A postman has parcels of weights , , , , , . He wants to divide the parcels into three groups of equal weight. Is this possible for
a.
b. ?
A postman has parcels of weights , , , , , . He wants to divide the parcels into three groups of equal weight. Is this possible for
a.
b. ?
In the first case, the total weight
is not a multiple of . Therefore, there is no solution in this case.
In the second case, we distribute the first parcels as follows: Parcels , , , (of total weight ) are put into the first group. Parcels and (also of total weight ) are put into the second group. Parcels and (of total weight ) are put into the third group.
The remaining parcels , , are first divided into blocks of consecutive integers , , , , , for . Of each block, and (of weight ) are put into the first group. Parcels and are put into the second group. Finally, parcels and are put into the third group. This yields a valid partition.