The Mathematician and the Pea
You have 10 cans of peas. The cans are open. In each can, there are 100 peas. In nine of the 10 cans, each pea weighs one gram. In the tenth can, each pea weighs only 0.9 grams. You do not know which can has the smaller peas, nor is it possible to tell with the naked eye. To help you, you have an electronic scale. However, the scale is not in great shape, and can only provide one correct measurement before permanently malfunctioning. How can one, using only the one measurement afforded by the scale, determine beyond a shadow of a doubt which can it is that has the smaller peas?
Submitted by Chris Timmel.
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