Mental Sets in Everyday Life

Introduction:
The following assignment will demonstrate the relationship between cognition and mental abilities examined during this week.

Luchins’ water jar problem demonstrates how mental sets can create barriers to effective problem solving. In addition to better understanding the notion of mental sets, you might also gain valuable insight into your own problem-solving strategies and skills.

Tasks:
Part I: Luchins’ Water Jar Problem

You have three jars labeled A, B, and C. Each holds a particular amount of water, but not the amount you need. How can you get the amount you need using only these three jars?

The capacities of Jars A, B, and C for each problem are listed below.

Problem Jar A Capacity Jar B Capacity Jar C Capacity
1 24 130 3
2 9 44 7
3 21 58 4
4 12 160 25
5 19 75 5
6 23 49 31
7 18 48 4

Instructions: For each of the following seven problems, use some combination of the jars (i.e., by adding or subtracting quantities of water) to obtain the target amount listed in the goal column. Fill in the amounts to add (+) or subtract (-) on the table below to get the goal (amount of water you need). The first problem has been done for you:

Problem Jar A Jar B Jar C Goal
1 -1 +1 -2 100
2 21
3 29
4 98
5 46
6 20
7 22

I believe that is like
1 -1 +1 -2 100
2 21
3 29
4 98
5 46
6 20
7 22