=====Answer:===== The shortest amount of time is 17 minutes. For simplicity, we'll refer to each person by the time it takes to cross. - 1 and 2 cross - 1 comes back with the flashlight - 5 and 10 cross - 2 comes back with the light - 1 and 2 cross 1,2 --> (2 minutes) <-- 1 (3 minutes) 5,10 --> (13 minutes) <-- 2 (15 minutes) 1,2 --> (17 minutes)