A MATTER OF SURVIVAL
Roberto is a wilderness survival enthusiast. Since a young age, he has pushed the
limits of the extreme. Here he is now, alone in the forest, somewhat against his will…
He will have to survive by completing the following three tasks:
1. Climb to the top of the most suitable tree in the forest in order to locate the
nearest village.
2. To save his energy, he must then choose the fastest route to get to the village he
spotted earlier.
3. Pack only the essentials for his survival into his backpack and shoulder bag,
considering weight and his posture.
First task:
Roberto's boldness got the better of him this time. He has quite literally gotten lost in the
forest. And this one is a bit inhospitable. Quickly, Roberto must climb to the top of the
tree best suited to give him an idea of where the nearest (not the largest) village is.
In fact, Roberto suffers from airsickness and must not go higher than 22 meters above
sea level, or he will lose consciousness! It’s a very rare medical condition he has
suffered from since he was a child!
Type of Tree
Elevation Relative to Sea Level
Height of the Tree
Oak
+970 cm
16.5 m
Aspen
0m
230.5 dm
Maple
-105 dm
3,500 cm
Spruce
-10,550 mm
31 m
Ash
+11.25 m
14,000 mm
Elm
-800 cm
30.5 m
Second Task:
From the top of his tree, Roberto can now see the nearest village and four paths that
can lead him there.
Each path is divided into four segments, and Roberto has estimated the time he will
need to cross each one, taking into account the trail conditions and their difficulty. He
will choose the fastest path.
Path
Segment #1
Segment #2
Segment #3
Segment #4
Hexagon
33 minutes
2,280 seconds
½ hour
27 minutes
Triangle
¼ of an hour
1,680 seconds
29 minutes
4/6 of an hour
Diamond
26 minutes
⁶⁄₁₀ of an hour
1,200 seconds
50% of an hour
Circle
25% of an hour
29 minutes
1 h 03
420 seconds
Additionally, no matter which path he takes, Roberto must plan for the following 3
things:
A. A dinner break lasting 16 minutes
B. Three bathroom breaks in the woods, each lasting 120 seconds
C. A break to find an edible snack lasting ⅖ of an hour
Third Task:
Roberto must now determine what he will bring and what he will leave behind on his
journey back to civilization. Roberto’s mother is a kinesiologist and has always given
him valuable advice about posture when hiking. She liked to do it in the form of
riddles…
“My dear Roberto, your legs and your back must form an angle between
((33 + 4 × 5) × 3)° and (3 × 50 + 44 ÷ 44 × 0)°. If you respect this posture,
you’ll never have back pain.”
“Also, if you carry a backpack on your back, you must counterbalance the
weight by wearing a shoulder bag on your front. Together, they must not
weigh more than 12 kg, and the shoulder bag should weigh about 3 times
less than your backpack. Love you. xxx”
Here are the items Roberto currently has with him:
You must choose which posture will allow Roberto to have no back pain and decide
which items should go in the backpack and which items should go in the shoulder bag
to respect the weight constraints.
TASK 1
Type of tree
Total height above sea level
The tree he will climb (✓
)
Oak
Aspen
Maple
Spruce
Ash
Elm
TASK 2
Path
Time to complete
the entire path
(in min)
Additional time for
dinner, bathroom,
and snack (in min)
Hexagon
Triangle
Diamond
Circle
TASK 3
According to Roberto’s mother, to
avoid back pain, your legs and
back must form an angle between:
º
and
º
Total time
(in min)
The path
he will
take (✓ )
The correct posture is (✓ )
Angle of figure A
º
Angle of figure B
º
Angle of figure C
º
Items
Weight (kg)
In the backpack (✓ )
In the shoulder bag (✓
)
bowl
pocketknife
water bottle
binoculars
GPS
flashlight
snack
walking sticks
water filter
guide book
bug spray
sunscreen
Weight of each
bag (kg)
Total weight of
the bags (kg)
0
