MODULE 4 - THE NATURE OF

MATHEMATICS:
PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING
JOSE P. AGTARAP JR.
Instructor
TOPICS
• Polya’s Four-Step in Problem Solving
• Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, the students will be able to:
• use different types of reasoning to justify statements
and arguments made about mathematics and
mathematical concepts;
• write clear and logical proofs;
• solve problems involving patterns and recreational
problems following Polya’s four steps; and
• organize one’s methods and approaches for proving
and solving problems.
REVIEW
• Mathematics as a Language
• Basic Concepts of Mathematics
POLYA’S FOUR-STEP IN
PROBLEM SOLVING
GEORGE POLYA (1887–1985).

• One of the foremost recent mathematicians to make a study of

problem solving
• He was born in Hungary and moved to the United States in 1940.
POLYA’S FOUR-STEP
PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGY
∙ Understand the problem.
∙ Devise a plan.
∙ Carry out the plan.
∙ Review the solution.
UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
This part of Polya’s four-step strategy is often overlooked. You
must have a clear understanding of the problem. To help you
focus on understanding the problem, consider the following
questions.

• Can you restate the problem in your own words?

• Can you determine what is known about these types of
problems?
• Is there missing information that, if known, would allow you
to solve the problem?
• Is there extraneous information that is not needed to solve the
problem?
• What is the goal?
DEVISE A PLAN
Successful problem solvers use a variety of techniques when they
attempt to solve a problem. Here are some frequently used
procedures.
• Make a list of the known information.
• Make a list of information that is needed.
• Draw a diagram.
• Make an organized list that shows all the possibilities.
• Make a table or a chart.
• Work backwards.
• Try to solve a similar but simpler problem.
• Look for a pattern.
• Write an equation. If necessary, define what each variable
represents.
• Perform an experiment.
• Guess at a solution and then check your result.
CARRY OUT THE PLAN
Once you have devised a plan, you must carry it out.
• Work carefully.
• Keep an accurate and neat record of all your
attempts.
• Realize that some of your initial plans will not work
and that you may have to devise another plan or
modify your existing plan.
REVIEW THE SOLUTION
Once you have found a solution, check the solution.
• Ensure that the solution is consistent with the facts
of the problem.
• Interpret the solution in the context of the problem.
• Ask yourself whether there are generalizations of the
solution that could apply to other problems.
EXAMPLE
S
1. A baseball team won two out of their last four games. In how
many different orders could they have two wins and two losses
in four games?
Solution:
Understand the Problem.
There are many different orders. The team may have won two
straight games and lost the last two (WWLL). Or maybe they lost the
first two games and won the last two (LLWW). Of course, there are
other possibilities, such as WLWL.

Devise a Plan.
We will make an organized list of all the possible orders. An
organized list is a list that is produced using a system that ensures
that each of the different orders will be listed once and only once.
Carry Out the Plan.
Each entry in our list must contain two Ws and two Ls. We will use a
strategy that makes sure each order is considered, with no duplications.
One such strategy is to always write a W unless doing so will produce too
many Ws or a duplicate of one of the previous orders. If it is not possible
to write a W, then and only then do we write an L. This strategy produces
the six different orders shown below.
• WWLL
• WLWL
• WLLW
• LWWL
• LWLW
• LLWW

Review the Solution.

We have made an organized list. The list has no duplicates and the list
considers all possibilities, so we are confident that there are six different
orders in which a baseball team can win exactly two out of four games.
2. A true-false quiz contains five questions. In how many ways can a
student answer the questions if the student answers two of the
questions with “false” and the other three with “true”?
Solution:
Understand the Problem.
There are several ways to answer the questions so that two answers
are “false” and three answers are “true.” One way is TTTFF and
another is FFTTT.
Devise a Plan.
Make an organized list. Try the strategy of listing a T unless doing so
will produce too many Ts or a duplicate of one of the previous orders
in your list.
Carry Out the Plan.
(Start with three Ts in a row.)
• TTTFF (1)
• TTFTF (2)
• TTFFT (3)
• TFTTF (4)
• TFTFT (5)
• TFFTT (6)
• FTTTF (7)
• FTTFT (8)
• FTFTT (9)
• FFTTT (10)
Review the Solution.
Each entry in the list has two Fs and three Ts. Since the list is complete
and has no duplications, we know that there are 10 ways for a student to
mark two questions with “false” and the other three with “true.”
3. If six people greet each other at a meeting by shaking hands with
one another, how many handshakes will take place?
Solution:
Understand the Problem.
There are six people, and each person shakes hands with each of the
other people.
Devise a Plan. Each person will shake hands with five other people
(a person won’t shake his or her own hand; that would be silly).
Since there are six people, we could multiply 6 times 5 to get the
total number of handshakes. However, this procedure would count
each handshake exactly twice, so we must divide this product by 2
for the actual answer.
Carry Out the Plan.
6 times 5 is 30. 30 divided by 2 is 15.

Review the Solution.

Denote the people by the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F. Make an organized
list. Remember that AB and BA represent the same people shaking hands,
so do not list both AB and BA.

The method of making an organized list verifies that if six people shake
hands with each other, there will be a total of 15 handshakes.
ACTIVITY
Apply Polya’s four-step strategy to solve the following problems.
1. If two ladders are placed end to end, their combined height is 31.5
feet. One ladder is 6.5 feet shorter than the other ladder. What are the
heights of the two ladders?

2. A frog is at the bottom of a 17-foot well. Each time the frog leaps,
it moves up 3 feet. If the frog has not reached the top of the well,
then the frog slides back 1 foot before it is ready to make another
leap. How many leaps will the frog need to escape the well?

3. The number of ducks and pigs in a field totals 35. The total
number of legs among them is 98. Assuming each duck has exactly
two legs and each pig has exactly four legs, determine how many
ducks and how many pigs are in the field.
•
INDUCTIVE AND
DEDUCTIVE REASONING
INDUCTIVE REASONING

•Inductive reasoning is the process of

reaching a general conclusion by
examining specific examples. A
conclusion based on inductive reasoning
is called a conjecture. A conjecture may
or may not be correct.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
Example 1. Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in
each of the following lists.
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ?
b. 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ?
Solution:
Example 1.a Each successive number is 3 larger than the preceding
number. Thus, we predict that the next number in the list is 3 larger
than 15, which is 18.
Example 1.b The first two numbers differ by 2. The second and the
third numbers differ by 3. It appears that the difference between any
two numbers is always 1 more than the preceding difference. Since
10 and 15 differ by 5, we predict that the next number in the list will
be 6 larger than 15, which is 21.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
Example 2. Consider the following procedure: Pick a
number. Multiply the number by 8, add 6 to the
product, divide the sum by 2, and subtract 3.
Complete the above procedure for several different
numbers. Use inductive reasoning to make a
conjecture about the relationship between the size of
the resulting number and the size of the original
number.
Solution:
Suppose we pick 5 as our original number. Then the
procedure would produce the following results:
Original number: 5
Multiply by 8: 8 x 5 = 40
Add 6: 40 + 6 = 46
Divide by 2: 46 / 2 = 23
Subtract 3: 23 - 3 = 20
We started with 5 and followed the procedure to produce 20.
Starting with 6 as our original number produces a final result of 24.
Starting with 10 produces a final result of 40.
Starting with 100 produces a final result of 400.
In each of these cases the resulting number is four times the original
number.
We conjecture that following the given procedure produces a number
that is four times the original number.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
•Deductive reasoning is the
process of reaching a conclusion
by applying general assumptions,
procedures, or principles.
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
ACTIVITY
A. Determine whether each of the following arguments is an example of
inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning.

1. During the past 10 years, a tree has produced plums every other year. Last
year the tree did not produce plums, so this year the tree will produce plums.
2. All home improvements cost more than the estimate. The contractor
estimated that my home improvement will cost P350,000. Thus, my home
improvement will cost more than P350,000.
3. All Janet Evanovich novels are worth reading. The novel Twelve Sharp is
a Janet Evanovich novel. Thus, Twelve Sharp is worth reading.
4. I know I will win a jackpot on this slot machine in the next 10 tries,
because it has not paid out any money during the last 45 tries.
B. Give 3 examples Inductive and Deductive Reasoning.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!