Tom Hanks used a friction method, with a grooved log seated so it wouldn't move. He then put a good tinder at the bottom of said groove and rubbed another stick along the groove where it made a lot of contact. Eventually he stroked it fast enough to produce some heat to ignite a fire.

I'm pretty sure I remember reading that the movie was pretty heavily researched (if improbable - not impossible). The only thing I found a bit silly was the raft pulling him out of the water as the plane sank, but I suppose you have to jumpstart the story.

He made cordage from local weeds, had fish, etc.

I went through a similar exercise as this, although the test was much better stated. It was a team building test and our class was divided into teams where none of us knew the other people. We had to decide the order of what items to bring with us (out of 12). The items were clearly described, as were the parameters of the test. A small prop plane went down with your team on a partially frozen lake, where it began to sink. You only had a few minutes to get everything out and you might not get it all, so the order was important. The whole point was to get the team interacting, making decisions (good and bad) and to discuss who would likely survive the longest and why. The survival lessons were secondary here...

I remember some facts from this exercise: 1) Taking any navigational equipment (maps, compass, sextant) are largely pointless for your average Joe as it's MUCH safer to stay where you are and get rescued. 2) Alcohol isn't nearly as important as those cartoons with St. Bernards carrying a small keg around their necks led us to believe <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> 3) Even a small understanding of survival principles can make you a team leader rather quickly.

My guess is that this is to "get you thinking" and to have you explain your choices. Perhaps some answers aren't necessarily wrong if they are explained properly. But it seems to me that this "test" they gave you isn't well done.