Tent Problem

Consider a horse rider who wishes to feed his horse at a field, gather water from a river, and then return to his tent, all in the smallest overall distance possible. The path he should take is obtained by reflecting the tent across the near river bank, then reflecting this point about the field boundary, as illustrated above.

REFERENCES:

Steinhaus, H. Mathematical Snapshots, 3rd ed. New York: Dover, pp. 111-113, 1999.