Trying to solve a problem with solver

**rapal** · 12-18-2019, 01:39 AM

Hello,

I am currently trying to solve the following problem (the spreadsheet is attached):

"I teach a class with 24 students and want to form teams of three for each of eight assignments. I want to create the teams so that no individual is ever matched with the same individual twice. In other words, every student will be matched with new people for each assignment. Thus, over the semester, each person will be with 16 different teammates. Assign the 24 students to the eight teams and put your results in the blue cells. (I created teams below for the first assignment--it gets a lot harder for subsequent ones...) You can add whatever you'd like to the rest of the worksheet, but make sure your results are in D6:K29."
So far, I am not able to come up with a logical answer. I believe I need to use solver, but I don't know how to make sure no individual will be matched with the same individual twice. Furthermore, I am not sure which constraints I should set for solver...

Does anyone have any idea on how I could solve this problem?

Thanks!

**AliGW** · 12-18-2019, 03:19 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Nothing is more frustrating than to be working on homework and to get stuck. Without guidance, you might have no hope of finishing the assignment before the deadline. The Internet can be a big help in that respect, but without learning how to get the right answer, asking others to solve your homework questions for you simply becomes a downward spiral (and it's cheating).

We do not want to contribute to you cheating yourself out of your education, but we also acknowledge that seeking assistance to learn a concept is a legitimate request.

If you are genuinely interested in receiving help in the form of tutoring or coaching, then please rephrase the title of your original post to clearly indicate you are seeking coaching or tutoring help. Any forum members (who are willing to assist as a tutor) will modify their responses accordingly to facilitate your learning. Tutors don't tell you the answers, they help you figure it out for yourself; so don't expect answers, expect suggestions, or just plain hints. Also, be specific in describing the function/formula or technique you trying to learn, and tell us what you have attempted so far. Otherwise, expect your plea for homework answers to be ignored.