16 December
2012
Tire wear and tear
I got this puzzle from my brother-in-law today (all your jokes about troubles created by inlaws to be inserted here 🙂 ). I believe I have arrived at the right answer but since he does not know the answer himself, would like to see if others can prove or disprove me.
A car’s wear and tear pattern is such that any new tire put in the front can last 40,000 miles and the ones in the rear can last 60,000 miles. You are given four new tires to begin with and you can interchange the tires between front and rear as many times as you want. What is the maximum distance you can drive?