Fox, Chicken and Corn Puzzle

A farmer lives on a small plot of land next to a river. One day, he travels across the river in a small boat and purchases a fox, a chicken, and a bag of corn from a feed and supply store. When the farmer returns to his boat to cross the river again and go home, he realizes he has a problem.

The farmer can only take one item in his small boat at a time, otherwise, he risks capsizing. He cannot leave the fox alone with the chicken, because the fox will eat the chicken. He cannot leave the chicken alone with the corn, because the chicken eats the corn.

Solution :

First, the farmer must take the chicken across the river, leaving the fox and corn alone together on the starting side. This is a good move because fox will not eat corn. 

Then, the farmer goes back and gets the fox. When he takes the fox across the river to the other side, instead of leaving the fox alone with the chicken, he swaps them out and takes the chicken back to the starting side. 

On the starting side, He then swaps the chicken out for the corn and brings it across, leaving the fox and corn alone on the far side. Finally, he goes back to get the chicken, bringing all three items across the river to the far side without letting anything eat anything else.

by following this logical approach farmer brought all 3 across the river without losing anyone. This is an interesting puzzle asked frequently in job interviews.