The glass puzzle

One way to solve a problem is to see it differently. Can you rearrange these glasses in a certain way in only one move?

Materials:
Six drinking glasses
Water

Doing it:
1. Arrange six glasses, three empty and three full, as shown

1 2 3 4 5 6
empty empty fulll full full empty

2. The challenge is to arrange the glasses so that they stand alternately, one full, one empty, one full, one empty, one full, one empty. You can only move or touch one glasss.

Answer:
Lift the glass and pour its contents into the first glass. Return the fourth glass to its original position, and the problem is solved!

Story behind the activity:
Scientific discoveries often occur because someone has been able to see an obvious solution to a problem --- a solution which, to many others, may not have been quite so obvious. In this activity, people often put unnecessary restrictions on their options -- like thinking that it isn't "legal" to pour the water from one glass to another.