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← Punched Cards & a Lights Puzzle

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A card with holes can hold a number. It can hold a letter too.

This track's four ideas, in order.

This is Punched Cards & a Lights Puzzle. It uses what you know about bits, patterns and codes. Your school handbook has a punched-card activity and a lights puzzle. This track covers both.

What you will learn

  • Numbers on cards. Each place is twice the place on its right.
  • Letters on cards. Five holes are enough for 26 letters.
  • Sorting with a needle. One hole at a time sorts the deck.
  • A lights puzzle. Each clue keeps only some of the 32 settings.

Need a quick recap?

  • A bit — one switch with two states.
  • A pattern — one full setting of all the switches.
  • A code — an agreed table of pattern and meaning.