alexwebgr's solution to Collatz Conjecture on the Ruby track

Instructions

Test suite

Solution

The Collatz Conjecture or 3x+1 problem can be summarized as follows:

Take any positive integer n. If n is even, divide n by 2 to get n / 2. If n is odd, multiply n by 3 and add 1 to get 3n + 1. Repeat the process indefinitely. The conjecture states that no matter which number you start with, you will always reach 1 eventually.

Given a number n, return the number of steps required to reach 1.

Examples

Starting with n = 12, the steps would be as follows:

Resulting in 9 steps. So for input n = 12, the return value would be 9.

For installation and learning resources, refer to the Ruby resources page.

For running the tests provided, you will need the Minitest gem. Open a terminal window and run the following command to install minitest:

gem install minitest

If you would like color output, you can require 'minitest/pride' in the test file, or note the alternative instruction, below, for running the test file.

Run the tests from the exercise directory using the following command:

ruby collatz_conjecture_test.rb

To include color from the command line:

ruby -r minitest/pride collatz_conjecture_test.rb

Source

An unsolved problem in mathematics named after mathematician Lothar Collatz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3x_%2B_1_problem

Submitting Incomplete Solutions

It's possible to submit an incomplete solution so you can see how others have completed the exercise.

collatz_conjecture_test.rb

require 'minitest/autorun'
require_relative 'collatz_conjecture'

# Common test data version: 1.2.1 d94e348
class CollatzConjectureTest < Minitest::Test
  def test_zero_steps_for_one
    # skip
    assert_equal 0, CollatzConjecture.steps(1)
  end

  def test_divide_if_even
    skip
    assert_equal 4, CollatzConjecture.steps(16)
  end

  def test_even_and_odd_steps
    skip
    assert_equal 9, CollatzConjecture.steps(12)
  end

  def test_large_number_of_even_and_odd_steps
    skip
    assert_equal 152, CollatzConjecture.steps(1_000_000)
  end

  def test_zero_is_an_error
    skip
    assert_raises(ArgumentError) do
      CollatzConjecture.steps(0)
    end
  end

  def test_negative_value_is_an_error
    skip
    assert_raises(ArgumentError) do
      CollatzConjecture.steps(-15)
    end
  end
end

class CollatzConjecture
  def self.steps(n)
    raise ArgumentError if n < 1

    return 0 if n == 1
    return steps(n / 2) + 1 if n.even?
    return steps(n * 3 + 1) + 1 if n.odd?
  end
end

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alexwebgr's solution

to Collatz Conjecture in the Ruby Track