Delta-K
Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 54 Issue 1, June 2017
8 to 8
Peter Liljedahl
A band of 10 pirates is going to disband. They have divided
up all of their gold, but there remains one gian t diamond that
cannot be divided. To decide who gets it, the captain puts all
of the pirates (incl uding himself) in a circle. Then he points
at one person to begin. This person steps out of the circle,
takes his gold and leaves . The person on his left stays in the
circle, but the next person steps out. This continues with every
second pirate leaving until there is only one left.
