#321 - Swapping Counters
A horizontal row comprising of \(2n + 1\) squares has \(n\) red counters placed at one end and \(n\) blue counters at the other end, being separated by a single empty square in the centre. For example, when \(n = 3\).
A counter can move from one square to the next (slide) or can jump over another counter (hop) as long as the square next to that counter is unoccupied.
Let \(M(n)\) represent the minimum number of moves/actions to completely reverse the positions of the coloured counters; that is, move all the red counters to the right and all the blue counters to the left.
It can be verified \(M(3) = 15\), which also happens to be a triangle number.
If we create a sequence based on the values of \(n\) for which \(M(n)\) is a triangle number then the first five terms would be:
\(1\), \(3\), \(10\), \(22\), and \(63\), and their sum would be \(99\).
Find the sum of the first forty terms of this sequence.
Problem text © Project Euler, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Original: projecteuler.net/problem=321. Published Sunday, 23rd January 2011, 01:00 am. Solved by 2,039 members at time of mirroring.
Why this is useful
Mathematical Foundation. Exact integer reasoning and algorithmic efficiency. Foundational rigour and computational discipline rather than a direct trading application.
We classify relevance honestly - not every Euler problem is a trading application.
Prerequisites
Lessons that prepare you:
1.3 Proof Techniques: Direct, Contrapositive, and Contradiction · 19.1 Divisibility, GCD, and the Euclidean Algorithm · 19.3 Modular Arithmetic, Inverses, and Fast Exponentiation · 19.6 Recurrence Relations and Generating Functions · 19.10 Search: Backtracking, Branch-and-Bound, Binary Search, Meet-in-the-Middle · 19.2 Primes, Sieves, and Integer Factorization · 2.7 Sequences, Series, Convergence, and Power Series · 3.1 Vectors, Multivariable Functions, and Level Sets
Recommended stepping-stone problems: #745 · #359 · #510
Concepts: geometry number-theory sequences-series
Learning mode
Pick how much scaffolding you want. Your choice is remembered per problem.
Understand the problem
- What exactly is the input to problem 321? Is it a bound (99), a supplied dataset, or a definition you must generate from?
- What is the required output - restate it precisely: a single sum.
- Which objects exactly are in scope, and which are excluded by the wording (strict vs non-strict inequality, 'distinct', 'proper', 'below' vs 'up to')?
- What do the arguments of M(n), M(3) mean, and what is the value's type (count, sum, probability)?
- What are the edge cases: the smallest legal object, zero/one, ties, and the boundary at exactly 99?
- Why is brute force hard HERE specifically? Estimate the number of candidates implied by 99 and the cost of testing one.
- Which geometry fact would, if true, collapse the search - and can you state it as a testable claim before you look for a proof?
Predict & plan (before you code)
- Predict the strategy: in one sentence, what will your solution do? (The classification says geometry - do you agree, and why?)
- Predict the complexity of your intended method in terms of N = 99, and the wall-clock time you expect. Write both down now.
- Predict the key data structure: what is stored, keyed by what, and how large will it get at full scale?
- Predict the failure mode: what is most likely to break - an off-by-one on the bound, a definition misread, precision, or memory?
- Predict the output of the small case from rung 3 BEFORE running it (the statement says: "For example, when n = 3.") - then run it. A surprise here is worth more than an hour of debugging later.
Scratchpad
Mathematical notes, formulas, pseudocode, hypotheses, complexity notes. Saved automatically with your progress.
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Progressive hints
Optimization
You have a correct answer. That is the start of the learning, not the end.
- Reduce the time complexity. What is the bottleneck, and what mathematical fact removes it?
- Reduce memory. Can you stream, or keep only the last k states?
- Replace brute force with a closed form, a sieve, a recurrence, or a symmetry argument.
- Prove the optimized version computes the same thing.
- Compare two implementations and time them.
Explain it
Which step of your solution were you least confident about, and what evidence would settle it?
What did you try first, and what specifically made you abandon it - a proof, a timing, or a wrong small-case answer?
Where did the geometry structure do the real work? Name the single observation that collapsed the search space.
Could you have reached the geometry idea faster? Which words in the statement were pointing at it, and did you notice them?
What was the bug that cost you the most time, and what CLASS of bug was it (off-by-one, definition misread, precision, state under-specified)?
How would your solution change if the bound 99 were multiplied by 1000? Does it survive, or does it need a different idea?
What is the honest complexity of what you wrote (not what you intended), and where is the remaining slack?
Which problem you have already solved is this most similar to, and what is the shared skeleton - is it really 'geometry' underneath?
State the transferable technique in one sentence, without mentioning this problem's story at all.
Self-assess (mastery is not a correct number)
You reach Mastered only when you have solved it, rated yourself at least Solid across the dimensions, and written a real explanation.
Confidence
Low confidence schedules this problem for spaced review, even if you solved it.
Mastery check
- Variation: change the bound (or a rule) in the statement. Does your method still work? What breaks first?
- Constraints: if the limit were 10× larger, which step fails, and what would you replace it with?
- Related problem: #745 · #359 · #510
- Transfer: where else does this technique appear? Name a lesson and a real computational setting.
- Spaced re-attempt: come back after the review interval and re-solve it with no hints.