Three eggs, nine drops

You have 33 identical eggs and a building of nn floors. There is a threshold floor XX such that an egg dropped from floor XX or above breaks, and from below XX survives. Using an optimal strategy, what is the largest nn for which you can always determine XX in at most 99 drops (worst case)?

Show hints (2)+
  1. With dd drops and ee eggs, max floors =i=1e(di)=\sum_{i=1}^{e}\binom{d}{i}.
  2. (91)+(92)+(93)=9+36+84\binom{9}{1}+\binom{9}{2}+\binom{9}{3}=9+36+84.

Answer

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129

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Asked at: Jane Street, Two Sigma

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