Logic Puzzles

5. You Have a 13 Gallon Bucket, an 18 Gallon Bucket...

You have a 13 gallon bucket, an 18 gallon bucket, and an endless supply of water. You need to measure out exactly 1 gallon of water, using only these tools. (Neither bucket has any markings on it for measuring.) How do you do it? Explain your answer.

Submitted by tartle · Added 25 October 2008

Show Solution

Solution:

Fill the 13-gallon bucket completely and pour it into the 18-gallon bucket. Fill the 13-gallon bucket again and pour water into the 18-gallon bucket until it is full. Since the 18-gallon bucket already has 13 gallons, it can only take 5 more gallons. This will leave exactly 1 gallon of water in the 13-gallon bucket.

Comments (4)

Steviem 1 November 2008

By filling and emptying the two buckets and retaining the difference in volume and passing that between the two buckets after 22 pourings you end up with 1 gallon by itself.
First figure is volume in 18 Gallon Bucket and Second figure is 13 G/B
0 / 13
13 / 0
13 / 13
18 / 8
0 / 8
8 / 0
8 / 13
18 / 3
0 / 3
3 / 0
3 / 13
16 / 0
16 / 13
18 / 11
0 / 11
11 / 0
11 / 13
18 / 6
0 / 6
6 / 0
6 / 13
18 / 1
0 / 1

dilip.patidar 27 December 2009

13*7 = 91
18*5 = 90
91-90 = 1.

Empty the 13 gallon bucket in 18 gallon bucket 7 times, finally 1 gallon will be left in 13 gallon bucket according to the above calculation.

Mr_dumbo 30 March 2015

duuuuuh

0+13-12=1

u guys aer so sily, bily :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

bathfilms 15 July 2016

I concur with Steviem's solution.
(I don't know where Mr Dumbo found his magic 12!)

If I call the 13 gallon bucket 'A'
and the 18 gallon bucket 'B'
then use the following terminology:
A1 means "fill A"
AB means "transfer all of A to B"
B0 means "empty B"
here is the sequence of actions required:

1) A1 AB A1 AB B0
2) Repeat STEP (1) 3 more times
3) AB A1 AB

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