Problem solving

River crossing

Obj:

Expected:

Time frame: 5-10 mins

Grp: 2 to 5 members

Phy: during the sched of the subj

Materials: a paper and a pen

Procedure:

Form small teams of 2 to 5 people.

Challenge each team to solve an imaginary puzzle:

Using a small rowboat, how can they transport a chicken, a fox and a bag of corn to the other side of the
river in as few moves as possible.

To govern fair-play, the solution must acknowledge three critical parameters:

– The rowboat can only carry one person and one item at any point in time.

– The fox and chicken cannot be left alone; and

– The chicken and the bag of corn cannot be left alone.

Describe the step-by-step solution to get all three items safely to the other side of the river.

Allow ample time for discussion and trial-and-error.

This is one of those classic river-crossing conundrums which typically has only one answer. Yet, as with
so many group initiatives, the value is found in the journey and not so much the destination.

Oh, and don’t think too hard about the circumstances – it’s hypothetical, and is designed simply to
stimulate critical thinking. That is to say, don’t ask why, it’s not real.
Given the discussion and critical thinking required, I like to form lots of small groups of 2 to 5 people to
tackle this puzzle.

In your set-up, either ask your group to imagine five primary elements – a woman, a rowboat, a chicken,
a fox and a bag of corn – or provide some form of prop or toy to represent each.

Explain that the woman has a dilemma – she needs to get the fox, the chicken and the bag of corn
across to the other side of a river in as few moves as possible. She has a rowboat, but it can only carry
her and one other item at a time.

Her dilemma is clear – she cannot leave the fox and the chicken alone together (the fox will eat the
chicken,) and she cannot leave the chicken with the corn (the chicken will eat the corn.)

So, challenge your group(s) to identify a solution that gets all five elements safely to the other side of
the river. How does the woman do it?

Allow ample time for your groups to discuss their ideas and perform lots of experiments.

Okay, here’s the solution:

To begin, the woman and the chicken cross the river together. The fox and corn are safe together.

Once on the other side, the woman leaves the chicken and returns to the fox and corn. She takes the fox
across the river, and since she can’t leave the fox and chicken together, she brings the chicken back with
her (that’s the trick which many groups do not think of.)

She cannot leave the chicken with the corn, so she leaves the chicken and rows the corn across the river
and leaves it with the fox.
Finally, she returns to pick up the chicken and rows across the river one last time. Voila!

If your group enjoys tackling this problem, take a look at the Variations tab for three more challenging
puzzles.

Was this puzzle easy or difficult for your group to solve?What type of thinking was necessary to solve
this problem?Were there any breakthroughs in your thinking? What was an example?How might this
thinking apply to other areas of our group’s life?

Reference: https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-team-building-puzzles/river-crossing/