APDSMK WEEK 8 - problem solving.pptx

Copyright © 2019 UNIMY | Private & Confidential
PROBLEM
SOLVING
• FFGC1013 CREATIVE THINKING
• ASSOC. PROF. DR SALAMIAH MUHD KULAL
• salamiah.kulal@unimy.edu.my

The Digital Technology University
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic, you should be able to:
• Display some problem solving skills

Problem 1
• Three extraterrestrial monsters are holding 3 crystal
balls. Because of some peculiarities of their planet,
both monsters and balls come only in exactly 3 sizes:
small, medium and large.
• The large monster is holding the medium ball, the
medium monster is holding the small ball, and the
small monster is holding the large ball.
• The situation offends their sense of symmetry, so they
have to transfer balls from one monster to another so
that each monster holds a ball proportionate to its
own size.
• By what sequence of transfers these monsters could
solve the problem?
(Hayes & Simon, 1976)

M
S
L

Problem 2
• You have three measuring spoons. One is filled with
8 g of salt, the other two are empty but have a
capacity of 2 g each.
• Divide the salt among the spoons so that only 4 g of
salt remain in the largest spoon.

8 g
2 g
2 g

Problem 3
• You have a 5-minute hourglass and a 9-minute
hourglass.
• How can you use them to time a 14-minute
barbecue?
(Sternbeg, 1986)

5 min
9 min

Problem 4
Situation as in Problem 1…
However, Ultraman comes and makes strict rules:
1. Only one ball may be transferred at a time.
2. A monster can hold no more than 2 balls, and only
the larger of the two can be transferred.
3. A ball may not be transferred to a monster who is
holding a larger ball.
By what sequence of transfers could the monsters solve
the problem?

Problem 5
• You have three measuring spoons.
• Spoon A is filled with 8 g of salt. The other two are
empty, but spoon B can hold 5 g of salt while spoon
C can hold 3 g of salt.
• Divide the salt among the spoons so that Spoon A
and spoon B each is filled with exactly 4 g of salt,
and spoon C is empty.

8 g
5 g
3 g

Problem 6
• You have a 5-minute hourglass and a 9-minute
hourglass.
• How can you use them to time a 13-minute
barbecue?

Problem 7
• You have four pieces of chain, each chain is made
of 3 links. All links are closed.
• It costs RM2 to open a link and RM3 to close a link.
• How can you join all links together into a single
continuous circle without paying more that RM15?

Problem 8
• Arrange 6 kitchen matches into 4 equilateral
triangles. Each side of every triangle must be only
one match length.

Problem 9
• The equation below is wrong. Correct it by moving
only one matchstick.

Problem 10
• A farmer is counting the hens and rabbits in his
barnyard. He counts a total of 50 heads and 140
feet.
• How many hens and how many rabbits does the
farmer have?
(S.K. Reed, 1988)

Problem 11
• Bill has a collection of 20 coins that consists of
dimes and quarters only.
• If the collection is worth $4.10, how many of each
kind of coins are in the collection?
(S.K. Reed, 1988)
*A dime = 10 cents, a quarter = 25 cents

Problem 12
• 3 Hobbits and 3 Orcs are on the bank of a river.
There is only one boat there.
• They all want to get to the other side of the river,
but the boat will carry only 2 creature at one time.
Moreover, at any time if the Orcs outnumber the
Hobbits, they will attack the Hobbits.
• How can all the creatures get across the river
without danger to the Hobbits?

Problem 13
• Now there are 5 Hobbits and 5 Orcs, and the boat
can carry 3 creatures at one time across the river…

Problem 14 – How to mount the
candle on the wall? (Duncker, 1945)

Problem 15
• 2 strings are hanging from
the ceiling far apart that one
cannot be reached without
letting go of the other. There
is a chair, some papers, a
plier, some nails and a glass
jar. How to take hold of both
string simultaneously?
(Maier, 1931)

Any question?
“Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.”
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Thank you
Next: We will discuss the psychology of problem
solving

APDSMK WEEK 8 - problem solving.pptx

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APDSMK WEEK 8 - problem solving.pptx