Page started - 12/2/99
Last updated - 20/6/99

Answer 12: Amnesty (part 3)

The maximum size of the prison is 48 cells meaning that 6 prisoners were set free on both occasions.

Reasoning

Simply list the cell numbers of the released prisoners from both previous puzzles and look for the largest size leading to the same number of prisoners being released:

Prisoners released	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	...
Amnesty 1 (# of cells)	1	4	9	16	25	36	49	64	...
Amnesty 2 (# of cells)	1	2	4	8	16	32	64	128	...

48 cells will lead to 6 prisoners being released under each amnesty. There after, more prisoners will be released under the terms of the first amnesty.

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