PUZZLE IBM-241
Two fake coins
IBM Research · Ponder This · 2018-05
IBM Ponder This #241 · May 2018
We have 11 coins, and exactly two of them are counterfeit with slightly smaller weights than the others. Find the two fake coins using just four weighings of a double-pan balance scale.
Supply your answer as four lines of dash-separated lists of the letters A-K corresponding to the coins.
As an example, here is a solution for the case of seven coins:
ADE-BCG
AG-BE
AC-DG
The first weighing checks coins A,D,E on the left pan vs coins B,C,G on the right side, etc.
Solution
Best opened after a real attemptTo be added.