The Collapsing Bridge Puzzle - Solution

The Puzzle:

The Collapsing Bridge
A bridge will collapse in 17 minutes.

4 people want to cross it before it will collapse. It is a dark night and there is only one torch between them.

Only two people can cross at a time.

"A" takes a minute to cross.
"B" takes 2 minutes.
"C" takes 5
and "D" takes 10 minutes

How do they all cross before the bridge collapses?

Our Solution:

A and B cross first using up 2 minutes.
A comes back making it 3
C and D cross making it 13 minutes
then B crosses back over making it 15 minutes.
And finally A and B cross together to make it 17 minutes!
Puzzle Author: Tom Rosenzweig

See this puzzle without solution
Discuss this puzzle at the Math is Fun Forum