Gold Bar — Puzzle for Interview rounds

Question :

You’ve got someone working for you for seven days and a gold bar to pay him. The gold bar is segmented into seven connected pieces.

You must give them a piece of gold at the end of every day. What are the fewest number of cuts to the bar of gold that will allow you to pay him 1/7th each day?

Solution :

Lets split the chain as,

Day 1: Give A (+1)
Day 2: Get back A, give B (-1, +2)
Day 3: Give A (+1)
Day 4: Get back A and B, give C (-2,-1,+4)
Day 5: Give A (+1)
Day 6: Get back A, give B (-1,+2)
Day 7: Give A (+1)

Hence, we need to make 2 cuts. Cut 1, so that the bar is divided into 1 and 6 pieces. And second on the 6 piece bar, so that it is divided into 2 and 4 pieces.

Thanks for Reading

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