KayakTeaser

There are no tricks; this is a straightforward problem. 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 three minutes. A group of 50, at Motorola, couldn't figure it out at all. See how long it takes you.

Here we go...

"4 Kayak'ers" have to cross the chanel befor the tide goes out' that happens in 17 minutes and they must all cross the chanel or be left to parish. All four men begin on the same side of the chanel. You must help them across to the other side. . There is one kayak. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must use the Kayak to cross . The Kayak must be paddled across and be paddled back and forth, it cannot be push empty string or rope but paddled by 1 or 2 paddlers, etc. Each band paddler paddles at a different speed. A pair must paddle together at the rate of the slower man's pace:

* nick: - 1 minute to cross * ross: - 2 minutes to cross * eric: - 5 minutes to cross * spivey: - 10 minutes to cross

For example: if spivey and nick paddle across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If spivey then returns with the kayak, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.

Notes: There is no trick behind this. It is the simple movement of resources in the appropriate order. There are two known answers to this problem. This is based on a question that Microsoft gives to all prospective employees.

Note: Microsoft expects you to answer this question in under 5 minutes!