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Who dies?

As you can see in the picture, there are 5 people A, B, C, D, E. E is going to slightly push the circular structure so that the initial velocity of the structure on the inclined plane would be zero.

How many people would die and how many would survive?

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    $\begingroup$ I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a case of plagiarism $\endgroup$
    – Mohit Jain
    Apr 15, 2015 at 7:35
  • $\begingroup$ Despite the fact that I put the answer below, I'd have to agree this hardly qualifies as an original question. Seconded the 'close' vote. $\endgroup$ Apr 15, 2015 at 7:57
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    $\begingroup$ I would encourage you to look through our policy on plagiarism, as attribution is important. However, in this case, since the puzzle doesn't come from a clear/uniquely identifiable source, it is unlikely to be deleted as plagiarism - still, in the future, please attribute. $\endgroup$
    – user20
    Apr 15, 2015 at 8:09
  • $\begingroup$ Independent of the puzzle being copied from another site, it could also be closed as too broad, as the accepted answer explains that the solution depends on unspecified factors. $\endgroup$
    – xnor
    Apr 15, 2015 at 9:45
  • $\begingroup$ I liked the puzzle. It wasn't immediately clear to me that different outcomes would exist. $\endgroup$
    – GOTO 0
    Apr 15, 2015 at 11:48

1 Answer 1

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Depending on the ratio of weight between the different shapes, technically any of the stickmen has a chance to die.

While commonly the accepted answer would be that A and E live, and the others die, given this is a well-known question someone decided to go for the full answer:

Youtube video explaining the different weight ratio scenario's and their impact

While usually I'd follow the general policy here not to provide link-only answers, in here it'd seem a better fit to point to a full answer with explanation then to just type out someone elses work and take credit for it.

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  • $\begingroup$ E also died in the end.. $\endgroup$
    – user931
    Apr 15, 2015 at 8:14
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    $\begingroup$ Hence the 'any of the stickmen could die', who lives varies greatly on the weight ratios. $\endgroup$ Apr 15, 2015 at 11:06

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