A recipe calls for 4 cups of water. You have only a 3-cup and a 5-cup container. How can you measure out four cups of water?

This problem appears in the movie Die Hard 3.  Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson had 30 seconds to solve it in order to prevent an explosion which would have killed them!

Luckily, the penalty for getting problems wrong here is not so severe!

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Fill the 5 cup container full....pour 3 cups into the 3 cup container....throw these 3 cups out.........there will be 2 cups now in the 5 cup container....pour these 2 cups into the 3 cup container.....

Fill the 5 cup container full, again......pour 1 cup into the 3 cup container which is now full.......the 5 cup container will now contain exactly 4 cups.....!!!!

^ Is this really the answer........

I think so, Z Man !!!!!

I have added this to the logic puzzles thread  :)

http://web2.0calc.com/questions/logic-s-puzzle

Thanks Alan,

And here is the clip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVtQNK_ZUJg