Question

The figure shows a number crunching machine in which any integer can be fed as
input.There are a set of instructions which produces output as follows:
If a positive integer is fed into the number crunching machine, it produces one of two
results:
 If the integer fed in is EVEN, the machine divides the number by 2.
 If the integer fed in is ODD, the machine subtracts one from the number.
If a negative integer is fed into the number crunching machine, it produces its additive
inverse.
Question1. Find the result when the following numbers are fed into the machine:
(i) 123 (ii) -72
Question2. What can be the input to the machine if the output is 18?
(a) 36 (b) 19 (c) -18 (d) All of the above
Question3. It is possible to feed the output from the machine back into the input, and
continue to do so until the output reaches zero.For example, with an initial input of 11, the
following would occur:
11 10 5 4 2 1 0
We see that 6 steps are required to reach zero.
Give the number of steps required to reach zero if you start with -24. Show the steps.

Answer 1

Answer:

its that when the pairs get mixed with each other, it gets easy to solve ...

this was a clue only