The Collatz Conjecture or 3x+1 problem can be summarized as follows:

Take any positive integer n. If n is even, divide n by 2 to get n / 2. If n is odd, multiply n by 3 and add 1 to get 3n + 1. Repeat the process indefinitely. The conjecture states that no matter which number you start with, you will always reach 1 eventually.

Given a number n, return the number of steps required to reach 1.

Starting with n = 12, the steps would be as follows:

0. 12
1. 6
2. 3
3. 10
4. 5
5. 16
6. 8
7. 4
8. 2
9. 1

Resulting in 9 steps. So for input n = 12, the return value would be 9.

Refer to the exercism help page for Rust installation and learning resources.

Execute the tests with:

$ cargo test

All but the first test have been ignored. After you get the first test to pass, remove the ignore flag (#[ignore]) from the next test and get the tests to pass again. The test file is located in the tests directory. You can also remove the ignore flag from all the tests to get them to run all at once if you wish.

Make sure to read the Modules chapter if you haven't already, it will help you with organizing your files.

The exercism/rust repository on GitHub is the home for all of the Rust exercises. If you have feedback about an exercise, or want to help implement new exercises, head over there and create an issue. Members of the rust track team are happy to help!

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An unsolved problem in mathematics named after mathematician Lothar Collatz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3x_%2B_1_problem

It's possible to submit an incomplete solution so you can see how others have completed the exercise.