Essential Problem-Solving Exercises to Kickstart Your Programming Journey
Problem Solving Exercises
Here are some problem-solving exercises to help you on your programming journey. These are classic examples nothing fancy, but useful for practice, just like the ones I used when learning to program.
A classic example of a problem-solving exercise is the “River Crossing Puzzle”. This puzzle tests logic, planning, and critical thinking. Here’s how it works:
River Crossing Puzzle
The Problem:
You are on one side of a river with a boat, and you need to transport a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage to the other side of the river. However, there are a few conditions:
- The boat can only carry you and one of the three items (wolf, goat, or cabbage) at a time.
- You cannot leave the wolf and the goat together unsupervised (the wolf will eat the goat).
- You cannot leave the goat and the cabbage together unsupervised (the goat will eat the cabbage).
Objective:
Figure out how to get all three (the wolf, the goat, and the cabbage) across the river without any of them being eaten.
The Sibling Riddle
The Problem:
There are three siblings: Alex, Blake, and Charlie. They are talking about their ages:
- Alex says: “I am not the youngest.”
- Blake says: “I am older than Alex.”
- Charlie says: “I am not the oldest.”
One of them is lying. Can you figure out who is the youngest, the oldest, and who is lying?
The Missing Dollar Riddle
The Problem:
Three friends go to a restaurant and order a meal costing $30. They each contribute $10, for a total of $30. The waiter realizes there was a mistake, and the meal only costs $25. The waiter gives $5 back to the friends.
However, the friends decide to tip the waiter $2 and split the remaining $3 equally among themselves. So, each friend gets $1 back.
Now, each friend has spent $9 (since they originally gave $10 and got $1 back), and 3 friends spending $9 each equals $27. Plus, the $2 tip given to the waiter totals $29.
The Question:
Where is the missing dollar? Shouldn’t the total be $30?
Car Colour Puzzle
The Problem:
Five cars are parked in a line, each with a different colour: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Black. Based on the following clues, can you determine the position of the Yellow car in the queue?
- The Red car is immediately ahead of the Blue car.
- The Green car is at the end of the line.
- The Yellow car is somewhere between the Red car and the Black car, but it is not next to either of them.
- The Blue car is not next to the Black car.
You can find more problem solving exercises in books and blogs such as:
References
Books:
-
“The Moscow Puzzles” by Boris A. Kordemsky
This book contains over 350 puzzles, ranging from simple to complex, including logic problems and reasoning challenges like the car colour puzzle or the wolf, goat, and cabbage problem. -
“Mind-Stretching Puzzles” by Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner’s puzzles focus on logic, reasoning, and mathematical challenges. His puzzles are designed to make you think critically and are similar to the types of exercises you’re asking for. -
“Posers, Puzzles and Problems” by Terry Stickels
This book offers a variety of brain teasers and logic puzzles suitable for all levels, including puzzles about sequences, relationships, and positions—perfect for those who enjoy solving problems similar to the car queue puzzle.
Blogs:
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Puzzling Stack Exchange
This is a community-driven blog where users post various types of puzzles, ranging from beginner to advanced, including logic puzzles, riddles, and problem-solving exercises.
Puzzling Stack Exchange -
Brilliant.org
Brilliant is an interactive learning platform with logic puzzles, math problems, and reasoning exercises that will challenge your brain and help you develop critical thinking skills.
Brilliant.org -
Braingle
Braingle is a blog dedicated to brain teasers, riddles, and logic puzzles, with thousands of puzzles that test different problem-solving techniques, perfect for beginners and advanced puzzlers.
Braingle
This page was last update at 2025-01-16 15:51