bananas, go back, and pick up some more!!! I cheated though.

 

[Engraver]

Suck on my salty schokoballz.

 

[KeithTalent]

Maybe he could leave half of them at the 500K mark, then walk back and get the other 1,000, so he would end up with 1,000 when he got back to the halfway point, which would leave him with 500 after he ate 500 on the final walk to the town. So that would leave him with 500?

I'm talking out my ass here...

KT

Edit: does he have to eat a ball on the way back as well? If so, then I'm screwed.

 

[HammerCurl]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: ShadowOfMyself
Its obviously zero... Unless this is one of those stupid tricks

Since the elephant would eat every single ball by the time he got to the town, he wouldnt even have strength to go back for more balls, so him having 3000 balls is pointless... To get even 1 ball to the town he would need to carry 1001 at least /problem

but he says max value. We are never given an amount for the value of one ball.

so 2000 because the schokoballz are worthless. Unless the sentence "He has to transport 3000 schokoballz" is worthless and you can say he has infinite to start with, so he can transport infinite schokoballz which are worthless assuming he doesn die

 

[newb111]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Maybe he could leave half of them at the 500K mark, then walk back and get the other 1,000, so he would end up with 1,000 when he got back to the halfway point, which would leave him with 500 after he ate 500 on the final walk to the town. So that would leave him with 500?

I'm talking out my ass here...

KT

He has to have something to eat on the way back.