Analyzing Puzzles and Games

What is the minimum number of moves required to complete this puzzle?

Example 2: Frank and Tara are playing darts, using the given rules. Their scores are shown in the table below. To win, Frank must reduce his score to exactly zero and have his last counting dart be a double. Rules: Each player’s score starts at 501. The goal is to reduce your score to zero. Players alternate turns. Each player throws three darts per turn.

What strategies for plays would give Frank a winning turn?  He could win with one dart if he hits ________________________.  If he misses and hits _________________________, he could win by hitting ___________________________with his second dart.  If he misses ____________________________ and hits __________________________, what would he need to hit to win (assuming he can’t hit the same thing twice)? What is another strategy he could use to win?

 Example 3:  Three students are playing a game. Two of the students flip a coin, and the third student records their scores. Student 1 gets a point if the result is two heads, student 2 gets a point if the result is two tails, and student 3 gets a point if the result is a head and a tail. The first student to get 10 points wins. Explain whether you would prefer to be student 1, student 2, or student 3.

Example 4:  Solving logic puzzles often requires the use of inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Try to solve this Bridges puzzle also known as Hashiwokakero  The rules are simple. Bridges is played on a rectangular grid with no standard size. Some cells start out with numbers from 1 to 8 inclusive; these are the islands. The rest of the cells are empty. The goal is to connect all of the islands into a single connected group by drawing a series of bridges between the islands. The bridges must follow certain criteria: They must begin and end at distinct islands, travelling a straight line in between; They must not cross any other bridges or islands; They may only run diagonally; At most two bridges connect a pair of islands; and The number of bridges connected to each island must match the number on that island.

 Both inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning are useful for determining a strategy to solve a puzzle or win a game.  Inductive reasoning is useful when analyzing games and puzzles that require recognizing patterns or creating a particular order.  Deductive reasoning is useful when analyzing games and puzzles that require inquiry and discovery to complete.

 1.7 Assignment: Nelson Foundations of Mathematics 11, Sec 1.7, pg  Questions: 4, 7a, 8, 9, 10a