A detachment of n soldiers must cross a wide and deep river with no bridge in sight. They notice two 12- year-old boys playing in a rowboat by the shore. The boat is so tiny, however, that it can only hold two boys or one soldier. How can the soldiers get across the river and leave the boys in joint possession of the boat

Steps 1 - 4 below explains it.

Step-by-step explanation:

The way that the soldiers get across the river and leave the boys in joint possession of the boat is;

1) The two 12- year - old boys will take the boat to the other side

2) Thereafter, one of the 12- year - old boys will return with the boat.

3) A soldier will now take the boat to the other side and the soldier will remain there while the other boy returns the boat.

4) Step 1 - 3 is a total of 4 trips. Thus, trip would be repeated the total of n times and the n number of soldiers would get across the river and leave the boys in joint possession of the boat after the total of 4n trips.