Finding a hermit

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There are five holes arranged in a line.  A hermit hides in one of them.  Each night, the hermit moves to a different hole, either the neighboring hole on the left or the neighboring hole on the right.  Once a day, you get to inspect one hole of your choice.  How do you make sure you eventually find the hermit?

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  • 2 Answer(s)

    Let the holes be A,B,C,D  and  E.  Start from  any one end . Say A . look in it first  day  and the next day . if you  don’t find him , look in the next hole for the next  two days  continue this process  up to E   you will  get him  with a maximum of 8 days or less..

    sree Scholar Answered on 7th October 2015.
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    Similar to above but with two less checks.  Holes A, B, C, D, E.  If the holes are not arranged in circle, start with any hole next to the last one and do the following pattern in opposite direction.  E.g. go to hole D, wait for two days if no hermit is there, she is also not in E no need to check that one. Move to C, wait for two days if she is not there, move to B wait for two days and you’ll catch her either in A or B..   (sorry thinking about my ex).

    Vitaliy Curious Answered on 1st September 2016.
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