** Tenali Raman and the Palace Guards**
Tenali Raman wishes to meet the King. Before reaching the royal court, he has to pass through many palace gates. A guard is posted at each gate.
Every guard demands a share of whatever reward Tenali Raman receives from the King. Tenali Raman agrees and promises:
"I will give you half of whatever reward I receive from the King."
All the guards allow him to enter. After meeting the King, Tenali Raman receives a reward of 1024 lashes.
The interesting question is: How many guards can receive half of the remaining reward until the value becomes less than 1?
##Step 1: Manual Calculation
First, we can calculate the result manually.
python
guard = 0
received_lashes = 1024
guard = 1
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = 2
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = 3
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = 4
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = 5
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = 6
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
This approach helps us understand the calculation at a basic level. However, writing the same code repeatedly is not efficient. Also, we do not know how many guards there are. ## Step 2: Identifying the Repeated Pattern We can see that two operations are repeated: 1. Divide `received_lashes` by `2`. 2. Increase the guard count by `1`. For example: #python guard = guard + 1 received_lashes = received_lashes / 2 Since the same operations are repeated, we can use a while loop.
Step 3: Using a While Loop
guard = 0 received_lashes = 1024 while received_lashes >= 1: received_lashes = received_lashes / 2 guard = guard + 1 print(received_lashes) print(guard)  Output
0.5
11
Explanation
The value is divided by 2 repeatedly:
1024 → 512 → 256 → 128 → 64 → 32 → 16 → 8 → 4 → 2 → 1 → 0.5
The loop runs 11 times.
Therefore:
- Number of guards = 11
- Remaining value = 0.5
Step 4: What Happens if We Start with guard = 1?
guard = 1
received_lashes = 1024
while received_lashes >= 1:
received_lashes = received_lashes / 2
guard = guard + 1
print(received_lashes)
print(guard)
Output
0.5
12
This happens because we started counting the guards from 1 instead of 0.
is the correct and clearer approach.
Correct Answer:
Guards counted: 11
Final remaining value: 0.5
