Three small transports will be used for this resupply mission. Each will make one trip. Theseus can carry 200 pounds; Mercury can carry 190 lbs.; and Hercules can carry 180 lbs. The supply list is below. (The cookies are for the Russians.)
Which supplies should go in which transport given the indicated weights? Make a list for each transport.
Solution
A systematic search is aided by noticing that the total cargo exactly equals the capacity of the three transports. Every bit of space will be used. The three capacities are all even numbers, so the four odd supply items will have to be split 2 each in two transports. The last transport will have all even supply items. The result of the search:
Theseus: Drinking water 28 lb., Windex 84 lb., Cookies 88 lb.
Mercury: Mountain Dew 35 lb., Cooking fuel 44 lb., Candles 48 lb., Cola 63 lb.
Hercules: Spare camera 42 lb., Batteries 61 lb., Pine Sol 77 lb.