Problem

Source: 2020 Dürer Math Competition Finals Day2 E7 https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c1622639_2020_

Tags: combinatorics, game



Santa Claus plays a guessing game with Marvin before giving him his present. He hides the present behind one of $100$ doors, numbered from $1$ to $100$. Marvin can point at a door, and then Santa Claus will reply with one of the following words: $\bullet$ "hot" if the present lies behind the guessed door, $\bullet$ "warm" if the guess is not exact but the number of the guessed door differs from that of the present’s door by at most $5$, $\bullet$ "cold" if the numbers of the two doors differ by more than $5$. At least how many such guesses does Marvin need, so that he can be certain about where his present is? Marvin does not necessarily need to make a "hot" guess, just to know the correct door with $100\%$ certainty.