There are plenty of such task. This is just an example:
You can either guess or ask 'Yes/No' questions.
You are standing outside a closed door. On the other side of the
door is a room that has three light bulbs in it. The room is completely
sealed off from the outside. It has no windows and nothing can get in or
out except through the door. On the outside of the room there are three
light switches that control each of the respective light bulbs on the
other side of the door.Your assignment is to determine which light switch controls which light bulb. You are allowed to enter the room only once, and once you come out, you must be able to state with 100% certainty which light switch controls which light bulb.
Your task:
- what's your answer to the riddle?- could such task be used in your teaching situation?
You should turn two switches off. Then you should enter the room. You"ll see which bulb is on. It's the first of them. Then you should turn one of the last bulbs on when you come out.
ReplyDeleteWe may use it for developing personality(memory, logical thinking)
The answer:
ReplyDeleteFirst you should switch one bulb on, wait a little and then switch it off (not entering the room). Then you switch the next bulb on and come into the room. So, the bulb that is on is controlled by the second light switch. The bulb that is still warm (you should touch it of course) is controlled by the first light switch. And the bulb which is off is controlled by the light switch that wasn't used.
Vera, thank you very much for another great idea! I myself know quite a lot of riddles and have used them posting in our school site. I haven't tought about using a blog for that. Now I'll try to do something similar. There could be one problem: my learners used the Internet for finding the answers!
My answer has been already written, I agree with Oxana))) This activity is great to be used as a brainstorm.
ReplyDeleteI already solved this problem when I was a student. I was really happy that I managed. I find such activity very useful especially for math students, because they are not usually interested in the language but much more interested in problem solving. Good for groupwork.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the second answer
ReplyDelete1. too complicated for me, I need a plenty of time to solve the riddle.
ReplyDelete2. A good task for holidays - it`s more fun than, say, `read and fill in gaps`. My boys would like it
My answer is already in the comments
ReplyDeleteWell, I would divide my pupils into two or three groups to see which group would come with which answer. It is great for extra-classes activities!
ReplyDeleteAlla D.