Tower of Brahma OR Tower of Hanoi Problem

The 'Tower of Brahma' or 'Tower of Hanoi' is a very interesting problem. There will be a stack of rings on a rod with the largest one at the bottom and the smallest at the top. All the rings in the stack have to be moved to another rod such that the order of the rings remain the same (biggest at the bottom and the smallest at the top). A third rod will be provided for the transfer. Find out the minimum number of moves needed to transfer the stack from one rod to another.

Rules to be followed during the stack transfer are :

1. Only one ring can be moved at a time.
2. Move is allowed only if a smaller ring is placed on a larger ring.

Kids Play

This is a problem that needs logic and calculations for college students but its some exciting fun time for kids. They really enjoy moving the stacks from one rod to another. Parents just need to tell the rules of the problem and see how your little one engages himself/herself in the puzzle.

 
Solution
number of rings        minimum number of moves
        1                     1
        2                     2x2-1
        3                     2x2x2-1
        4                     2x2x2x2-1
        5                     2x2x2x2x2-1

Video : Moving a stack of 4 jar lids from one plate to another with a minimum number of moves.