CS2104: Introduction to Problem Solving
Homework Assignment 9

Due at 8:00AM on Friday, October 21
50 Points

Here are the problems for Homework 9.

For the first five problems, you must indicate what numbers or values best fill in the blanks. You must also provide a complete description for the pattern. 

  1. 1  2  3  6  11  20  37 ___  ___  ___
  2. 4  14  21  26  36  43  48  58  65  ___  ___  ___
  3. 7  3  4  8  4  5  10  6  7  14  10  11  22  ___  ___  ___
  4. c i o d j p e k q ___ ___
  5. u n g t m f s ___ ___

The following five problems are exercises in lateral thinking. Be assured that each problem has an answer, and once discovering (or hearing) the answer, most people would be satisfied that it is “correct.” Some of them are difficult due to natural “blind” spots in comprehension. Answers should not require any bizarre interpretation of the question, nor any strained or unusual circumstances in the explanation.

  1. What has six legs but walks on only four?
  2. You have been forced into playing chess simultaneously with two chess masters. You don't even know the rules of chess. Fortunately, you get to do it at home, and provide your moves over the internet. And they are nice enough to let you pick which side you play in each game. You get two points for a win and one point for a draw. Think of a plan that will guarentee that you get at least two points.
  3. What do reindeer have that no other animals have?
  4. A man is holding a bucket full of water. He turns the bucket upside down, but the bucket remains full of water. How come. The bucket has no lid, the water is not frozen, the man is not in space, nor is he swinging the bucket to generate centrifugal force to keep the water in the bucket.
  5. What property do the numbers 1, 2, 6, and 10 all have that no other whole number has?