Beh Week 4

ASSIGNMENT: PROBLEM-SOLVING SIMULATION

How did you interpret the problem?

-I interpreted the problem as only being able to bring one of three animals across the river at one time. If the cat and dog were left together, the dog would attack the cat. If the cat and mouse were left together, the cat would attack the mouse. From first look, if a person broke this problem down in their head, they would come to the assumption that given the scenario, you could not transport all three animals across the river safely. There are problems that given the wording, a person may perceive the problem as being impossible to solve when in actuality, if you look at the problem from a different angle, the answer becomes obvious. This, however, is not that type of problem. The way it is interpreted is accurate. You cannot safely transport all three animals.

What strategy did you use and how did you evaluate your progress?

–I used trial and error. I kept track of what my remaining options were after the use of an option. For example, after sending the cat across first, I could either send the dog or the mouse next. First, I sent the dog. When that did not work, I sent the cat followed by the mouse. Those were the only two options that I really would have needed to run. If the dog or mouse were sent first, it would leave the cat alone with either the dog or mouse. No matter what animal was sent first, or what animals were left alone, the process could not be completed with having all animals transported across the river safely.

Did you encounter any obstacles while solving the problem?

-I'm not sure that you'd consider it an obstacle as I was unable to get all three animals across the river. By simple deduction, I had decided before trying the exercise that it was unlikely to be able to safely bring all three animals across the river, given the scenario By using trial and error, I was able to prove my deduction. It is impossible if you can only...