A merchant had a forty-pound measuring weight that broke into four pieces as the result of a fall. When the pieces were subsequently weighed, it was found that the weight of each piece was a whole number of pounds and that the four pieces could be used to weigh every integral weight between 1 and 40 pounds.
Let the weights of the pieces be such that , what is the value of ?
If were , input your answer as .
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You can check the solution in my blog .