9
$\begingroup$

I have been provided the following short puzzle and need help understanding the answer.

Complete the following letter series:
a_abc_ab_ _c_bb_cc_

I filled it like this: aaabcaabbbcabbccca
I had noticed there could be a pattern constructed using blocks of 7 sequential letters (XXXYZXX):

aaabcaa
bbbcabb
ccca...

However, I have been told that the correct answer is aaabcaabbbccbbccca, which differs from my answer in only one place. Please note, I am not sure about the answer. It was taken only as a reference. So please let this undermine your approach.

Can anyone help me understand what makes this answer is correct?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
10
  • $\begingroup$ Ops... I counted one of the spaces in the question too (the one between the two underscores). I'll delete my comment then. $\endgroup$ – Bojidar Marinov Oct 14 '15 at 10:35
  • $\begingroup$ Is there another clue in the original question that could explain why the official solution has exactly one run of length one, two and three for each of the three letters? $\endgroup$ – Marconius Oct 14 '15 at 14:12
  • $\begingroup$ No. Unfortunately it doesn't give any clue. @Marconius. $\endgroup$ – Aditya Agarwal Oct 14 '15 at 15:24
  • $\begingroup$ From where did you get the other answer. Are you sure it's not a typo in a book? $\endgroup$ – ghosts_in_the_code Oct 15 '15 at 15:36
  • $\begingroup$ Okay, I am not sure. Let me update. @ghosts_in_the_code. $\endgroup$ – Aditya Agarwal Oct 15 '15 at 16:00
3
$\begingroup$

Another sequence that would make sense would be

aaa,b,c,aa,bb,cc,a,bbb,ccc,...

since

the a's decrease and the b's and c's increase in numbers.

That doesn't explain the stated correct answer, though.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I think that was a misprint. This is the most convincing answer I got so far. $\endgroup$ – Aditya Agarwal Oct 25 '15 at 5:31
0
$\begingroup$

The only thing I can think is that with the "correct" answer you get a single, double and triple sequence of all 3 letters.

  • triple a,
  • single b,
  • single c,
  • double a,
  • triple b,
  • double c,
  • double b,
  • triple c,
  • single a

I can't find a pattern to that though.

a,b,c,a,b,c,b,c,a

or

3,1,1,2,3,2,2,3,1

Maybe someone else sees it?

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.