Polyas modal

Half the people on a bus get off at each stop after the first, and no one gets on after the first stop. If only one person gets off at stop number 7, how many people got on at the first stop?

 Step 1: Understanding the problem There will be half of the people on the bus get off at each stop after the first, and no one gets on after the first stop. If only one person gets off at stop number 7, as the bus approached the stop there must have been two people on board. By working backward, the number of people on the bus at the first stop can be known.

 Step 2: Develop a plan By working backward, then multiply the number of people get off at each stop with 2. Example: 7th stop----Ax2=B 6th stop----Bx2=C 5th stop----Cx2=D 4th stop----Dx2=E 3rd stop----Ex2=F 2nd stop----Fx2=G 1st stop----G (We are assuming that no people could have been on the bus before the first official stop.)

 Step 3: Implement the plan As the bus approached, 7th stop----1x2=2 persons on board 6th stop----2x2=4 persons on board 5th stop----4x2=8 persons on board 4th stop----8x2=16 persons on board 3rd stop----16x2=32 persons on board 2nd stop----32x2=64 persons on board 1st stop----64 persons (We are assuming that no people could have been on the bus before the first official stop.)

 Step 4: Looking back By working forward to check the answer. As the bus approached, 1st stop----64 persons on board 2nd stop----64 persons on board 3rd stop----64/2=32 persons on board 4th stop----32/2=16 persons on board 5th stop----16/2=8 persons on board 6th stop----8/2=4 persons on board 7th stop----4/2=2 persons on board Since half the people on a bus get off at 7th stop, 2/2=1 person left on the bus.