Amaya Holliday

POW #2

Problem Statement:

King Arthur enjoys throwing dinner parties with all of his knights around his majestic round table. The
king is a generous man who wants to show appreciation for how hard his knight's work. Therefore, he
plays a game with them and gives the winner a very momentous prize.

The game rules go:

The king starts by going around the table and every other knight he either says in or out. The knights who
are told out go to the outside of the table and watch the rest of the game with their fellow losers. The
king always starts with the first chair being in and then switches to out. When the chair is empty King
Author simply moves to the next knight and does not label the chair in or out.

number of nights winners

2 1
3 3
4 1
5 3
6 5
7 7
8 1
9 3
10 5
11 7
12 9
13 11
14 13
15 15
16 1
17 3
18 5
19 7
20 9
21 11
23 13
25 15
26 17
27 19
28 21
29 23
30 25
31 27
32 1
Process:

I started out this POW by visualizing it in my head. Then, I took the visualization in my head and drew a
picture of the scenario. Afterwards, I started testing the question with different numbers of nights using
copies of the scenario I drew. I put all the data I collected in a Google SpreadSheet. I brought that to class
with me the next day and collaborated with my table members to find a pattern from the data. Throughout
this process, we continued testing the number of knights with potential equations. Finally, with the help of
Ryan, we came to the conclusion, x-(2y)*2+1, Y = the lowest power of two underneath number of seat
and
X= number of seat.

Solution:

A pattern I noticed while solving this POW was, the number of knights at the table that are a power of
two the winner is one. From, one the numbers go up by consecutive odd integers (1,3,5,7,9,11) until the
next power of two (number of knights). For example, if there were 27 knights the winner would be sitting
at 19 because the last power of two was 16 and for 16 the winner is one. Then, you would simply count
up 10 consecutive integers, giving you 19. Knights can also use an equation to determine where the
winner will sit, by subtracting 2 to the power the lowest power of two underneath their seat from their seat
number, multiplying by two and adding 1. To prove this, say the total number of knights at the party is 12.
The winner will be 9 because 12-(2^4)*2+1=9.

Equation: x (2y ) * 2 + 1
Y = the lowest power of two underneath number of seat
X= number of seat

Evaluation:

To improve this POW I would give a hint about the powers of 2s in the POW instructions. This would
give students a guide on where to start. I appreciate working on math puzzle similar to this POW.
Therefore, I enjoyed this POW. Lastly, This POW was a perfect challenge level for me. I struggled for the
right amount of time to still be productive.

Self Assessment:

I believe I earned an A on this POW. I utilized my time outside of class efficiently by breaking the POW
into tangible pieces to work on over the week. This prevented me from stressing out and trying to
complete it quickly the night before. Additionally, this gave me time to refine my work and solidify my
ideas before I turned my POW in. Furthermore, I collaborated with Carter, Ryan, and Finn to find a
pattern. We organized our data into a Google Spreadsheet and this helped when trying to find patterns.