Microsoft interview questions

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Night bridge - crossing

There are four people who need to cross a bridge at night. The bridge is only wide enough for two people to cross at once. There is only one flashlight for the entire group. When two people cross, they must cross at the slower member's speed. All four people must cross the bridge in 17 minutes, since the bridge will collapse in exactly that amount of time. Here are the times each member takes to cross the bridge:
  • Person A: 1 minute
  • Person B: 2 minutes
  • Person C: 5 minutes
  • Person D: 10 minutes
So, if Person A and C crossed the bridge initally, 5 minutes would elapse, because Person C takes 5 minutes to cross. Then, Person A would have to come back to the other side of the bridge, taking another minue, or six minutes total. Now, if Person A and D crossed the bridge next, it would take them 10 minutes, totalling to 16 minutes. If A came back, it would take yet another minute, totally 17... the bridge would collapse with A and B on the wrong side. How can all four people get across the bridge within 17 minutes? Note: there is no trick-answer to this problem. You can't do tricky stuff like throwing the flashlight back from one end of the bridge to the other. This problem can be solved!

1 Comments:

  • A+B - A = 2 + 1min
    C+D - B = 10 + 2min
    A+B = 2min

    By Blogger Ivic, at 10:00 AM  

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