Myers, Amy. (2020). Simplex Locks. In S. Bowen (Ed.), Math Circle Activity Database. American Institute of Mathematics. https://mathcircles.org/activity/simplex-locks
Simplex Locks
Contributor(s): Amy Myers
Math Circles: MTC Network, Philadelphia Area Math Teachers’ Circle
A simplex lock is a type of combination door lock that involves pushing-in buttons. Given the set of rules for using a 5-button simplex lock, how many different combinations are there?