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Comments on this interview question

B

bolido2000

Diamond Member
My friend just had the following interview question to test his problem solving skills:

I am in the middle of the ocean on a boat and I have a bowling ball and a oar. How can I know how deep the ocean is?

You can introduce other elements to the scenario, but the fewer the better of course.
 
Somehow attach the oar to the bowling ball so that it will rise back to the surface after the ball hits the ocean floor. Note the time it takes for the whole process and figure in some mathematical formula for a 16lb bowling dropping thru ocean water. 😀
 
drop the ball and eye-ball it to the bottom and take your best guess. and use the oar for anal stimulation
 
Originally posted by: conjur
Somehow attach the oar to the bowling ball so that it will rise back to the surface after the ball hits the ocean floor. Note the time it takes for the whole process and figure in some mathematical formula for a 16lb bowling dropping thru ocean water. 😀
Click to expand...
And another formula for how long it takes for the oar to rise back to the surface.

 
Since you're allowed to introduce other elements, why don't you just turn on your handy dandy depth finder and view the screen? Problem solved with only one introduced element. Oh, if you want, you can drop the bowling ball into the water too. I don't know what good that will do, but at least you got rid of the bowling ball to lighten up your load so you can row yourself to shore faster.
 
Originally posted by: PCMarine
Yea, arn't oars built of materials which are less dense than water and therefore float?
Click to expand...
They probably float on their own, but attached to an 16lb bowling ball...
 
Tie some string (fashioned from hemp? or palm leaves? or whatever is on the island) around the bowling ball, attatched to both the ball and the oar. Sharpen the oar on some rock.

Drop it to the bottom of the ocean. When the ball hits the bottom, the oar will keep moving downward as it is tethered to the bowling ball by a string and therefore it is falling a foot or so behind it. It will hit the bowling ball and cut the rope (has to be thin, obviously), then shoot to the surface as oars are made of wood or synthetic materials which are always less dense than water (IE they float).

I'm no physics major but I'm sure there's a formula for gravity through saltwater (assuming no current, etc). So calculate the time it will take the ball+string+oar to drop, then calculate the time it takes for the oar to come back up; calculate the distance from that.
 
Attach a 10-ft long rope, tie it to the ball and slowy drop the ball, while holding on tightly to the other end of the rope. If it goes down all the way, then you know that the water is deeper than(or equal to) 10ft. I mean.... If it's deep enough for you to drown in it, do you care how deep it really is?
 
Originally posted by: poopaskoopa
Attach a 10-ft long rope, tie it to the ball and slowy drop the ball, while holding on tightly to the other end of the rope. If it goes down all the way, then you know that the water is deeper than(or equal to) 10ft. I mean.... If it's deep enough for you to drown in it, do you care how deep it really is?
Click to expand...

He's in the middle of the ocean. What ocean do you know of is 10 feet deep in the middle?
 
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Tie some string (fashioned from hemp? or palm leaves? or whatever is on the island) around the bowling ball, attatched to both the ball and the oar. Sharpen the oar on some rock.

Drop it to the bottom of the ocean. When the ball hits the bottom, the oar will keep moving downward as it is tethered to the bowling ball by a string and therefore it is falling a foot or so behind it. It will hit the bowling ball and cut the rope (has to be thin, obviously), then shoot to the surface as oars are made of wood or synthetic materials which are always less dense than water (IE they float).

I'm no physics major but I'm sure there's a formula for gravity through saltwater (assuming no current, etc). So calculate the time it will take the ball+string+oar to drop, then calculate the time it takes for the oar to come back up; calculate the distance from that.
Click to expand...
This is assuming the oar isn't buoyant.

 
Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello
Originally posted by: poopaskoopa
Attach a 10-ft long rope, tie it to the ball and slowy drop the ball, while holding on tightly to the other end of the rope. If it goes down all the way, then you know that the water is deeper than(or equal to) 10ft. I mean.... If it's deep enough for you to drown in it, do you care how deep it really is?
Click to expand...

He's in the middle of the ocean. What ocean do you know of is 10 feet deep in the middle?
Click to expand...

Fine. Attach a 36,200ft long rope then.
 
Originally posted by: tweakmm
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Tie some string (fashioned from hemp? or palm leaves? or whatever is on the island) around the bowling ball, attatched to both the ball and the oar. Sharpen the oar on some rock.

Drop it to the bottom of the ocean. When the ball hits the bottom, the oar will keep moving downward as it is tethered to the bowling ball by a string and therefore it is falling a foot or so behind it. It will hit the bowling ball and cut the rope (has to be thin, obviously), then shoot to the surface as oars are made of wood or synthetic materials which are always less dense than water (IE they float).

I'm no physics major but I'm sure there's a formula for gravity through saltwater (assuming no current, etc). So calculate the time it will take the ball+string+oar to drop, then calculate the time it takes for the oar to come back up; calculate the distance from that.
Click to expand...

This is assuming the oar isn't buoyant.
Click to expand...

If it wasn't buoyant it wouldn't float back up to the top. If it was/is buoyant it wouldnt matter because the bowling ball weighs more than the oar so it drags it down
 
Originally posted by: tweakmm
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Tie some string (fashioned from hemp? or palm leaves? or whatever is on the island) around the bowling ball, attatched to both the ball and the oar. Sharpen the oar on some rock.

Drop it to the bottom of the ocean. When the ball hits the bottom, the oar will keep moving downward as it is tethered to the bowling ball by a string and therefore it is falling a foot or so behind it. It will hit the bowling ball and cut the rope (has to be thin, obviously), then shoot to the surface as oars are made of wood or synthetic materials which are always less dense than water (IE they float).

I'm no physics major but I'm sure there's a formula for gravity through saltwater (assuming no current, etc). So calculate the time it will take the ball+string+oar to drop, then calculate the time it takes for the oar to come back up; calculate the distance from that.
Click to expand...
This is assuming the oar isn't buoyant.
Click to expand...

No, the oar is tied to the bowling ball, which will make it fall. I specifically said the oar IS bouyant 😉
 
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Originally posted by: tweakmm
Originally posted by: konichiwa
Tie some string (fashioned from hemp? or palm leaves? or whatever is on the island) around the bowling ball, attached to both the ball and the oar. Sharpen the oar on some rock.

Drop it to the bottom of the ocean. When the ball hits the bottom, the oar will keep moving downward as it is tethered to the bowling ball by a string and therefore it is falling a foot or so behind it. It will hit the bowling ball and cut the rope (has to be thin, obviously), then shoot to the surface as oars are made of wood or synthetic materials which are always less dense than water (IE they float).

I'm no physics major but I'm sure there's a formula for gravity through saltwater (assuming no current, etc). So calculate the time it will take the ball+string+oar to drop, then calculate the time it takes for the oar to come back up; calculate the distance from that.
Click to expand...
This is assuming the oar isn't buoyant.
Click to expand...

No, the oar is tied to the bowling ball, which will make it fall. I specifically said the oar IS buoyant 😉
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how you are tying the bowling ball and oar together, but if the oar is buoyant, once the bowling ball hits the bottom and stops moving, the oar isn't going to continue to fall to chop the rope. It will try to shoot to the top, but the slack in the rope will prevent it.

^
|| <-- oar
||
||
|
| <--rope
|
0 <-- bowling ball
---------------- <--- sea floor

Phear the ASCII art skillz 😀
 
Grab both and jump overboard, count the seconds it take you to hit the bottom. Use a simple physics formula, with gravity constant as acceleration to calculate the dept. Let go of the ball and use the paddle to help you get to the surface. You might not make it if the water is too deep, but if you are stuck on a boat with one oar and think that the dept of the ocean is you biggest problem you deserve to die.
 
Drop the bowling ball to the bottom, remove the oar from the boat and set it on the surface of the water where you dropped the ball in. Use your hands to paddle the boat away from the oar. Measure the distance from the oar to the new locatation of the boat, and the angle from the boat to the ball relative to the surface of the water and use some trigenometry to find the distance to the bottom of the ocean. Then go back and get your oar cause it's going to be a lot more useful than that depth measurement.
 
Use the oar to row back to shore, then log onto the internet and ask folks here if they knwo hwo deep the water is.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Drop the bowling ball to the bottom, remove the oar from the boat and set it on the surface of the water where you dropped the ball in. Use your hands to paddle the boat away from the oar. Measure the distance from the oar to the new locatation of the boat, and the angle from the boat to the ball relative to the surface of the water and use some trigenometry to find the distance to the bottom of the ocean. Then go back and get your oar cause it's going to be a lot more useful than that depth measurement.
Click to expand...

Man, that's one clear ocean. 😀

That's actually one of the better (serious) answers here.

Rob
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Drop the bowling ball to the bottom, remove the oar from the boat and set it on the surface of the water where you dropped the ball in. Use your hands to paddle the boat away from the oar. Measure the distance from the oar to the new locatation of the boat, and the angle from the boat to the ball relative to the surface of the water and use some trigenometry to find the distance to the bottom of the ocean. Then go back and get your oar cause it's going to be a lot more useful than that depth measurement.
Click to expand...
How are you going to be able to see the bowling ball at the bottom of the middle of the ocean?

 
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