This is a simulation of the Collatz Conjecture. The Hailstone Sequence goes like this: if the number is even, divide it by two; if it is odd, triple it and add one. And then, repeat for the next number. For example, starting from 3, the sequence would go: 3, 10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1... As you can see, eventually this sequence gets stuck in the loop of 4, 2, 1, 4... This remains true for EVERY starting number tested so far. That's putting it lightly, since countless mathematicians have attempted and failed to prove or disprove the conjecture that EVERY SINGLE starting number eventually leads to this loop, and so far every number up to 295147905179352825756 (although this might become outdated) has been tested. That's nearly 2^68, or 30 QUINTILLION! Anyways, the aim of this project is to allow everyone to view the process of use working together to prove numbers. Q&A Q. Why can't we just say that this had been proved? A. The simple answer is that that's just not how it works. However, an example of this is the Polya conjecture (which I won't go into detail into), where a counterexample was found that was 1.845*10^361, which is much much much much MUUUUUUUUUCHHHHHHHH larger than the 300 quintillion we have now. Q. Where do I put my answers to the fun fact quizzes? A. In the comments! Q. Why don't we start by testing 295147905179352825756 and go onwards? A. Unfortunately, Scratch currently is unable to compute these numbers (my code breaks) and we can't actually test them... but I will try to fix it! Q. Can I help with your project? A. Of course! I would really appreciate it if you helped with my code! (also in desperate need of better thumbnail)
Click stage to test the next number. Click choose number to choose any number you want to test. Use auto run to rapidly test numbers, which is good for our cause! (you can do this even if you don't understand any of this project - just know you are contributing to maths) Huge credits to Veritasium and this video explaining basically EVERYTHING we know about the Collatz Conjecture so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=094y1Z2wpJg
