What is intuition in the context of physics and engineering, and how can it be improved?

• Wikipedia says intuition is “The ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning”.
• It is thought that this ability is based on personal experience, and that it can be improved over time.
• We have prepared four “mini-challenges” for you.  Try as hard as you can, for no more than one hour.
• Don’t look up anything on the internet.
• When you are done trying, watch how somebody else approached the problem.

Try this:

Keep in mind: this is all about trying.

You did it? Have a look, we tried it too.

Hinge

Excavator

Lock

Scissors