CS2984: Introduction to Problem Solving
Homework Assignment 9
Due at 11:00pm on Tuesday, October 16
50 Points
See the General Guidelines for homework assignments.
This assignment must be done with a partner. The final submission should contain the name of both partners. Only one partner should actually make the submission to Web-CAT.
Below are ten problems. They are all to be done using the "pairs problem solving" technique discussed in class. On any given problem, one member of the pair will take the role of the problem solver, and the other member will take the role of the listener. For this assignment, the listener will also take the role of scribe. The scribe will be the primary author for the submitted solution. The scribe should note down the steps that the solver took to solve the problem. The submitted solutions to the problems should explicitly describe the steps taken by the solver. Note that both partners will normally receive the same grade, and both are equally responsible in the end for all solutions.
One member of the pair will be the solver for the even problems and the listener/scribe for the odd problems, while the other member will be the solver for the odd problems and the listener/scribe for the even problems.
DO NOT LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS THEMSELVES UNTIL YOU ARE SITTING WITH YOUR PARTNER AND DOING THE PROBLEMS AS A PAIR.
The first six problems require that you complete a series of letters or numbers. These should not be too hard for one person to do while the other acts as listener. The last four problems are lateral thinking problems. These are likely to appear more difficult. Both partners might need to contribute to finding the solution (somewhat breaking the "solver/listener" model). Be assured that each problem has an answer, and once discovering (or hearing) the answer, most people would be satisfied that it is "correct". The lateral thinking problems are all similar in that they tend to be difficult due to "blind" spots.