Puzzle- involving U2


Rothey, Michael ([email protected])
Fri, 24 Jul 1998 15:05:16 -0500


Thought some of you might like this....

something to do this afternoon...
>
> "Allegedly, this is one of the questions for potential Microsoft
> employees. I must warn you, you can really get caught up trying
> to
> solve this problem.
> Reportedly, one guy solved it by writing a C program, although
> that
> took him 37 minutes to develop (compiled and ran on the 1st try
> though). Another guy solved it in 3 minutes. A group of 50, at
> Motorola, couldn't figure it out at all. See how long it takes
> you.
>
> Here we go...
>
> "U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all
> cross a
> bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the
> bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It is
> night.
> There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at
> one
> time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the
>
> flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and
> forth,
> it cannot be thrown, ect.
> Each band member walks at a different speed.
> A pair must walk together at the rate of the slowers man's pace"
>
> Bono: - 1 minute to cross
> Edge: - 2 minutes to cross
> Adam: - 5 minutes to cross
> Larry: - 10 minutes to cross
>
> For example: If Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have
>
> elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry
> then
> returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed
> and you
> have failed the mission (recall that you only have 17 minutes).
>
> Notes: There is no trick behind this. It is a simple movement
> of
> resources in the appropriate order. There are two known answers
> to
> this problem. This is based on a question Microsoft gives to all
>
> prospective employees.
>
> Note: Microsoft expects you to answer this question in under 5
> minutes! Good luck!"



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Fri Jul 24 1998 - 13:06:23 PDT