Assignment 1

Problem-Solving Simulation

Assignment
Problem-Solving Simulation
University of Phoenix

Assignment 2
Problem-Solving Simulation

How did you interpret the problem?

The first step in problem solving is interpretation of the problem. My initial interpretation
was that it was an impossible task to complete. After contemplating the problem for a few
minutes it hit me and the light when off in my head and I realized that the task was not
difficult. All that I would need to do is take the spoon with the 8 teaspoons of salt and pour 2
teaspoons in each empty spoon. This would divide the 8 teaspoons of salt in a way that there
is only 4 teaspoons of salt left in the main spoon. My first interpretation was the task could
not be completed, then after viewing all the options and interpreting them I realized the task
was quite simple.

What strategy did you use and how did you evaluate your progress?
Unfortunately the Hobbits were killed many times before the light came on. Using hillclimbing aided me in my strategy to getting all six creatures across the river. Each step I
would move closer to getting all three Hobbits safely across the river. First, I would take two
Orcs across the river then bring one Orc back across the river and pick up the remaining Orc
and returning them both to the opposite side leaving only two Orcs on one side and keep one
Orc on the boat. Then I would pick up two Hobbits and leave the last Orc with the last
Hobbit waiting for the last trip across the river. As I used hill-climbing as a guide, figuring
out how to get all the creatures across the river without any Hobbits was quite simple,
however it took many trips across the river to achieve the task.

Assignment 3
Problem-Solving Simulation
Did you encounter any obstacles while solving the problem?
When I first began to solve this problem I had a mental set that blocked me from
identifying an easy way to achieve the task. Personally, I could not see any reason why the
Hobbits could not swim across the river while I took the Orcs across, leaving one Hobbit and
one Orc to wait for the next trip across. Then I brainstormed for different options to get all
six across safely and came to the realization that the task was quite simple without making
any Hobbits swim across the river.

Were you aware of this thought process as you worked through the problem?
The problem solving section in chapter seven introduced me to different problems, some
of which were very easy to solve. The others were a little more difficult and put the
brainstorming techniques to work and enticed me to overcome mental sets. The problems that
I could not solve I resorted to looking at the answers in the back of the chapter with the
feeling of stupidity because some were quite easy to solve, as in the case with the three
Hobbits and three Orcs are on the bank of a river. My mind set on that task was to make the
Hobbits swim across the river.

References:
Understanding Psychology Chapter 7, Ninth Edition, by Charles G. Morris and Albert A.
Maisto